Skip to main content

Full text of "The history of Cape Cod [microform] : the annals of Barnstable County, including the District of Mashpee"

See other formats 


Google 


This  is  a  digital  copy  of  a  book  that  was  preserved  for  generations  on  library  shelves  before  it  was  carefully  scanned  by  Google  as  part  of  a  project 

to  make  the  world's  books  discoverable  online. 

It  has  survived  long  enough  for  the  copyright  to  expire  and  the  book  to  enter  the  public  domain.  A  public  domain  book  is  one  that  was  never  subject 

to  copyright  or  whose  legal  copyright  term  has  expired.  Whether  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  may  vary  country  to  country.  Public  domain  books 

are  our  gateways  to  the  past,  representing  a  wealth  of  history,  culture  and  knowledge  that's  often  difficult  to  discover. 

Marks,  notations  and  other  maiginalia  present  in  the  original  volume  will  appear  in  this  file  -  a  reminder  of  this  book's  long  journey  from  the 

publisher  to  a  library  and  finally  to  you. 

Usage  guidelines 

Google  is  proud  to  partner  with  libraries  to  digitize  public  domain  materials  and  make  them  widely  accessible.  Public  domain  books  belong  to  the 
public  and  we  are  merely  their  custodians.  Nevertheless,  this  work  is  expensive,  so  in  order  to  keep  providing  tliis  resource,  we  liave  taken  steps  to 
prevent  abuse  by  commercial  parties,  including  placing  technical  restrictions  on  automated  querying. 
We  also  ask  that  you: 

+  Make  non-commercial  use  of  the  files  We  designed  Google  Book  Search  for  use  by  individuals,  and  we  request  that  you  use  these  files  for 
personal,  non-commercial  purposes. 

+  Refrain  fivm  automated  querying  Do  not  send  automated  queries  of  any  sort  to  Google's  system:  If  you  are  conducting  research  on  machine 
translation,  optical  character  recognition  or  other  areas  where  access  to  a  large  amount  of  text  is  helpful,  please  contact  us.  We  encourage  the 
use  of  public  domain  materials  for  these  purposes  and  may  be  able  to  help. 

+  Maintain  attributionTht  GoogXt  "watermark"  you  see  on  each  file  is  essential  for  in  forming  people  about  this  project  and  helping  them  find 
additional  materials  through  Google  Book  Search.  Please  do  not  remove  it. 

+  Keep  it  legal  Whatever  your  use,  remember  that  you  are  responsible  for  ensuring  that  what  you  are  doing  is  legal.  Do  not  assume  that  just 
because  we  believe  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  the  United  States,  that  the  work  is  also  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  other 
countries.  Whether  a  book  is  still  in  copyright  varies  from  country  to  country,  and  we  can't  offer  guidance  on  whether  any  specific  use  of 
any  specific  book  is  allowed.  Please  do  not  assume  that  a  book's  appearance  in  Google  Book  Search  means  it  can  be  used  in  any  manner 
anywhere  in  the  world.  Copyright  infringement  liabili^  can  be  quite  severe. 

About  Google  Book  Search 

Google's  mission  is  to  organize  the  world's  information  and  to  make  it  universally  accessible  and  useful.   Google  Book  Search  helps  readers 
discover  the  world's  books  while  helping  authors  and  publishers  reach  new  audiences.  You  can  search  through  the  full  text  of  this  book  on  the  web 

at|http: //books  .google  .com/I 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  CAPE  COD; 


THE    ANNALS 


BARNSTABLE    COUNTY 


ITS   SEYERAL   TOVUS, 


INCLUDING   THE   DISTRICT   OF   MASHPEE 


IH  MO  VOIOTIES. 


By  EEEDBEICK  FEEEMAN. 


BOSTON: 
PBINTED    fOB    THE    AUTHOR, 


yGoogle 


Eniered,  according  to  Act  of  CongrcEs,  in  the  year  1858,  ly 
Geo,  C.  Rand  &  AvEitv, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Dietrict  of  Massachn 


yGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  CAPE  COD: 


THE    ANNALS 


BARNSTABLE    COUNTY, 


THE     DISTRICT     OF    MASHPEE. 


FBEDEEICK    FREEMAN. 


BOSTON : 
PRINTED   FOR    THE    AUTHOR, 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


IIox,    DAVID    SEiRS,    Theshext, 


VICE    PEESIIIENTS    AKD    IXKCnTITE    C03I1IITTEE 


fiupe  Coi  lissoriiitirt  of  I^Dstoii, 


THIS     FIRST     V  O  L  U  M  K  , 
INCLUDING    THE    HISTORY    OP    GATE    COD, 


THE  AUTIIOIl. 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


PREFACE. 


These  volumes  are  submitted  to  tlie  public, 
without  claiming  for  them  that  they  are  entirely 
free  from  mistakes  or  cn'ors.  Such  total  exemp- 
tion can  hardly  be  expected  of  a  work  of  the 
kind.  But  that  the  present  work  is  as  free  from 
any  of  date  or  fact,  as  the  utmost  cai-e  would 
effect,  is  confidently  believed.  It  might,  indeed, 
have  been,  in  its  details,  more  particular  and 
circumstantial:  but  the  aim  of  the  writer  has 
been  to  avoid  prolixity,  as  also  carefully  to 
avoid  offence  to  persons  or  families,  so  far  as 
obligation  to  tioith  would  permit. 

The  constant  deterioration,  and  sometimes 
destruction,  of  public  records,  and  the  scattering 
and  loss  of  family  documents  in  the  form  of 
letters  and  other  manuscripts  and  private  papers, 
urge  the  importance  of  preserving  in  more  dura- 
ble form  what  may  be  proper  for  the  public  eye, 
and  of  most  interest.    It  has  been  well  remarked, 


vGooglc 


PREFACE. 


that  "in  treasuring  np  the  memorials  of  the 
fathers,  we  best  manifest  our  regard  for  pos- 
terity." 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  ai^'airs  of  a 
single  county  will  be  gi-eatly  interesting  to  the 
public  generally ;  but  to  such,  at  least,  as  ai'C 
connected  with  Cape  Cod,  these  volumes  will,  we 
trust,  he  of  some  interest.  Thej/,  surely,  will  not 
regret  that  a  portion  of  its  history  is  rescued 
from  oblivion.  Even  in  regard  to  those  portions 
of  the  history  of  more  recent  date,  such  as  shall 
be  on  the  stage  fifty  or  one  hundred  years  hence 
will  have  feelings  similar  to  our  own  in  regard 
to  the  long  past. 

The  writer  would  have  been  mucli  gratified 
could  he  have  given  a  fuller  view  of  men  of  dis- 
tinguished reputation,  who  acted  their  several 
parts  well  in  earlier  times.  If  omissions  occur, 
or  defects,  in  delineating  the  characters  of  the 
departed,  the  unavoidable  absence  of  the  requi- 
site information  must  be  the  apology.  Some  of 
the  most  meritorious  may  have  been  passed  by, 
whilst  others  less  conspicuous  or  useful  in  their 
day  have  been  noticed.  It  is  much  easier  to 
regret  the  necessity,  than  to  supply  the  remedy. 
"None  but  those  experienced  in  this  department 
of  toil "  can  appreciate  the  labor,  the  peiplexity, 


vGooglc 


PREFACE. 


the  disappointments,  or  the  time  required  "by, 
and  the  expense  attendant  on  it.  If  some  land- 
marks have  been  set  up  to  encourage  and  aid 
future  researches,  the  attempt  will  not  have  been 
in  vain.  To  undertake  the  task  of  doing  ample 
justice  to  the  memories  of  the  more  recently 
departed,  and  especially  of  living  men  of  dis- 
tinguished claims,  is  a  labor  too  delicate  to  be 
consistent  with  the  present  plan. 

The  writer,  has  endeavored  honestly,  faithfully, 
unbiased  by  prejudice,  to  pursue  the  one  ob- 
ject had  originally  in  view,  with  a  determined 
inquiry  for  the  truth  in  the  narration  of  events 
and  the  relation  of  facts.  His  purpose  has  been 
to  do  this,  without  undue  regard  to  the  senti- 
ments, civil,  political,  or  ecclesiastical,  of  any 
man,  or  set  of  men;  still,  he  has  felt  nothing 
but  profound  deference  to  the  opinions  of  the 
wise  and  good,  of  whatever  name,  station,  or 
party. 

Whatever  views  may  bo  entertained,  by  him- 
self or  others,  of  the  religious  dogmas  of  some 
of  the  early  settlers  of  the  Old  Colony,  or  of  the 
errors  into  which  they  sometimes  fell,  (which  he 
is  perfectly  free  to  attribute  "  to  the  age  in  which 
they  lived,"  and  to  the  resistless  force  of  circum- 
stances, }  he  cannot  but  thank  God  that  the  first 

VOL.  1.  2 


vGooglc 


Christian  Sabbath's  light  that  dawned  upon  the 
first  settlers  in  this  colony  was  religiously  cele- 
brated, and  that  the  shores  of  Cape  Cod  were 
then  and  there  made  vocal  with  the  praises  of 
the  Almighty.  It  augured  well  for  the  future ; 
it  was  a  pleasing  comment  upon  the  past. 

That  the  princij^les  of  the  gospel  were  planted 
here,  must  be  acknowledged  by  all  as  having 
furnished  the  palladium  of  our  liberties.  The 
trials  of  the  early  settlers,  causing  them  to  feel 
their  mutual  dependence,  and  the  necessity 
which  forced  them  to  rely  each  colony  on  the 
others  for  mutual  support  and  defence,  contrib- 
uted, without  doubt,  to  correct  some  anomalies 
in  their  views,  and  to  a  general  diffusion,  at 
length,  without  alloy,  of  the  true  principles  of 
religious  and  civil  liberty ;  thus  preparing  the 
way  for  the  foundation  of  that  national  govern- 
ment, ultimately,  which  has  been  enjoyed  by 
their  descendants  —  the  glory  of  the  states,  the 
perfection  of  ages,  the  admiration  of  the  world ! 
It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  our  ancestors 
fully  anticipated  the  benefits  they  were  to  deliver 
to  society ;  in  fact,  it  must  be  confessed,  their 
own  course  was,  at  the  first,  in  many  respects 
]-etrograde  to  the  progress  of  liberty,  or  even 
toleration:  still,  we  hazard  nothing  in  saying. 


vGooglc 


11 


tbe  emigration  of  tliese  men  eventually  produced 
tlae  noblest  revolution  in  tlie  public  mind,  and 
in  political  power,  that  the  world  had  ever 
known.  Confined  in  the  beginning  to  narrow 
limits,  it  advanced,  gradually,  with  unfolding  and 
increasing  light,  until  that  change  of  public 
sentiment  assumed  an  importance  proportioned 
to  the  greatness  of  the  events  that  were  to 
follow.  The  age  was  one  when  the  rights  of 
society  were  but  just  being  revealed. 

It  cannot  either  be  regarded  as  otherwise 
than  fortunate  for  our  coraraon  countiy,  that  the 
early  settlers  of  ^^ew  England  were  emigrants 
from  a  country  advanced  in  clvili^iation,  and 
that  they  were  so  generally  distinguished  for 
intelligonee  and  enterprise,  and  were  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  universal  and  early  edu- 
cation. Wliether  the  colonization  of  any  portion 
of  our  land  originated  in  religions  persecution, 
as  is  by  some  confidently  asserted,  —  so  confi- 
dently and  extensively  that  it  is  regarded  by 
many  as  partaking  of  high  misdemeanor  not  to 
admit  it  without  qualification,  and  not  to  take  it 
for  granted  almost  without  inquiry,  —  or  ivhether 
chiefly  in  schemes  for  the  pursuit  of  gain,  with 
the  desire  of  the  undisputed  right  to  maintain 
peculiar  religious  dogmas  and  polities  without 


vGooglc 


12  PEEFACE. 

any  contradiction,  is  a  question  wliich  it  is  no 
part  of  our  present  duty  to  discuss,  least  of  all 
to  decide.     Perhaps  even  the  seeming  admission 
that  it  is,  at  the  present  day,  a  mooted  question, 
may  be  sufficient  to  prejudice  the  writer  in  the 
view  of  some,  and  bring  upon  him  animadver- 
sion.    If  so,  let  it  be.     That  the  early  settlers  of 
both  the  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  colonies 
were  men  of  strong  religious  feeling,  admits  of 
no  doubt.     That  they  were  free  from  the  infirm- 
ities of  nature,  let  him  assert  who  will.     That 
they  were  men  of  stout  hearts,  indomitable  x^er- 
severance,  industry,  and  enterprise,  was  never 
questioned.     And  that,  although  they  straggled 
long  and  hard  amidst  many  impediments,  we 
may  well  challenge  the  annals  of  the  world  to 
produce  another  instance  of  a  nation  rising,  in  so 
short  a  space  of  time,  to  an  equal  degree  of 
power  and  freedom,  wealth  and  population,  true 
greatness  and  renown,  we  unhesitatingly  assert. 
That  the  great  advantages  derived  to  civil  and 
religious  liberty  by  the  emigration  of  our  fathers 
and  their  settlement  of  the  country  were  owing 
alone  to  their  personal  character  and  first  inten- 
tions, we  do  not  pretend  to  claim.     Although 
the  first  planters  were  moral,  exemplary,  and 
pious,  their  progress  towards  the  present  state  of 


vGooglc 


13 


society  was,  most  assuredly,  owing  to  a  combina- 
tion of  causes,  as  has  been  already  suggested. 
"Whether  their  first  and  great  object  was  to 
establish  their  own  religious  views  and  polity, 
or  to  adventure  in  their  capacity  of  a  trading 
company,  or  both,  it  is  evident  they  had  no 
design  of  foundiTig  a  nation,  and  that  what 
ultimately  developed  was  the  result  of  events 
quite  unforeseen.  At  the  same  time,  theise 
events  and  results  in  good  degree  grew  out  of, 
were  influenced  by,  and  tended  to,  a  state  of 
things  consonant  only  with  stern  religious  prin- 
ciple. 

It  has  been  well  remarked,  "  It  would  ill  be- 
come the  descendants  of  these  men  to  reproach 
them;  but  it  would  still  less  become  their 
posterity  to  show  a  distmst  of  their  prevailing 
merits,  by  any  attempt  to  conceal  the  defects 
that  are  incident  to  human  affairs, — defects, 
too,  so  exceedingly  overbalanced  on  the  whole  by 
wisdom,  perseverance,  and  success."  The  early 
settlers  have  on  all  sides  been  most  unjustly 
treated ;  the  character  of  the  Puritans  especially 
suffering  alike  from  both  extravagance  of  praise 
and  censure.  The  sober  certainty  of  truth  it 
would  often  be  difficult  to  ascertain,  in  the  midst 
of  such  violent  contrasts. 


vGooglc 


14  PREFACE. 

The  succession  of  events  that  finally  brought 
the  United.  States  to  their  national  union,  in- 
dependence, and  glory,  were  not  "without  the 
instrumentality  of  a  succession  of  nohle  men,  — 
men  who  acted  well  their  several  parts  in  the 
great  drama.  Their  illustrious  deeds  are  worthy 
to  be  recorded  in  the  temple  of  immortal  fame, 
and  their  names  sliould  be  pei'petuated.  Their 
deeds  can  never  die :  their  names  should  live. 
Their  marked  traits  were  religious  principle, 
patriotism,  and  valor, — joined  to  resolution, 
perseverance,  and  enterprise,  —  supported  by 
industry,  economy,  and  self-denial.  The  revo- 
lutionary war,  in  respect  to  its  causes,  progress, 
and  effects,  it  is  true,  belongs  to  the  history  of 
no  x^^i'ticular  part  of  our  country;  hence  that 
alone  Avhich  has  seemed  necessary  to  the  con- 
nection of  subjects  and  transactions  of  local 
interest,  or  to  explain  matters  in  hand,  has  been 
given.  Less  than  this  would  have  left  the 
record  measurably  unintelligible. 

The  difficulties  that  grew  out  of  diverse  views 
were  the  most  serious  part  of  the  revolutionary 
trials;  and  the  violence  of  feeling  engendered 
was,  to  some  of  the  towns  on  the  Cape,  of  a 
dangerous  character.  The  writer  has  had  no 
motive  to  color  or  distort  the  nahed  facts ;  and 


vGooglc 


15 


if  he  has  erred  at  all  in  the  record  he  has  made, 
it  has  been  by  XJassing  as  lightly  over  some 
impovtant  tra,nsactions,  in  deference  to  the  final 
prostration  of  the  royalists,  as  a  regard  for  truth- 
fulness would  allow.  At  the  present  day,  we 
can  look  with  discrimination  on  the  opposers 
of  the  revolution,  distinguishing  between  the 
honest,  conscientious  loyalists,  and  the  baser 
sort  whose  ends  were  mercenary.  That  the  wuigs 
were  only  desirous  of  carrying  out  what  they 
sincerely  believed  were  patriotic  views,  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  no  personal  considerations 
of  consanguinity,  or  otherwise,  prevented  their 
inflexible  determination  for  the  'right,  and  that 
no  spirit  of  revenge  urged  them  beyond  the 
attainment  of  the  object.  Victors  are  usually 
magnanimous.  That  the  adverse  party,  because 
they  were  prostrated,  found  it  difficult  to  forget, 
or  even  to  forgive,  may  be  inferred  by  any  one 
conversant  with  the  workings  of  human  nature. 
As  to  the  men  of  our  own  day,  they  are  all 
patriots,  however  much  they  differ  one  from 
another;  so  that  in  the  present  age  may  be 
found,  in  different  parts  of  our  country,  descend- 
ants from  tories  who  are  democrats  par  excellence, 
and  descendants  of  whigs  of  the  revolution  who 
rejoice   under  other  appellations;  all  patriotic, 


vGooglc 


16 


all  friends  of  freedom,  all  true  to  their  country, 
all  abhorrent  of  monarchists,  all  glorying  in  the 
advocacy  of  liberty  and  equal  rights,  whether 
democrats,  whigs,  republicans,  Americans,  Amer- 
ican republicans,  national  democrats,  or  —  we 
indeed  quite  forget  the  various  and  often  chan- 
ging names  assumed,  or  sohriquets  by  which 
parties  are  designated ;  the  recollection  of  them 
being  entirely  beyond  our  gift  or  vocation.  It 
must  suffice  for  the  writer,  that,  whatever  minor 
views  now  divide  the  American  people,  we  enjoy 
a  system  of  civil,  religious,  and  literary  institu- 
tions, so  free,  pure,  and  perfect,  —  protected  by 
military  discipline  so  independent  in  true  merit, 
and  supported  by  a  balance  of  power  in  the  three 
departments  of  government  so  complete,  —  that 
what  the  Saxon  heptarchy  of  the  fifth  century 
endeavored  to  conceive,  and  what  the  ninth 
century,  under  Alfred  the  Great,  labored  to 
improve,  has  with  us,  as  nowhere  besides,  been 
realized  and  established,,  —  the  result  of  the 
wisdom  and  toils  of  our  fathers.  N'ot  to  see 
this,  would  prove  us  blind  indeed.  Not  to 
acknowledge  this,  would  prove  us  ungrateful. 

In  recording  the  occurrences  of  the  war  of 
1812,  and  matters  both  prior  to  and  consequent 


vGooglc 


PEEFACE.  17 

upon  it,  we  have  been  content  to  be  very  brief; 
for  the  time  has  not  avrivcd  ivhen  the  fnll  history 
of  that  period  may  be  written  in  a  work  like  the 
present.  Ouv  own  recollection  would  furnish  us 
with  much  of  local  incident  and  anecdote  for  that 
era,  wore  it  permissible.  The  history,  however, 
of  the  almost  entire  of  Massachusetts,  would  be 
the  history  of  conflicting  party  views  on  the 
Cape,  with  this  important  exception — that 
Barnstable  County  lent  the  influence  of  its  ma- 
jority to  sustain  the  national  administration. 

The  record  of  more  recent  dates  is  purposely 
confined  to  few  occurrences  of  more  general 
interest. 

In  respect  to  ecclesiastical  affairs,  our  object 
has  been  to  follow  the  order  of  events  with  some 
particularity,  so  long  as  the  quasi  union  of  state 
and  church  existed.  As  denominations  began 
to  multiply,  it  has  been  deemed  sufficient  that 
more  prominent  events  simply  be  noticed,  leav- 
ing to  those  who  choose  to  dwell  on  ecclesiastical 
divisions  and  strifes  to  look  to  other  sources  for 
information. 

For  any  defects  that  may  exist  in  the  present 

VOL.  I.  3 


vGooglc 


18  PREFACE. 

AYork,  tlic  author  licgs  indalgciice ;  of  its  erroi's, 
if  eucli  there  "be,  he  can  only  say,  they  were 
undesigned.  If,  with  an  impartiality  scorning 
to  cover  np  all  infirmities  of  men  he  reveres,  and 
with  an  honesty  of  purpose  too  stern  to  deny 
their  delinquencies,  he  has  failed  to  secure  com- 
mendation from  the  narrow-minded  and  bigoted, 
or  has  fallen  short  of  the  apprehensions  of  the 
wise  and  good,  he  must  be  allowed  to  add,  in 
the  language  of  another,  that  "he  never  had  in 
view,  in  this  work,  an  object  so  contemptible 
as  that  of  writing  eulogy  tinder  the  guise  of 
history." 

"We  are  not  unaware  of  the  popular  impression 
of  the  day,  that  history,  to  be  attractive,  must 
be  clothed  in  the  garb  of  hyperbole,  or  the  guise 
of  fiction  ;  and  that,  whilst  the  public  taste 
demands  that  all  that  is  written  shall  be  in 
heroics  to  satisfy  the  partiality  of  admirers,  it 
may  be  quite  convenient  for  literary  caterers  to 
yield  to  that  taste.  It  is  not  strange  that  a 
judicious  observer  has  seen  occasion  to  remark, 
"  It  might  be  well  that  some  modem  Cervantes 
should  send  us  another  knight  errant,  of  peer- 
less honor,  stainless  virtue,  dauntless  courage, 
and  truthful  love,  to  make  us  so  laugh  at  our 
own  follies,  by  his  w^hole-souled  and   simple- 


vGooglc 


19 


hearted  extravaganza,  as  to  "bring  back  things 
to  the  modesty  of  nature."  But  we  doubt  if  the 
cure  could  be  thus  effected.  The  disease  has 
proceeded  so  far,  that  the  demand  seems  to  be 
inflexible  that  every  thing  most  serious  be 
presented  in  paradox,  whether  in  history,  the 
teachings  of  the  pulpit,  or  elsewhere.  It  has 
become  absolutely  necessary,  in  order  to  attract 
attention.  Learning  must  be  made  picturesr[ue ; 
that  which  should  be  sober  narration  must  be  a 
historical  novel  bewildering  by  its  adroit  mix- 
ture of  truth  and  falsehood ;  the  most  sublime 
mysteries  and  awful  truths  must  be  presented 
with  at  least  a  fair  equivalent  of  humor ;  and 
the  commonest  incidents  of  life  must  be  dram- 
atized, to  give  effect.  "With  this  popular  mania, 
the  writer  confesses  he  has  no  sympathies.  He 
aims  only  at  a  plain,  unvarnished  expose  of  facts ; 
the  reader  must  make  his  own  inferences,  form 
his  own  opinions,  and  draw  upon  his  own  im- 
agination for  embellishments. 

If  there  shall  appear  a  paucity  of  material  for 
so  full  a  history  of  some  periods  of  our  progress 
as  might  be  desired,  or  of  incidents  to  give  zest 
to  the  recital,  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is 
no  part  of  our  present  duty  to  a-eaie ;  the  records, 


vGooglc 


scanty  as  they  may  "be,  we  arc  necessitated  to 
take  as  we  find  tliem.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
Cax^e  have  at  all  times  been  men  whose  dis- 
position was  to  pass  their  life  in  industvions, 
peaceful,  and  useful  occupations  —  with  little 
taste  for  parade,  with  little  ambition  to  chronicle 
their  own  doings;  and  if  at  any  time  they  have 
mingled  in  political  heats,  it  has  been  simply 
because  the  occasion  and  duty  required  it,  and 
not  that  they  were  ambitious  of  notoriety.  "We 
hazard  nothing  in  saying  that  had  the  in- 
fluence exerted  and  the  services  rendered  been 
as  tenaciously  registered  here  as  in  some  of  the 
New  England  towns,  the  history  of  events  would 
have  been  of  more  animating  interest.  As  a 
learned  and  eloquent  descendant  of  Cape  Cod 
has  well  remarked,  "  Our  village  fathers  little 
imagined  how  the  eye  of  posterity  would  strain 
after  every  simple  record  they  should  leave. 
What  they  did,  they  did  for  the  peace  of  their 
firesides,  for  the  safety  of  their  country,  for  the 
satisfaction  of  their  consciences  and  their  feel- 
ings :  that  it  should  make  them  famous,  was  a 
thing  they  did  not  so  much  as  dream  of." 

Sandwich,  April,  1858. 


vGooglc 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Situation,  Name,  and  Extent.  —  First  Diseovpry  by  Ctosnold.  —  Subse- 
quent ViBits  by  Navigators.  —  De  Monts,  Weymoutli,  Caplaoi  Smith, 
and  others.  —  Dernier,  Pouitrincourt,  Hudson,  &c 27 

CHAPTER    II. 

Prior  Discoveries,  and  Prominent  Theories  and  Keminiseencea.  —  Colum- 
bus, Americus  Vespueius,  De  la  Vega,  the  Cabots,  Willoughby,  Fro- 
bisher,  Gilbert,  and  Raleigh.  —  The  Ancients 4f! 

CHAPTER    III. 
The  Assay  of  the  Lejden  Pilgrims  at  a  Settlement,  and  their  Arrival  at 
Cape  Cod.  —  The  Compact.  —  Election  of  Governor.  —  First  Christian 
Sabbath S9 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Explorations  of  the  Cape  by  the  Pilgrims.  — Mistaken  Policy  towards  the 
Natives 69 

CHAPTER    T. 

Further  Explorations  by  the  Company,  and  final  Departure  of  the  May- 
flower  for  Plymouth,  —  Patent  for  Northern  Virginia.  —  Pierce's  Patent.     80 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Subsequent  Intercourse  with  the  Capo. — lyanough  of  Cummaquid. — 
Aapinet  of  Nauset.  —  Elfects  of  Hunt's  Perfidy.  — Indian  Tribes.  —  The 
Ship  Fortune  touches  at  the  Cape.  —  Cape  Cod  a  Granary  for  the  Early 
Settlers  at  Plymouth.  —  Mattachiest,  —  Monamoyich.  —  Manomet  vis- 
ited by  Dutch,  French,  and  English B4 

CHAPTER    VII. 
Continued  Intercourse  with  the   Cape.  —  Trading  House  established  at 
Manomet.  —  Patent.  —  Great  Storm.  —  Troublous  Times.  —  Declaration 

of  Eights Ill 

(21) 


vGooglc 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEK    VIII. 

Si!ttlcment3  on  the  Cape  begun.  —  Sandwich.  —  Important  Eycnts,  and 
Progress  of  the  Colony.  —  Yarmouth  and  Barnstnble.  —  Doptitiea  to  the 
General  Court.  —  QualilicationB  for  Hiibitancy  roattictcd.  —  A  rigid 
SiuTcillance  over  the  new  Settlements 127 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Patent  surrendered  and  Charters  granted,  —  Court  instituted, — Ijiwa, 
Vindication  of  the  Clergy,  and  Lands  granted.  —  NarraganBetts.  —  The 
Ministry.  —  An  Abandonment  of  Plymouth  and  Removal  to  Nausct  con- 
templated.—  Lands  bounded,  ~  Differences  adjusted.  —  Confederation. 
—  Nauset  settled.  — Laws  ei " 


CHAPTER    X. 

Customs,  Dress,  Mode  of  Living  in  the  Early  Days  of  the  Colony.  —  Gen- 
ei'al  Simplicity,  Industry,  and  Economy 178 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Progress  of  the  Colony, — Toleration. — Municipal  Regulations. — Ex- 
tension of  Settlements  on  the  Cape,  —  WLtoherafl,  —  Long  Hair  and 
Beards.  —  Society  in  England  for  propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  In- 
dians.—  Watch  over  the  Churches.  —  Fisheries,  —  Civil  and  Moral  De- 
linquencies. —  Preparations  for  War.  —  Sevetilies  towards  the  Quakers. 
—  Ecmaikable  Events 192 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Lan's  onacbxl.  —  Helicons  Dissensions  and  Insubordination.  —  Quaker 
Troubles.  —  Lands  at  Yarmouth,  Sandwich,  Earnstable,  &c.  —  Oath  of 
Fidelity.  —  Selectmen.  —  Settlement  at  Monaraoyict.  —  Saconnessit. — 
Indian  Church  at  Mashpee.  —  DiTers  Troubles,  Complaints,  and  Accu- 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Doings  of  the  Hoyal  Commissioners.  —  Concessions  in  Favor  of  Religious 
Freedom.  —  Grant  of  Lands  at  Monomoyick,  and  attendant  Difficul- 
ties. —  Religious  Instruction  of  the  Indians.  —  Remarkable  Events.  — 
Schools.  —  Difficulties  with  the  Indians  apprehended.  —  Settlement  of 
Ministers  required. — The  Fisheries.  —  Free  Schools.  —  Indians  give  in 
their  Adhesion 251 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

The  Indian  War.  —  Its  Progress.  —  Great  Sacrifice  of  Life  and  Property. 
—  King  Philip  slain.  —  Distress  of  the  Colonies.  —  The  Cape  vin^- 
cated.  —  Irish  SympaUiy.  —  The  Acquisition  of  Mount  Hope.  —  Severe 
Laws  against  the  Indians.  —  Commission  from  England.  —  Select  Courts. 
~  Oath  of  Fidelity.  —  ('hartera  vacated 277 


vGooglc 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


The  Colony  divided  into  Counties,  and  DaTnstabic  County  erected.  —  Ai- 
rival  of  Andros,  and  the  Governor  auperBeded.  —  Estension  of  Cape 
Towns.  —  Revolution  in  England,  and  Reatoration  of  tlie  Govevnment. 
—  French  and  Indian  War,  —  Annexation  of  Piymoutli  Colony  to 
Massachusetts,  and  Extinction  of  the  former  Government.  —  Andros 
dismissed.  —  Efforts  to  obtain  a  Chiirter Z 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
Arrival  of  the  new  Charter,  and  Assumption  of  Government  by  Sir  Wil- 
liam Phipps.  —  Harwich  incorporated.  —  Phipps  superseded.  — Passing 
Events, —Pirates. —  Earl  of  Bellamont.  — Extension  of  Cape  Settle- 
ments,—Gov.  Stoughton.  —  Gov.  Dudley.  — The  Fisheries.  — Mona- 
moyick.  —  Bills  of  Credit.  — Dangcrfitld  incorporated,  and  Name  changed 
t*)  Truro,  —  Cliatham  incorporated.  —  TTie  Precinct  of  Cape  Cod.      .     .  327 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Gov.  Shute.  —  A  Singular  Project.  —  A  New  Town.  —  Governor's  Sal- 
ary.—  Bills  of  Credit.  —  Gov.  Burnet.  —  Ecclesiastical  Discontents. — 
Provincetown  incorporated.  —  Courts  in  Barnstable.  —  Spoculations.  — 
Difficulties  with  Government.  —  Gov.  Belcher. — Expedition  to  Cuba. 
—  Land  Bank.  ~  Gov.  Shirley.  —  Great  Awaltoning. 3,52 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

ThePreneh  War.  —  Eev.  George  Whitefield.  —  Cape  Breton.  —  Peace. — 
England  and  France  again  at  Variance.  —  Union  of  the  Colonies.  —  Ex- 
peditions to  Nova  Scotia,  Crown  Point,  and  Niagara.  —  Gov.  Pownal 
succeeds  Shirley.  —  Sir  Francis  Bernard  comes  into  Power.  — The  Cape 
Towns  desire  fewer  Courts.  —  Wellfleet  Is  incorporated,  also  Mashpee, 
aBDistticta.  —  England  becomes  arrogant.    ..." 379 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

The  Mother  Country  becomes  oppressive —  Stamp  Act.  —  Taxes  imposed. 

—  Soldiers  sent  over.  —  Convention. — Certain  offensive  Acts  repealed. 

—  Duty  on  Tea  retMued.  —  Pocasset  a  Parish.  —  Gov.  Hutchinson. — 
Public  Meetings.  —  Tea  destroyed.  —  Tea  Ship  ashore  at  Cape  Cod. — 
Fire  in  Sandwich  Woods.  —  Gen.  Gage.  —  Boston  Port  Bill.  —  League 
and  Covenant.  —  General  Congress.  —  Diverse  Views  among  the  People. 

—  Movement  in  Barnstable  County 406 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Proceedings  of  the  Body  of  the  People.  — Gathering  at  Sandwich.  —  Re- 
solves.—  General  Agreement.  —  Leader  chosen.  —  March  to  Barnstable. 

—  Respect  shown  to  Col.  Otis.  —  Assemble  at  the  Court  House.  —  Pre- 
vious Proceedings  reafSmied  hy  an  increased  Assemblage.  — The  Court 
not  permitted  to  proceed  to  Bu^ese.  —  Liberty  Pole.  —  Confessions  and 
Eecantations.  —  Demands  made  of  the  Court.  ^  Conraiittees  of  Vigilance. 

—  Address  to  Hon.  James  Otis.  —His  Reply.  —  Resolutions  adopted. — 


yGoogle 


24  CONTESTS. 

Resignation  of  Crown  Officers.  —  Adilross  to  the  Court,  and  Reply.  — 
Subsequent  Proceedings.  —  Tories  are  enraged,  insolent,  and  revenge- 
ftil. — Despeialfi  Effort  at  Vindiotiveness. — The  Aesasaina  secured. — 
"Whigs  indignant  fly  to  avenge  the  Act.  —  Conciliatory  Address.  —  Def- 
erence to  the  Laws.  —  Three  thousand  People  accompany  their  late 
Leader  to  Barnstable,  —  The  Assassins  humhlBd,  implore  Forgiveness, 
and  submit  to  the  Will  of  the  People, 430 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

The  Cape  Towns  awake  to  the  Importance  of  the  impending  Crisis.  — A 
Couuty  Congress,  —  Gov.  Gage  alarmed.  —  Countermands  his  Orders 
for  a  Meeting  of  the  General  Court.  —  The  Court  meet  and  denounce 
him, —  Resolve  themselves  into  a  Continental  Congress.  —  Battle  of 
Lexington.  —  A  Call  to  Arms.  —  Bunker  Hill.  —  Congress  prepares  for 
Defence.  —  Commander-in-Chief,  —  Loiial  Items.  —  Vigilance  to  coun- 
teract the  Tories. — Importance  of  Cape  Cod  Harbor.  —  Letter  from 
Hon.  James  Otis.  —  Defence  of  tie  Coait 466 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

Gen.  Gage  retires,  and  Howe  is  in  Command.  —  Gen.  Washington  takes 
Possession  of  Boston.  —  The  Council  the  Administration,  with  Hon. 
James  Otis  of  Barnstable  President.  —  The  Cape  Towns  instruct  tlieir 
Representatives  to  obtain  from  the  Continental  Congress  a  Declaration 
of  Independence.  —  Independence  declared.  —  The  Colonies  reduced  to 
great  Straits,  —  Application.  &om  South  Carolina.  —  British  Transport- 
ship  ashore.  —  Loyalists,  —  French  Ship  ashore.  —  Captures  by  the  Brit- 
ish. —  Loyalists,  —  Ship  ashore  at  Provincetown  with  Reftigees.  —  Salt 
Manufactures.  —  Local  Aflairs.  —  New  Constitution 4R8 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

New  Constitution.  —  Eefugees,  —  Requisitions  for  the  Army. —  Home 
Defences.  —  Tories,  —  Ship  Somerset.  —  Depredations  by  the  Enemy.  — 
EefiuUstments  for  the  Army. —  General  Distress.  —  Decease  of  Col. 
Otis,  —  M^ee  Storm.  —  Alliance  with  Trance.  — Trance  to  counteract 
the  Designs  of  Tories.  —  Prices  r^ulated.  —  Gloomy  Aspect.  —  Grievous 
Exactions.  —  Dissensions.  —  State  Constitution.  —  Requisitions  and  De- 
fences.—  Importance  of  the  Fisheries.  — A  dark  Hour.  —  Cessation  of 
Hostilities.— Peace.~E)feet.—Dec(!ase  of  James  Otis  Jr 510 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

The  Anniversary  of  Independenceaperpetual  Institution.  — Shuys'  Rebel- 
lion. —  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  ~  First  President  of  the  United 
States.  —  National  Bank.  —  Dennis  incorporated. -^  Revised  Constitu- 
tion. —  Whiskey  Insurrection,  — Ecclesiastical  Changes.  —  Mails.  —  Or- 
leans incorporated.  —  Troubles  with  France.  —  Washington's  Decease. 
—  Political  Contests.  —  Brewster  incorporated.  —  Embargo.  —  Non-In- 
tercourse Act.  —  Port  of  Entry.  —  Local  Legislation.  —  Impressment  of 
Seamen.  —  Domestio  Maaufiictuies.  —  PreparalionE  for  War 51( 


yGoogle 


CONTENTS.  lb 

CHAPTEE    XXV. 
The  Alternative.  — Heligious  Freedom.  ^The  Courts.  —  Embargo.  —  Po- 
litical Asperities. — Declaration  of  War.  —  Prostrating  Effect  on  the 
Cape.  —  Position  of  the  Country.  —  Polities  of  the  Cape.  —  Exposure. 

—  Demands  of  the  Enemy.  —  Local  Legislation.  —  Internal  Dissensions. 

—  Peace.  —  Returning  Prosperity.  —  Algerine  "War. —  Bank  of  tliB 
United  States.  —  Awful  Storm.  —  Manufactures.  —  Hersey  Bequest. — 
Lighthouses 593 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Commercial  Reverses.  —  The  Mails  and  Post  Offices.  —  Floridn.  —  Separa- 
tion of  Maine.  —  Missouri   Compromise.  —  Falmouth  Bank.  — ■  Pirates. 

—  Political  Exasperations. —The  Tariff.  — Cape  Cod  Haiboi.  —  Glass 
Manufacture.  —  Disasters  at  Sea,  —  Barnstable  Bank,  —  PulDlic  Offices 
destroyed.  —  Political  Changes.  —  Treaties 6K 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Hank  Veto.  —  Trench  Spoliations.  —  New  Tariff. -NulliSeation  threat- 
ened. —  The  Cholera. — Mashpee,  enlarged  Privileges  to.  —  The  De- 
posits.—  Panic.  —  Surplus  Revenue.  —  Commercial  Crisis.  —  Celebra- 
tion at  Barnstable.  —  Agricultural  Society.  —  Disasters  at  Sea.  —  The 
Cambria.  —  Cape  Cod  Eailroad.  —  Severe  Winter.  —  Successive  Events. 

—  Mashpee  Indians.  —  Cape  Cod  Association  organized.  —  Proirfnce 
Lands.  —  Celebration.  ~  Provincetown  Banlt.  —  Bank  of  Cape  Ood.  — 
Telegraphs.  —  Propagation  of  Tish.  —  Representation.  —  Canal.      .    .  63 

CHAPTEE   XXTHI. 

Mashpee,  its  Situation  and  Extent. — Natural  Divisions.  —  Missionary 
Ground.  —  Lands  secured.  —  Church  constituted.  —  Succession  of  SUn- 
isters.  —  Adaptation  for  Plantation.  —  Character  of  the  People,  —  Ijiws 
extended  over  them.  —  Good  Soldiers.  —  An  amusing  Letter, — Dis- 
contents.—Efforts  to  secure  Freedom.  —  Eights  of  Self-Goveimnenf, 

—  Improvement.  —  Review 65 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

Statistics.  —  QoTemment. — Representatives  to  Congress,  —  State  Senate. 

—  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives.  —  Courts  of  Justice, — 
Qualification  of  Civil  Officers,  —  Probate.  —  Deeds. — Treasurer. — 
Clerks.  —  Comity  Attorney.  —  High  Sheriff,  —  Coroners.  —  Military.    .  7' 

CHAPTER    XXX, 

Co-rcLusioK,  — The  Right  Aim  of  Massachusetts.  — Inhabitants.  —  Occu- 
pations, —  Love  of  Home,  —  Education.  —  Sehools,  —  Religion,  —  Sa- 
lubrity of  Climate.  —  Agriculture.  —  Soil.  —  Topography,  —  "Winds  and 
Tides.  —  Manufactures.  —  Pisheries.  —  Migrations,  —  Census,  —  Grad- 


APPENDIX. 
VOL.L 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


I.  Richard  Seae9,      .     . 

3.  John  "Wai.i-et,        .     . 

4.  Thomas  Prince,     .     ■ 

•5.  NTSIPHAS   illESTON,      . 

fi.  Nathaniel  Pkeeman, 

7.  Daniel  Davis,  .     .     . 

8.  BoijiND  II.  Ceookeh, 

9.  Watson  Fkeeman, 
10.  Jonathan  Leonahi),   . 

II.  George  Thacheb, 
13,  Abneb  Datis,    .     . 

13.  David  Cboubeb,    . 

14.  OiiED  Brooks,   .     . 

15.  John  Collins,  .     . 


Bradford.     . 

Amhrirr,. 

Buttle. 

Gfosditr. 
Sartain. 

Grozelier. 

.     Saromj. 

vGooglc 


yGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  CAPE  COD, 


Ar^NALS  OP  THE  COURTT  OY  BAUNSTABLE. 


CHArTEK   I. 

Situation,  Name,  and  Extent, — First  Discovery  by  Gosnold.  —  Subsequent 
Visits  by  Na\igatorB.  —  De  Monts,  Weymouth,  Captmn  Smith,  and  others. 
—  Dermer,  Pourtrincourt,  Hudson,  &o. 

Cape  Cod,  the  south  and  south-east  bound  of  the  great 
bay  from  which  the  State  of  Massachusetts  (hence 
also  sometimes  called  the  Bay  State)  takes  its  name,  is  a 
long,  irregular  peninsula  of  sixty-five  miles  in  length, 
{seventy-five  on  the  south  shore  route,)  by  from  five  to 
twenty  in  breadth,  and  embraces  the  entire  of  the 
County  of  Barnstable. 

The  name  is  sometimes  limited,  as,  indeed,  originally 
intended,  to  that  portion  only  that  constitutes  its 
t-enninnsj  and  which  lies  N.  lat.  42°  4',  W.  long,  from 
Greenwich  70'^  14';  but  the  name  is  now  generally 
applied  to  the  whole  peninsula,  and  the  residents  in 
any  and  every  part  of  the  county,  and  the  descendants 
of  those  who  have  resided  here,  proudly  claim  the 
name  Cape  Cod  for  the  whole  thirteen  towns,  Sandwich, 


vGooglc 


28  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPi:    COD. 

Barnstable,  Paimouth,  Yarmouth,  Dennis,  Harwich, 
Brewster,  Chatham,  Orleans,  Eastham,  WelMeet,  Truro, 
and  Provincetown,  the  district  of  Maslipee  included  — 
for  every  inch  of  land  from  the  narrow  isthmus  near 
the  west  line  that  divides  Barnstable  County  and  the 
County  of  Plymouth,  to  Wood  End  and  Race  Point. 

The  first  discovery  of  Cape  Cod  by  a  European  is 
generally  conceded  to  Bartholomew  Gossold,  the  intrepid 
mariner  of  the  west  of  England,  who,  on  the  26th  of 
March,  1602,  sailed  from  Ealmoutli,  in  Cornwall,  in  a 
small  bark,  with  thirty-two  men,  for  the  coast  known 
at  that  time  as  North  Virginia.  Instead  of  proceeding, 
as  was  usual,  by  the  "way  of  the  Canaries  and  West 
Indies,  he  kept  as  far  north  as  the  winds  would  permit, 
and  was,  for  aught  that  appears  to  the  contrary,  the 
first  Englislman  who  came  in  a  direct  course  to  this  part 
of  the  American  continent.  In  fact,  it  is  not  certain 
that  anif  European  had  ever  been  here  before.^  Hak- 
luy  t,  indeed,  mentions  the  landing  of  some  of  Sir  Hum- 
phrey Gilbert's  men  upon  some  part  of  the  coast,  in 
1583 ;  but  it  was  evidently  farther  eastward,  upon  what 
was  afterwards  known  as  Nova  Scotia, 

On  the  14th  of  May,  1602,  Gosnold  made  land  ;^  and, 
standing  to  the  south,  the  next  day.  May  15,  soon 
found  himself  "embayed  with  a  mighty  headland," 
which  at  first  appeared  "  like  an  island,  by  reason  of  the 
large  sound  that  lay  between  it  and  the  main."     This 

^  Hutchinson. 

^  The  land  firet  made  by  Gosnold  was  on  the  eastern  coast,  which 
he  called  Mavoahen,  about  43°  north.  Here  he  met  with  a  shallop 
of  European  structure,  in  which  were  eight  savages,  one  of  whom 
was  dressed  ia  European  clothes ;  from  which  he  naturally  concluded 
that  some  unfortunate  fisherman  of  Biscay  or  Britlany  had  been 
wrecked  on  the  coast.     Hatchinson.     Belknap. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   BAEXSTABLE   COCSTY.  A'j 

sound  he  called  Shoal  Hope.  Near  this  cape, "  within  a 
league  of  the  land,  he  came  to  anchor,  in  fifteen  fathoms," 
and  his  crew  took  a  great  quantity  of  cod-fish,  from 
which  circumstance  he  named  the  land  Cape  Cod. 

It  was  described  by  him  as  "  a  low,  sandy  shore,  "but 
without  dangers,  in  the  latitude  of  42°."  The  captain, 
with  Mr.  Brierton  and  three  men, "  went  to  land,  and 
found  the  shore  bold  and  the  sand  very  deep."  A  young 
Indian,  with  plates  of  copper  hanging  to  his  ears,  and 
with  a  bow  and  arrow  in  his  hand,  came  to  him,'  and,  in 
a  friendly  manner,  offered  his  services.  .  Bancroft  con- 
fidently asserts  that  Cape  Cod  was  the  "  first  spot  in 
New  England  ever  trod  by  Englishmen  ;  "  and  the  eminent 
historian  is,  for  aught  that  appears  to  the  contrary, 
correct  in  this  position. 

On  the  16th,  Gosnold  coasted  southerly,  and,  at  tlie 
end  of  twelve  leagues,  discovered  a  point  with  breakers 
at  a  distance ;  attempting  to  double  which,  he  came 
suddenly 'into  shoal  water.  To  this  point  of  land  he 
gave  the  name  of  Point  Care :  it  is  the  same  now  called 
Sandy  Point,  and  forms  the  south-eastern  extremity  of 
the  coxmty. 

Finding  himself  surrounded  by  shoals  and  breakers, 
the  vessel  was  brought  to  anchor  until  the  coast  and 
soundings  could  be  examined  by  an  exploration  in  the 
boat.  During  this  time,  some  of  the  natives  made  him  a 
visit.  One  of  these  Indians  had  a  plate  of  copper  upon 
his  breast,  twelve  inches  by  six ;  otliers  had  pendants  of 
the  same  metal  suspended  from  their  ears.  They  all 
*'  had  pipes  and  tobacco,  of  which  tliey  were  very  fond." 
In  surveying  the  coast,  breakers  were  seen  off  a 
point  of  land  which  he  called  Gilbert's  Point :  it  is  now 
called  Point  Gammon,  and  forms  the  eastern  side  of  tlie 
harbor  of  Hyannis. 


vGooglc 


so  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

On  tlie  lOtli,  passing  the  breach  of  Gilbert's  Point  in 
four  or  five  fathoms  of  water,  he  anchored  a  league  or 
more  te  the  westward  of  it.  Several  hummocks  and 
hills  appeared,  which  at  first  were  taken  to  be  islands ; 
these  were  the  high  lands  of  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth. 
To  the  westward  of  Gilbert's  Point  appeared  an 
opening,  which  Gosnold  imagined  to  have  a  communi- 
cation with  the  supposed  sound  that  he  bad  seen  west- 
ward of  Cape  Cod ;  he  therefore  gave  it  the  same  name, 
Shoal  Hope ;  but  finding  the  water  to  be  no  more  than 
three  fatlioms  deep  at  a  distance  of  a  league,  he  did 
not  attempt  to  enter  it.  Prom  this  openmg  the  land 
tended  to  the  south-west ;  and  in  coasting  it  he  came  to 
an  island  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Martha's 
Vineyard.  The  island  he  described  as  distant  eight 
leagues  from  Shoal  Hope,  five  miles  in  circuit,  and 
iminhabited ;  full  of  wood,  vines,  and  berries.  On  it 
were  seen  abundance  of  deer,  and  around  it  were  taken 
abundance  of  cod. 

From  his  station  off  this  island,  where  the  bark  rode 
in  eight  fathoms  of  water,  be  sailed  on  the  24th,  and 
doubled  the  cape  of  another  island  next  to  it,  which  be 
called  Dover  Cliff;  ^  and  this  course  brought  hun  into  a 
sound,  where  he  anchored  for  the  night,  and  the  next 
morning  sent  his  boat  to  examine  aiiother  cape  that 
lay  betwixt  him  and  the  main,  from  which  projected  a 
ledge  of  rocks^  a  mUe  into  the  sea,  but  all  above  water, 
and  not  dangerous. 

Having  passed  around  these  rocks,  the  vessel  came 
to  anchor  again,  in  one  of  the  finest  sounds  which  he 

1  "  The  cliff  ia  snpposed  to  be  the  eastern  half  of  a  small  island 
which  was  called  hy  the  natives  Onky  Tonky,  since  corrupted  into 
ITncle  Timmy."     Belknap. 

^  "  Tlie  racky  ledge  is  called  EiittlesnaUe  Neck."     Bdhxnp. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABM   COUNTY.  31 

had  ever  seen.  To  this  he  gave  the  name  of  Gosnold's 
Hope.'  On  the  northern  side  of  it  was  the  main ;  and 
on  the  southern,  parallel  to  it,  at  a  distance  of  four 
leagues,  was  a  large  island,  which  he  called,  in  honor  of 
his  Queen,  Elizabeth.  On  this  island  he  determined  to 
take  up  his  abode,  and  pitched  upon  a  small  woody 
islet  in  the  middle  of  a  fresh  pond  as  a  safe  place  to 
build  a  fort 

A  little  to  the  northward  of  this  large  island  lay  a 

small  one,  half  a  mile  in  compass,  and  full  of  cedars. 

This  he  called  Hill's  Hap.= 

On  the  opposite  northern  shore  appeared  another 

and  similar  elevation,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 

Rap's  Hill.^ 

By  this  description  of  the  coa.st,  it  is  evident  that 

the  sound  into  which  Gosnold  had  now  entered  was 

Buzzard's  Bay.* 

^  Buzzard's  Bay. 

2  "  Hill's  Hap  now  consists  of  two  very  small  islaada,  called  Wick- 
peckefs.  There  is  every  appearance  that  they  were  formerly  onitiid ; 
and  there  are  now  a  few  cedars  upon  them,"     Belknap. 

3  "  Hap's  Hill,  on  the  opposite  part  of  the  main,  is  a  small  elevated 
island,  of  an  oval  fonn,  near  the  mouth  of  a  river  which  passes 
through  the  towns  of  Wareham  and  Rochester,  and  is  a  conspicuous 
object  to  navigator*."     Belknap, 

*  Belknap  saya,  '"The  island  which  Gosnold  called  Martha's 
Vineyard  was  not  that  which  now  goes  by  the  name,  but  a  small 
island,  the  eastternmost  of  those  which  are  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Elizabeth  Islands.  It  is  called  by  the  Indians  Nenimis&et.  Its 
present  circumference  is  about  four  miles ;  but  it  has  doubtless  been 
diminished  since  Gosnold's  time,  by  the  force  of  the  tides,  which  set 
into  and  out  of  the  bay  with  great  rapidity.  Its  natural  productions 
and  pleasant  situation  answer  well  to  bis  description ;  and  deer  are 
frequently  seen  and  hunted  upon  it :  but  none  were  ever  known  to 
have  been  on  the  great  island  now  called  Martha's  Tineyard,  which 
is  more  than  twenty  miles  jn  lenjrth.  and  was  always  full  of  inhab- 
itaniJ.     For  what  reason  and  at  what  time  the  name  was  fi-ani^fcrred 


vGooglc 


6Z  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

The  island  on  which  Gosnold  and  his  company  took 
up  their  abode  was  Cuttjhunk.* 

Whilst  some  of  Gosnold's  men  labored  in  building  a 
fort  and  storehouse  on  the  small  island  in  the  pond, 
and  a  flat-boat  to  go  to  it,  he  crossed  the  bay  in  his 
vessel,  and  discovered  the  mouths  of  two  rivers :  one 
was  that  near  which  lay  Hap's  Hill,  and  the  other  that 
on  the  shore  of  which  New  Bedford  now  stands. 

After  five  days'  absence,  Gosnold  returned  to  the 
island,  and  was  received  by  his  people  with  great  cere- 
mony, on  account  of  an  Indian  chief,  who,  with  fifty  of 
his  men,  was  there  on  a  visit.  To  tliis  chief  they 
presented  a  straw  hat  and  two  knives ;  the  hat  he  little 
regarded,  but  the  knives  he  highly  valued.  They 
feasted  these  savages  with  fish  and  mustard,  and 
diverted  themselves  with  the  effect  of  the  mustard  on 
their  noses.  These  Indians  were  occasional  visitants  at 
the  island,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  shell-fish.  Four 
of  them  remained,  after  the  others  were  gone,  and 
helped  Gosnold's  men  to  dig  the  roots  of  sassafi-as,  with 
which,  as  well  as  fiirs  bought  of  the  Indians,  the  vessel 
was  loaded. 

After  spending  three  weeks  in  preparing  a  store- 
house, when  they  came  to  divide  theu  provision,  there 
was  not  enough  to  victual  the  ship  and  to  subsist  the 
planter  till  the  ship's  return.  Some  jealousy  also  arose 
about  the  intentions  of  those  who  were  going  back ; 
and  after  five  days'  consultation,  tliey  determined  to 

fi-om  the  one  to  the  other,  I  have  not  learned,"     Allen  says,  '■  This  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  small  island  Nb-man's-land." 

'  Belknap,  in  hia  notice  of  Gtosnold,  supposes  the  isklid  on  wliidi 
the  settlement  waa  attempted,  to  be  Naushaun ;  but  this,  it  would 
seem,  be  afterwards  was  convinced  was  a  mistake,  foi'  the  cellar  of 
Gosnold's  storehnupe  was  discoverable  dsewherc  in  17SI7. 


yGoogle 


ASXALS   OF    liAENSTABLE    COUNTY.  ,(0 

give  up  their  design  of  planting,  and  return  to  England. 
On  the  18th  of  June,  thereforej  Gosnold  sailed  out  of 
the  bay  through  the  same  passage  by  which  he 
had  entered  it,  and  aiTived  at  Exmoutli,  England, 
July  23. 

Gosnold's  intention  was  to  have  remained,  with  a  part 
of  his  men,  and  to  have  sent  Gilbert.,  who  was  second 
in  command,  back  to  England,  for  further  supplies. 
After  his  return,  he  was  indefatigable  in  behalf  of 
settUng  colonies  in  America,  and  was  one  of  those 
who  embarked  in  the  next  expedition  for  Virginia, 
where  he  had  tiae  rank  of  counsellor,  and  died 
in  1607. 

Gosnold's  attempt  at  settlement  on  Cuttyhunk, 
Hutchinson  supposes,  "  is  what  Josselyn,  and  no  other 
author,  calls  the  first  colony  of  New  Plymouth ; "  for  he 
says,  it  was  *' begun  in  1602,  near  Narraganset  Bay.'" 

In  1603,  De  Monts,  having  obtained  of  Henry  lA""., 
of  France,  a  patent  for  the  planting  of  L'Acadie  and 
Canada,  from  lat  40°  to  46°, —  L  e.,  tlie 'whole  coimtry 
between  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton  and  the  shores 
below  Hudson  River,  —  prepared  for  a  voyage ;  and,  in 
1604,  ranged  along  the  coast  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to 
Cape  Cod,  and  to  the  south  of  it     With  Chajiplaix  and 

The     11        ti      1  k  C   Uyhiink  Island  was  puvc!i;isei.l,  in 

l&o  Ij  Tlo  a.  ISj  T  r  i  nd  others,  oi*  :S"e^v  Bedfoi-d,  witli 
tbe  nt  on  of  ere  t  ng  a  umme  resort  upon  it.  It  is  a  beautiful 
spot  use  \  t  ble  ot  be  n  m  de  a  most  delightful  retreat,  Go-'noM 
de»c  bes  is  fo  mer  var  ed  e  uberanee  in  gloiving  tenns:  tliei-o  was 
the  ank  vegetal  oa  ot  a  v  ^m  soil:  noble  forests,  wild  fruits  nnd 
tiovea, —  he  ejan  ne  the  lorn  and  the  honeysuckle,  —  ihe  wild- 
p  0,  the  ta  y  an  1  y  an  a  ss  fras,  —  strawberries,  raspberries, 
t    1  -   11  n  1     f 


yGoogle 


34  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

CHAMrDOEE  for  pilots,  he  ■visited  clivers  rivers,  bays,  and 
harbors.^ 

From  the  time  of  Gosnold's  discovery,  in  1G02,  Eng- 
lish and  other  vessels  were  constantly  in  tlie  habit  of 
visiting  the  New  England  coast ;  and  it  may  be  proper 
here  to  note,  that  as  the  French  had  led  the  way  in 
colonizing  other  parts  of  America,  so  they  were  first 
in  exploring  several  portions  of  this  northern  re- 
gion. In  the  spring  of  1604,  De  Monts,  accom- 
panied by  the  future  founder  of  Quebec,  entered 
Annapolis  River,  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  granting  a  terri- 
tory, extending  some  miles  from  its  mouth,  to  one  of 
his  companions,  sailed  for  the  Schoodic,  or  St.  Croix 
Eiver,  which  now  forms  part  of  the  north-eastern 
boundary  of  the  United  States.  An  island  was  chosen 
for  the  residence  of  tlie  party,  and  fortified.  The 
privations  of  one  winter,  however,  caused  them  to 
abandon  this  locality  the  following  spring,  and  to  join 
the  rest  of  the  immigrants  on  the  pleasant  Eiver  of 
Annapolis.  The  same  season,  an  exploring  party,  led 
by  De  Monts,  ascended  the  Kennebec  River,  erected  a 
cross,  and  took  possession  of  the  territory,  in  the  name 
of  the  King  of  France. 

"  Whilst  these  expeditions  were  in  progress,  English 
enterprise  was  also  excited.  On  the  pretence  of  dis- 
covering a  north-west  passage,  a  party  left  Great 
Britain.  After  touching  at  a  few  places  in  Maine,  the 
vessels  ascended  the  Penobscot  Eiver,  probably  a 
considerable  distance,  and  the  commander  also  erected 
a  cross  — '  a  thing,'  he  says, '  never  omitted  by  Christian 

'  "  He  did  not  go  into  the  Massachnsetts  Bay,  but  struck  over  from 
?ome  part  of  the  ea*tern  sliore  to  Cape  Ann,  and  so  lo  Cape  Cod, 
and  farther  south  ward."      Chfiiiphnn. 


yGoogle 


A^'SALS    OP    BAENSTABLE    COU.XTY.  .J-J 

travellers.'  Thus,  in  the  same  year,  perhaps  the  pame 
month,  the  symbol  of  man's  salvation  was  planted  on 
the  banks  of  tlie  two  noblest  rivers  in  Maine.  The 
leaders  of  both  these  expeditions  were  Protestants. 
The  English  enterprise  was  disgraced  by  the  seizure  of 
five  of  the  natives,  who  were  carried  to  Great  Britain.' 

^  Ih  1C05,  the  commander  in  (his  expedition,  Captain  IVi'jniuuih, 
in  the  employ  of  Lord  Arundel,  having  kidnapped  t\w  five  nsiiiie-i, 
took  them  to  England.  On  his  arrival  in  Plymouth  I-Iai-bor,  Sir 
Ferdinando  Gkirges,  then  goiemor  of  Plymouth,  and  commanding  in 
the  harbor,  took  three  of  these  natives  into  his  family.  He  found 
them  docile  and  intelligent,  and  obtained  from  them  much  infonnation 
in  regard  to  the  country.  Gorges  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Sir 
"Walter  Raleigh;  both  were  naval  commanders.,  and  indefatigable  in 
their  projects  of  adventure.  What  was  learned  from  these  natiies 
excited  a  more  intense  desire  to  make  further  discoveries  for  gain. 
These  Indians  were  all  subsequently  returned;  and  through  fjio 
influence  of  two  of  them,  first  restored,  the  adventarers  who,  in  1G07. 
attempted  a,  settlement  on  the  Kennebec,  were  kindly  received  by  the 
natives.  But  a  native  of  the  Inland  Capawock,  (Martha's  Vineyard.j 
who  had  been  treacherously  taken  from  thence  hy  a  fishing  s.hip,  and 
had  been  "  shown  about  in  London  as  a  sight,"  and  whose  name  was 
Epenovv,  was  also  brought  to  Gorges ;  and  from  him  Gorges  was 
delighted  to  learn  that  a  mine  of  gold  existed  on  that  island.  Tlie 
story,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  was  ingeniously  invented  by  the 
artful  Epenow,  (who  had  not  lived  among  tJie  white  people  without 
discovering  their  all-absorbing  spirit  of  adventure  and  love  of  jtiiin, 
and  also  learning  something  of  their  vices,)  to  secure  his  return  to  his 
home,  as  a  pilot  to  the  muie  in  this  now  much  talked  of  Eldorado, 
Epenow's  ingenuity  was  not  destined  to  disappointment ;  for,  in  June, 
1614,  all  due  preparations  having  been  made,  he  sailed  in  one  of 
Goi^es'  ships,  accompanied  also  by  Assacumet  and  others  kidnapped  in 
IGll  hy  Harlow.  On  the  arrival  of  the  ship  at  Capawock,  the  principal 
inhabitants  of  the  island,  among  whom  were  some  of  Epenow's  own 
kinsmen,  came  to  the  «hip,  thus  furnishing  him  the  opportunity  for  •\  con- 
ference, during  whiLh  he  contrned  for  his  escape  The  Indian  VI  it  r 
on  depatting  promi-ed  to  return  the  next  day  with  furs  foi  ti  ifti 
Epenow  hid  pretended  th'it  if  it  were  known  he  had  di  lo\li  1  ihf 
SLu  t,   a    In     tun, in     his   lite  «jull  U     id      li      H  il        lie 


vGooglc 


oij  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

This  act  of  unqualified  baseness  was,  however,  pros'i- 
deiitially  made  productive  of  good."  ^ 

In  1606,  April  10,  James  I.,  King  of  England,  made 
a  grant,  by  patent,  of  all  the  country  in  North  America 
between  lat.  34°  and  45°  north,  which  he  called 
Virginia ;  and  divided  it  into  two  districts.  North  and 
South  Virginia;  the  southern  part,  situate  between 
34'^  and  41°,  he  granted  to  a  London  Company,  formed 
for  the  pui-pQse  of  colonizing  America  and  converting 
its  savage  inhabitants  to  the  Christian  religion ;  the 
northern  part,  situate  between  41°  and  45*^,  to  a 
Plymouth  Company,  for  the  same  purpose ;  but  neither 
of  them  was  to  plant  within  one  hundred  miles  of  the 
other.^  The  territory  granted  to  the  latter  company 
was  identical,  to  a  great  extent,  it  will  be  perceived, 
with  that  given  to  De  Monts  by  the  King  of  Fraxice. 


captain  of  the  ship,  was  distrustful,  and  not  only  liad  his  captive 
carefully  watched,  but,  the  more  effectually  to  prevent  his  escape,  had 
dressed  him  in  long  clothes,  that  might  be  easily  kid  hold  of,  should 
there  be  occasion.  The  Indians  appeared  the  next  morning,  in  twenty 
canoes.  Keeping  at  a  distance,  tlie  captain  called  to  them,  making 
signs  for  them  to  come  on  board.  Tbey  declining  to  do  so,  Epenow  was 
ordered  to  urge  them.  Mounting  the  forecastle,  he  hailed  them,  as 
directed,  and  at  tbe  same  moment  jumped  into  the  sea,  his  friends 
advancing  to  receive  him,  and  sending  a  shower  of  aiTows  into  the 
ship.  The  captain  and  ci-ew  were  taken  entirely  by  surprise,  and 
Epenow  effected  his  escape.  Thus  vanished  golden  dreams,  and  Ike 
ship  returned  to  England  in  disappointment. 

'  We  have  here  copied  Eartlett ;  but  the  facta  are  found  in  vaiious 
ancient  memoranda. 

®  "  By  this  interdiction,  the  middle  region  was  neglected,  and  a  hait 
was  laid  to  attract  the  attention  of  foreigners."  Gorges.  —  IJy 
the  London  Company  will  be  understood  an  associate  company  com- 
posed chiefly  of  eminent  London  merchants ;  and  by  the  Ph/iiioidh 
Company,  a  like  asiociiition  of  iiu'i-oliaiit:?  iu  Plvmouih,  England. 


yGoogle 


ANSALri    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  61 

The  religion  of  the  Church  of"  England  was  cstablislicd 
in  the  colonies  to  be  formed. 

Late  in  August  of  the  following  year,  (the  same  tliat 
dates  the  founding  of  the  colony  at  Jamestown,  Vir- 
ginia,) "  public  thanks  to  Almighty  God  were  offered  up 
on  a  peninsula  in  tlie  Kennebec  River,  near  its  mouth, 
by  a  party  who  had  landed  from  ships  sent  out  by 
the  Plymouth  Company  to  colonize  their  patent  A 
sermon  was  delivered  on  tlie  occasion,  their  charter 
was  read,  and  rules  for  the  government  were  promul- 
gated. Buildings  for  public  use,  including  a  church, 
and  a  few  slender  cabins,  were  erected,  with  a  rudo 
fortification."  ^ 

'  The  patentees  of  the  northern  colony,  who,  in  1607,  attempted  a 
f!€ttlement  at  SagadaTioo,  (Keonebec,)  ami  laid  the  plan  of  ii  great 
state,  were  not  successful.  The  winter  was  extremely  severe,  both  in 
America  and  in  England.  The  president  of  the  company  (George 
Pojjham)  dying  at  the  settlement,  and  Sir  Jolm  Popham,  his  brother, 
who  was  the  great  pi-omoter  of  the  design,  dying  in  Englimcl,  ihat 
same  iviiitei-,  —  also  Sir  John  Gilbert,  the  hi-other  of  the  admiral  of 
tlie  fleet,  —  and  oiher  discouragements  interposing,  —  the  whole 
number  who  survived  the  winter  went  back  to  England  in  1G0«, 
and  the  dedga  of  the  plantation  was  for  the  present  abandoned. 
It  has  been  remarked,  that,  this  same  year,  1607,  the  fli-ft  effectual 
attempt  was  made  at  a  settlement  in  South  Virginia.  "We  may 
add,  in  the  words  of  The  Frontier  Missionary,  hy  Rev.  Mr.  Bart- 
lett,  that,  "As  by  the  royal  letter  of  in?? t ructions,  given  to  the  early 
colonists,  the  religion  and  polity  of  the  Church  of  England  i\ere 
distinctly  established,  anil  as  religious  services  were  held,  and  a 
sermon  preadied  on  the  day  of  the  debarkation  of  the  colonist'',  at 
Kennebec,  by  their  chaplain,  who  also  officiated  during  (he  time  t!ie 
colony  remained,  it  is  certain  that,  on  the  shores  of  Atkins's  Baj-,  the 
hallowed  strains  of  England's  ritual  were  heard  at  no  iufivf[UPnt 
intervals,  during  the  autumn  of  1607  and  the  succeeding  winter. 
And,  therefore,  these  are  the  fiwt  Instances  of  the  use  of  the  litnrg;-, 
and  the  performance  of  the  rites  of  the  Episcopal  church,  in  any  part 


vGooglc 


38  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAI'E    COD. 

In  1614,  Captain  John  Smith,  the  celebrated  navi- 
gator, having  quitted  the  colony  of  South  Virginia, 
sailed  for  North  Virginia,  on  a  fishing  and  ■whaling 
voyage,  and  ranged  the  coast  from  Penobscot  to  Cape 
Cod.  He  made  a  map  of  the  country,  which  was  first 
called  by  him  New  England.^    He  embarked  for  London, 

of  llie  United  States  novfh  of  Virginia.     And  not  only  so,  this  was 

THE  FIRST  PKOTESTAST  WORSHIP  AKD  I'EEACHING,  BY  AN  OUI>AINED 
MIXISTEB,  IJf  ANT  TOKTION  OF  THIS  VAST  TERKITOKy"  of  New  Eng- 
land. See  also  Williamsou's  History  of  Maine ;  Bancroft's  United 
Stales;  Pui-clias ;  Hakluyt;  Maine  Historical  GoUectiotu,  Sec.  Tiic 
minister  of  this  colony  was  Kichaed  Seymee.  It  is  thus  evident 
"  that  the  members  of  the  Church  of  England  made  provision  at  a 
verj'  early  date  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  colonies."  The  colony 
of  De  MontB,  before  spokiin  of,  "  was  made  up  of  Romanists  a/id 
Prolestanls.  L'Escarbot,  the  chaplain,  ivas  a  Hugitenot."  It  may 
also  be  shown  that  "  another  part  of  North  America  witnessed  the 
celebration  of  divine  worship,  and  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
supper,  forty-two  years  before '  the  POgriais '  Hnded  on  these  shores." 
SeeHakluyt'sAccoujitofF  oh  sJers  T  oj  t/es 

^  King  Cliarle  upo  he  p  en  a  o  of  1  e  map  to  liim  by 
Captain  Smith  clai^el  he  nan  of  No  1  Virginia  to  that  of 
New  England      a  d  1  e  ce  1  e  pa  ent    hat  was  granted   by 

Eing  James,  in  1621  to  tl  D  ke  of  Len  i:  FerdiuanJo  Gorges, 
and  otliers,  the  comjiany  was  styled  "The  Louneil  of  Plymouth,  in 
the  Comity  of  Devon,  for  settling  and  governing  New  England," 
which  country  was  to  extend  from  iO°  to  48°  noith.  "What  is  now 
called  New  England  was  at  that  day  regarded  as  an  island  —  a 
mistake  not  corrected  in  Old  England  so  late  as  the  time  of  an  official 
de=patch  of  Lord  North,  during  our  revolution.  In  the  epistle 
dedicatory  of  EoBf.RT  CrsHMAN  to  his  "loving  friends  the  ad- 
ventiirers  for  New  England,"  December  12,  1G21,  pi;eflx;ed  to  his 
Sermon,  preached  at  Plymouth,  in  New  England,  he  says,  "  New 
England,  so  called,  not  only  {to  avoid  novelties)  because  Captain 
Smith  hath  so  entitled  it  in  bis  description,  but  because  of  the  resem- 
blance that  is  in  it  of  England,  the  native  soil  of  EnglL-bmen:  it 
being  mucii  what  the  samu  for  lieat  and  cold  in  summer  and  w  mtcv ; 
it  buiiig  chiimpaign  ground,  but  no  h^gh  moiml.iin-,  soiiienluit  like  Ihe 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  39 

leaving  his  own  ship  in  the  command  of  Thomsis  Hunt 
to  load  with  fish  for  Spain.  After  Hunt  had  completed 
his  lading  and  wm  ready  to  sail,  he  perfidiously  enticed 
on  board  the  ship  sundry  Indians  belonging  to  Nauset, 
(afterwards  known  as  Easthara,)  and  then  basely  seized 
on  these  unsuspecting  and  confiding  men,  who  were 
allured  by  the  promise  of  trade,  and  confined  them  in 
the  hold.  He  carried  them,  seven  in  number,  (with 
twenty  others  which  he  kidnapped,  belonging  to  Pa- 
tuxet,)  to  Malaga,  where  he  sold  the  most  of  them  at 
twenty  pounds  a  man ;  and  would  have  sold  the  whole 
twenty-seven  in  the  same  way,  had  not  certain  monks  of 
that  city  interfered  and  rescued  the  few  that  remained 
unsold.  So  cruel  a  deed  as  that  perpetrated  by  Hunt 
could  hardly  fail  to  kindle  in  the  hearts  of  the  Indians, 
wherever  it  became  known,  a  fire  of  hatred  and 
revenge.  The  remembrance  of  it  lasted  for  many 
years,  causing  all  future  attempts  at  commerce  with 
the  Indians  to  he  attended  with  more  or  less  difficulty 
and  danger.  On  simdry  occasions,  indeed,  they  exe- 
cuted on  Europeans,  for  this  and  other  instances  of 
perfidy,  deep  revenge.^ 

soil  in  Kent  and  Essex ;  full  of  dales  ani3  meadow  ground,  full  of 
rivers  and  sweet  springs,  as  England  is.  But  priucipally,  so  far  as  we 
can  yet  find,  it  is  an  island,  and  near  about  tlie  quantity  of  England, 
being  cut  out  from  the  main  land  in  America,  as  England  is  from  the 
main  of  Europe,  by  a  great  arm  of  the  sea,  which  entereth  ia  40°, 
and  runneth  up  north-west  and  by  west,  and  goetli  out  either  into  tlie 
South  Sea,"  or  else  into  the  Bay  of  Canada.  The  certainty  whereof, 
and  secrets  of  which,  we  have  not  yet  so  found  as  that  as  eye 
witnesses  we  can  make  narration  thereof;  but  if  God  give  time  and 
means,  we  sliall,  ere  long,  discover  both  the  extent  of  that  river, 
together  with  tbe  secrets  thereof;  and  so  try  what  territories,  habita- 
tion, or  commodities,  may  he  found,  either  in  it  or  about  it." 

^  Hunt  was  not  the  only  one,  nor  was  lie  the  first,  as  we  have  seen, 


vGooglc 


40  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

Both  English  and  French  adventurers  contiimed 
their  voyages  to  the  coast;  for  fish  and  furs,  trading 
with  the  natives;  but  with  little  success,  from  1615  to 
1617,  in  consequence  of  a  pestilence  raging  among  the 
natives  of  New  England,  sweeping  off  great  numbers 
and  interrupting  all  trade. 

Mr.  Tiiojias  Deemer,  in  a  ship  of  Sir  Ferdiiiaiido  Gor- 
ges, sailing  to  New  England,  in  1619,  found  many  places, 
before  populous,  almost  desolate,  and  the  few  remaining 
inhabitants  either  sick  or  but  scarcely  recovered.  At 
Monamoyick,  (Chatham.)  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Indians,  but  finally  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  release.^ 

tliat  kidnapppd  llie  nativt  Indians.  Except  wlicre  lliese  iiiid  similar 
acts  of  atrocity  ivenj  perpetrated,  and  became  knoivn  to  tiie  Indians, 
the  natives  of  New  England  were  ever  utisuspicious,  hospitable,  and 
kind.  Nor  is  there  much  reason  to  doubt  that  the  troubles  ■which  Mr. 
Smith  and  the  other  first  settlei-3  at  Jamestown  experienced  with  the 
Indians  were  not  unprovoked ;  for,  in  a  pi'evions  unsuccessful 
attempt,  the  leader  of  the  adventurers,  Mr.  Lane,  had  slain  a  sachem, 
and  killed  and  taken  captive  other  Indians ;  and  Sir  Richard  Gron- 
ville  had  burned  a  whole  Indian  tpwn,  and  destroyed  their  com,  in 
revenge  of  some  Indian  having  stolen  a  cup.  Indiana  arc  not  apt  to 
forget  in  a  day  such  cruellic. 

^  "  February,  1610,  Sir  F,  Goi^es  sent  Captain  Dermor,  in  a  ship 
of  two  hundred  tons,  to  Kew  England,  to  fish,  and  sent  with  him 
Tisquantum,  one  of  the  natives  which  Hunt,  had  brought  away.  May 
26,  he  arrived  at  the  native  place  of  the  savage,  and  found  all  dead," 
Prince. — In  this  voyage,  Captain  Dermer  sailed  through  the  whole 
passage  between  the  main  land  and  Long  Island;  thus  being  the  flret 
to  demonstrate  the  insular  position  of  Ihe  latter  land.  Touching  at 
Capawock,  he  was  recognized  by  Epenow  as  one  of  those  in  Gorges' 
employ,  and  was,  in  consequence,  on  going  ashore,  attacked  by  the 
natives,  whose  resentment  of  injuries  received  was  still  burning. 
Dermer  defended  himself  with  his  sword,  and  escaped;  but  not  until 
afier  receiving  fourteen  wounds  that  probably  caused  his  death,  for 
it  occurred  soon  after.     Several  persons  —  all  but  one  of  the  boat's 


vGooglc 


ASxNALS    01'   BARXSTABLE    COUNTY.  41 

Althongli  favorable  accounts  were  published  by 
Captain  Smith  and  others,  and  a  favoi-alile  opinion 
of  the  country  generally  entertained,  there  seemed 
to  be  but  httle  disposition  among  the  people  for 
colonwmg  in  "  so  remote  and  uncultivated  a  part  of  the 
world,"  for  some  years. 

Some  feeble  attempts,  indeed,  were   made   by  the 
French  to  establish  plantations,  but  they  were  routed 
by  the  English  in  1613.     De  Monts,  findmg  St.  Croix, 
in  the  winter  of  1605,  intolerably  cold,  his   people 
suffering  so  much  from  the  scurvy  that  thirty-six  of 
them  died,  resolved  to  leave  with  the  remaining  forty, 
who  having  been  all  sick  yet  lingered,  and    seek  a 
comfortable  station  in  a  warmer  climate.     Sailing  along 
the  coast  of  Norombega, —  a  name  which  had  been 
given   by  some   European  adventurers  to  Penobscot 
Bay,  —  he  finally  came  to  Malebarre,  as  Cape  Cod  was 
then  called  by  the  French.     Discouraged  by  the  num- 
bers of  the  natives,  he  returned  to  Port  Eoyal,  pre- 
ferring safety  to  pleasure.     There  he  was  joined  by 
Dupont,  in  a  ship  from  France,  with  fresh  supplies,  and 
a  reenforcement  of  forty  men.     After  many  discourage- 
ments  and   adventures,  he,  in    the  summer  of  1G06, 
prevailed  on  Pourtrincourt  to  unite  with  him  in  another 
voyage    to    Cape    Malebarre.      Circun'^tances   led   De 
Monts  and  Dupont  to  return  to  France ;  but  Pourtrin- 
court, with  Champlain,  Champdore,  and  others,  made 
their  way  to   the  cape.     Here  they  were  entangled 
among  shoals,  as  soon  as  they  came  m  sight  of  the 
object  of  tlieir  voyage ;  their  rudder  was  broken,  and 
they  were  obliged  to  come  to  anchor  at  a  distance  of 


crew  which  landed — were  killed  in  the  affray.    Here  we  see  some  of  the 
fruits  of  the  perftdy  of  Hunt  and  others.    Life  of  Gorges.   Also  Prince, 
VOL.  I.  6 


vGooglc 


42  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE    COD. 

three  leagues  from  the  liind.  The  boat  was  then  sent 
ashore,  to  find  a  harbor  of  fresh  water,  which,  by  the 
kindly  information  of  one  of  the  natives,  was  aceom- 
phshed.  Fifteen  days  were  spent  in  this  place,  {probor 
bly  Monamoyick,  now  Chatham,)  during  which  time  a 
cross  was  erected,  and  possession  taken  for  the  King  of 
France.  When  the  bark  was  repau-ed  and  ready  to  sail, 
Pourtrincourt  took  a  walk  into  the  interior,  whilst  his 
people  were  engaged  in  baking  bread.  In  his  absence 
some  of  tlie  natives  had  visited  his  people,  and  a  hatchet 
was  missing ;  for  the  supposed  offence,  guns  had  been 
fired  at  the  natives,  and  they  had  fled.  On  Pourtrin- 
court's  return,  he  saw  several  parties  of  Indians,  male 
and  female,  engaged  in  carrying  away  their  cliildren  and 
tlieir  com.  As  he  and  his  company  passed,  they  hid 
themselves.  At  tliis  unusual  course  of  conduct  he  was 
alarmed  ;  but  much  more  so  when,  early  tlie  next  morn- 
ing, a  shower  of  arrows  fell  among  his  people,  killing 
two  of  them,  and  wounding  others:  The  Indians,  having 
taken  revenge,  fled.  It  was  useless  to  pursue  tliem. 
The  dead  were  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  cross ;  but 
whilst  the  funeral  service  was  being  performed,  the 
Indians  were  seen  dancing  and  yelling,  as  if  in  mock 
concert,  at  a  convenient  distance.  When  the  French 
had  retired  on  board  their  bark,  the  Indians  took  down 
the  cross,  and  dug  iip  the  dead  bodies,  stripping  them 
of  their  grave  clothes,  which  they  carried  aljout  in 
mock  triuinph. 

This  unhappy  quan-el  gave  Pourtrincourt  a  bad  idea 
of  the  natives.  He  attempted  to  pass  farther  around 
the  cape,  but  was  forced  back  by  contrary  winds  to  his 
former  harbor.  The  natives  now,  doubtless  feeling  that 
they  liad  enjoyed  ample  revenge  for  the  murderous 
indignity  inflicted  on  them,  seemed  pacifically  inclined, 


vGooglc 


ANSALa    OF   BAR^"STABLE   COLi_\TY.  43 

and  offered  to  trade;  whereupon  six  or  seven  of  them 
were  seized  by  the  French  and  put  to  deatli.  They 
again  left  the  harbor,  but  the  wind  was  yet  unfavor- 
able. At  the  distance  of  six  or  seven  leagues,  they 
discovered  an  island,  but  the  wind  would  not  permit 
them  to  approach  it ;  they  therefore  gave  it  the  name 
of  Douteuse,  or  Doubtful.  This  was  probably  either 
Nantucket,  or  Capawock,  now  called  Martha's  Vmeyard. 
To  the  harbor  where  he  lay  he  gave  the  name  of  Port 
Fortune.  With  his  wounded  men,  whose  lives  were 
considered  in  danger,  he  resolved  to  sail  for  Port  Royal 
at  once,  relinquishing  aU  hope  of  obtaining  any  better 
place  of  settlement. 

What  part  of  Cape  Cod  was  visited  by  IIudsos,  in 
1609,  it  is  impossible  to  say  ;  but  that,  when,  after  his 
second  voyage  in  behalf  of  English  adventurers,  to  find 
a  passage  to  India  by  the  north,  he  went  over  to 
Holland,  and  entered  into  the  service  of  the  Dutch, 
and  ilwir  Ea-st  India  Company  fitted  out  a  ship  for 
discovery,  and  put  liim  in  command,  he  discovered  Cape 
Cod,  and  landed  upon  it,  appears  from  the  journal  of 
the    voyage.^     Nor   can   we   assert    that    it  was  here 

1  Tlii^  Captain  IIikIsoii,  an  Englisliman,  now  in  tho  service  of  Ihe 
Dutuli.  on  Ins  vojagu  to  fliscover  a  north-vest  passage  to  India,  liiid, 
as  is  well  known,  discovered  that  noble  river  which  slill  hears  hia 
name;  and  there,  in  or  about  the  year  1614,  Dutch  adventurers  made 
permanent  settlements — one  at  Manhattan  Island,  where  the  city  of 
New  York  now  stands,  and  one  at  Albany.  The  country  was  called 
the  New  Netherlands,  and  the  settlement  on  Blanhattan  Island  was 
named  New  Amsterdam,  M'hieh  names  they  retained  until  the  con- 
quest of  the  country  by  the  English.  It  was  not  until  1664,  when 
Charles  II.  of  England,  being  at  war  with  the  Dutch,  gave  that  part 
of  the  countiT  to  hi«  brotlier,  the  Duke  of  Tork,  that  tjie  now  great 
n1ctrol)illi^  of  our  land  rpcfived  its  present  luunc,  which  was  given  in 
honor  of  ihe  duke. 


vGooglc 


44  TTIE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

that  lie  found  occasion  to  record  the  following 
incident;  indeed,  we  think  we  must  relinquish  the 
honor  of  having  the  Cape  considered  as  its  location ; 
but  in  his  journal ,  of  one  of  his  voyages,  written  by 
himself,  is  the  following:  "June  15.  This  morning 
one  of  our  company,  looking  overboard,  saw  a  mer- 
makl,  and  calling  up  some  of  tlie  company  to  see 
her,  one  more  came  up,  and  by  that  time  she  was  come 
close  to  the  ship's  side,  looking  earnestly  on  tlie  men. 
A  little  after,  a  sea  came  and  overturned  her.  From 
the  navel  upward,  her  back  and  breasts  were  like  a 
woman,  (as  they  say  who  saw  her ;)  her  body  as  big 
as  one  of  ua ;  her  skin  very  white ;  and  long  hair 
hanging  down  behind,  of  color  black.  In  her  going 
down,  they  saw  her  tail,  which  was  like  the  tail  of  a 
porpoise,  and  speckled  like  a  mackerel.  Then"  names 
that  saw  her  were  Thomas  Hilles  and  Eobert  Eayner."  ^ 
For  Cape  Cod,  we  have  not  the  honor  to  this  day  even. 
of  recording  a  visit  from  the  famous  "  sea  serpent" 
It  is  well  known  that  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  and 


^  Captain  Hudson  must  not,  however,  claim  for  Ms  men  alone  the 
honor  of  so  strange  a  sight;  for  another  claims  the  privilege  of  having 
seen  a  mermnid's  companion.  Tliomas  Glover,  who  puhlished,  in  the 
eleventh  volume  of  Transactions  of  the  Eoyal  Society,  an  account  of 
Virginia,  relates  that,  when  alone  in  a  sloop  on  the  Rappahannoc, 
three  leagues  from  the  mouth,  he  heai-d  •'  a  great  rushing  and  flashing 
of  the  ivater,"  and  that  looking,  he  saw  near  him  "  a  most  pi-odigioua 
creature,  much  resembling  a  man,  standing  right  up  in  the  water,  with 
hia  he  id  neck,  and  shoulders  breast  and  waist  to  the  cubits  of  his 
arms,  above  water  His  'ikm  was  tawny,  much  like  that  of  an 
Indian,  his  head  sleek  and  pjiamidal,  without  hair;  his  eyes  large 
and  black  and  to  i\ere  his  eyebrows;  his  mouth  very  wide,  with  a 
broad,  black  etre'^k  on  the  upppr  hp,  turning  upwards  at  each  end  like 
a  mustachios ,  his  countenance  grim  and  terrible."  Afier  gazing  a 
Buth  lent  time  at  Jli  Gl  ^\  ei  '  the  animal  plunged  down,  and  cast  his 
tail  ibove  \iat(,i  IiLl  the  n  1  of  i  fisli." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTY.  45 

Captain  John  Mason,  the  former  governor  of  Plym- 
outh, in  Devonshire,  had,  aided  by  Sir  John  Pop- 
ham  and  others,  spent  twenty  thousand  pounds  each 
in  attempts  for  a  settlement  on  the  Kennebec,  in  1607 
and  after,  and  were  compelled,  for  the  time  being,  to 
give  over  their  designs  and  submit  to  the  sacrifice. 

Thus  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  had  passed 
since  the  discovery  of  the  northern  continent  by  the 
Cabots,  without  any  demonstratedly  successful  attempt ; 
for  Jamestown,  although  already  in  its  infancy,  was 
yet  only  struggling  for  life.' 

It  is,  however, "  a  notable  fact,  whether  considered 
in  a  commercial,  pohtical,  or  scientific  point  of  view, 
that  the  cod  fishery  had  become  a  subject  of  deep, 
extensive,  and  uninterrupted  concern,  from  the  period 
immediately  subsequent  to  the  discovery  of  tliis  conti- 
nent, in  1497.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  in  England 
that  Cabot  found  these  northern  waters  were  the 
resorts  of  innumerable  fish,-  especially  *of  that  kind 
which  savages  called  iaccalos,'  —  i.  e.,  the  cod  fish, — 
the  adventurous  traders  and  mariners  of  England 
and  France  were  active  in  the  prosecution  of  fishing 
voyages  to  this  continent  The  statesman  began  to 
invoke  the  aid  of  the  highest  arts  of  diplomacy  to 
protect  the  rights  of  the  bold  fishermen,  and  the  lover 
of  natural  science  has  ever  since  contemplated  with 
admiration  the  innumerable  dwellers  in  the  great  deep, 
which  the  incessant  toil  of  man  has  not  exhausted."^ 

'  Virginia  was  given  by  patent  to  the  London  Company,  in  ]  COC. 
For  twenty  years  pvevious  to  tliis  time,  attempts  had  been  made  (o 
establish  a  colony  there.  The  first  permanent  colony  was  that  at 
Jamestown,  which  place  was  the  first  permanent  habitation  of  the 
English  in  America. 

^  Hon.  Francis  Erinley  to  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts,  18Ji. 


yGoogle 


THE    HISTORY    OF    CA 


CHAPTER    U. 


Prior  Discoi'eries,  and  Pramineiit  Theories  and  Reniiniacenees,  —  ColumbtiR, 
Amerieua  Vespucius,  De  la  Vega,  the  Cabots,  Willoughby,  Fi;obJsher,  Gil- 
bert, and  llalelgh,  —  The  Aiicleiits. 

It  ls  very  possible  that  the  rcfider  nifiy  iip|ireoia.te 
some    condensed    account  of  earlier  diacovcrica   than 
that  made  by  Gosnold  in  1602.     In  our  reniarkf^  hith- 
erto, we  have  felt  constrained  to  confine  our  pen  to 
those  things  only  whicli  relate  to,  or  are  of  interest 
as  connected  with,  the  subject  of  our  history.     But 
it  is   suggested   that,  since   so  large  a  proportion  of 
the    inhabitants   of  the  Cape    are   essentially  naviga- 
tors, it  may  be   interesting   to   them,  at   least,  e^cn 
were  they  clannish,  (which  they  are  not,  —  never  were 
a  people  less  so,  —  for  the  very  fact  that  they  are  called 
to  visit  all  climes,  and  are  much  of  their  life  in  distant 
lands,  tells  that  tliey  must,  of  all  men,  fi'om  the  very 
circumstances  of  the  case,  have  expanded  views  and  a 
feeling  of  common  brotherhood  with  all  people,)  to 
look  back  beyond  Gosnold's  time,  and  contemplate  the 
order  of  events.    And  it  may  be  well  asked,  In  wliiit 
district  of  this  continent  are  the  people  of  Cape  Cod 
not   domestically   interested?     Where   is   the    section 
of  our  common  country  in  which   the  vine  that  was 
planted  on  the  Cape  has  not  struck  it?  roots  ?    After 
having  travelled  extensively  through  the  almost  enth'e 
length  and  breadth  of  our  Union,  and  in  the  British 
Provinces,  the  T\Titer  has  never  found  any  poi^i+ion  of 
importance  whore  are  not  to  be  foiind  those  of  C;ipc 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BAKSSTABLE   COUNTY.  47 

Cod  origin.  He  has  been  impelled  to  the  conclusion, 
that,  after  all  that  may  be  found  here  to  endear  our 
birthplace  to  us,  it  is  emphatically  true,  without  the 
embellishments  of  poetic  license,  that 

"  Man  is  the  nobler  growth  our  soil  supplies ;  " 

and  that,  in  this  particular,  the  Cape  has  been  wonder- 
fully prolific.     Its  enterprise  is  every  where  felt. 

It  has  been  said  that  this  new  world  was  known, 
and  partly  inhabited  too,  by  Britons,  or  by  Saxons 
from  England,  some  hundreds  of  years  before  the  time 
of  the  Spaniards  coming  to  it ;  and  reference  is  made 
to  conferences  between  the  Mexicans  and  Spaniards  at 
the  Spaniards'  first  arrival,  as  well  as  to  the  relics,  and 
terms,  and  words,  which  were  found  existing  among 
the  Mexicans, —  and  also  to  Britain's  annals. 

True,  Christopher  Columbus,  the  Genoese,  has,  by 
general  agreement,  the  honor  of  being  the  first  Euro- 
pean that  opened  a  way  to  the  new  world,  in  1492 ; 
and  from  him  it  might  with  more  justice  have  received 
its  name  than  from  Aniericus  Vespucius,  the  Floren- 
tine, who,  iive  years  after  him,  in  1497,  explored  the 
southern  regions  of  the  continent.  Still,  De  la  Vega 
says  that  Sanchez,  a  native  of  Helva,  in  Spain,  had, 
before  the  time  of  Columbus,  explored  these  coasts, 
being  driven   hither  by  storm,  on   a  voyage   to   the 

Canaries,  and  that  he,  on  his  return,  gave  to  Columbus 

an  account  of  his  discoveries. 

The  two  Cabots,  in  the  employ  of  Henry  VII.,  did 

in  fact  discover  the  continent  in  1497,  whilst  the  main 

land  was  not  discovered  by  Columbus  until  1498. 

The  voyages  and  explorations  of  Willoughby,  Fro- 

bishcr,  Gilbert,  and  others,  besides  Raleigh,  and  their 


vGooglc 


40  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE    COD, 

attempts  to  settle  English  colonies  in  the  deserts  of 
Western  India,  are  a  matter  of  record. 

If  we  would  go  back  farther,  and  inquire  how 
America  came  first  to  be  peopled,  perhaps  the  DiscouiTses 
of  Homius,  De  Origiiie  Oe}itimn  Miericananmi,  or  Wood- 
ward's Natural  History  of  the  Earth,  and  other  similar 
works,  may  be  worthy  of  examination. 

We  must  be  content  ourseltj  however,  in  this  place, 
to  glean  a  few  fragments  of  hypotheses.  And  first,  tlie 
"  account  given  by  a  Eussian  who  had  been  an  officer 
of  prime  note  in  Siberia ;  says  he,  '  There  is  beyond 
the  Obi  a  great  river  called  Kawoina,  at  the  mouth 
whereof  discharging  itself  into  the  Frozen  Sea,  there 
stands  a  spacious  island,  very  well  peopled,  and  no  less 
considerable  for  hunting  an  animal  whose  teeth  are  in 
great  esteem.  The  inhabitants  go  frequently  upon  tlie 
side  of  the  Frozen  Sea  to  hunt  this  monster,  and 
because  it  requires  great  labor  with  assiduity,  they 
carry  their  families  usually  along  with  them.  Now,  it 
many  times  happens  that,  being  surprised  with  a  thaw, 
they  are  carried  away,  I  know  not  whither,  upon  huge 
pieces  of  ice  that  break  off  one  from  another.  For  iny 
part,  I  am  persuaded  that  several  of  those  hunters 
have  been  carried  upon  these  floating  pieces  of  ice  to 
the  most  nortliern  parts  of  America,  which  is  not  fiir 
from  that  part  of  Asia  that  jiits  out  mto  the  Sea  of 
Tartary.  And  that  which  confirais  me  in  this  opinion 
is  this  —  tliat  the  Americans  who  inhabit  that  country 
which  advances  farthest  towards  that  sea  have  the 
same  physiognomy  as  those  islanders.' "  Thus  tliu 
"  Vayode  of  Smotensko." 

Dr.  Belknap,  in  his  learned  Dissertation  on  the  Cir- 
cumnavigation of  Africa  by  the  ancients,  and  its  prob- 
able  consequences,  the    population  of  some   parts  of 


vGooglc 


AjSNALS    of   BAlfflSTABLE   COUSIT.  49 

America,  has  furnished  matter  for  reflection  and  much 

speculation  on  the  part  of  those  who  would  aim  to 

sol^e  this  difficult  question. 

This  much  is  conceded  :  the  first  navigators  of  whom 

we  have  an  account  were  the  Phoenicians,  scattered 
along  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Red  Sea. 
A  spirit  of  commerce  and  naval  enterprise  commenced 
with  them  and  the  Egyptians  as  early  as  two  thousand 
years  before  Christ.^  As  early  as  the  days  of  Moses, 
they  navigated  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  and  as  far 
north  as  Britam.  From  Britain  they  obtained  tin  and 
lead,''  which,  according  to  the  universal  testimony  of 
the  ancients,  were  not  then  found  in  any  other 
country. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  from  ancient  history,  that 

'  "  This  opened  the  way  for  the  Egyptian  colony  which  Cadmos 
led  into  Greece,  where,  in  about  three  hundred  years  after,  it  led  to 
the  expedition  of  the  Argonants  to  Colchis  in  quest  of  the  golden 
fleece,  which  opened  the  way  for  the  commerce  of  Gi-eece,  and  laid 
the  foundation  of  hei  fntnie  naval  glory.  The  ships  of  Greece  bore 
her  heroes  to  the  Troian  war,  in  the  year  of  the  world  2900.  About 
the  time  of  the  expedition  of  the  Argonauts,  it  extended  from  Phce- 
nicia  into  Africa,  and  the  shi[js  of  Tyre  planted  the  colony  of  Car- 
thage. In  about  fl\e  hundred  years  after  this,  it  extended  from  Troy 
into  Asia,  into  Euiope,  and  planted  the  Eoman  state ;  and  in  about 
five  hundred  yeai^  after  this,  it  opened  the  contest  for  the  Island  of 
Sicily,  between  the  rival  states  of  Carthage  and  Rome,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  naval  giory  of  Eome  and  her  future  conquests. 
During  this  long  period  of  naval  enterprise  and  adventure,  about 
eighteen  hundred  years,  open  boats,  or  galleys,  that  could  be  managed 
by  rowers  as  well  as  sails,  were  the  only  ships  known  or  in  use;  and 
ill  their  expeditions  were  conduLted  along  the  shores  of  such  seas  as 
they  e\plored,  without  daaing  to  lose  sight  of  land.  This  continued 
to  the  fiiit  of  the  fourteenth  ccnturv,  when  Goya  discovered  the 
secrets  of  magneliam,  and  taught  the  use  of  the  mariner's  compass." 
Butler's  United  States 
*  Numbeis  xxxi,  22 
VOL.  I.  7 


vGooglc 


50  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

Sesostris,  King  of  Egypt,  maintained  commercial  inter- 
course with  India  and  Ethiopia,  by  the  way  of  the  Eed 
Sea.  The  voyages  of  the  Phoeniciana  and  Hebrews  to 
Ophir,  in  the  time  of  Solomon,  were  at  least  circum- 
navigations of  Africa. 

The  earliest  account  of  any  voyage  recorded  in 
history  is  that  (given  by  Herodotas,  the  most  ancient 
of  historians,  the  sacred  writers  excepted)  performed 
by  order  of  Necho,  King  of  Egypt,  six  hundred  and 
sixteen  years  before  the  Christian  era.  The  voyage 
required  nearly  three  years,  which  was  also  the  time 
required  by  Solomon's  ships,  in  their  voyages  to  and 
from  Ophir.  Their  manner  was  to  go  on  shore,  in  the 
prosecution  of  these  voyages,  to  sow  the  corn  and 
gather  the  harvest  required  for  their  sustenance. 

The  progress  of  the  Phoenicians  and  Carthaginians 
in  liieir  knowledge  of  the  globe  was  not  dictated  by 
the  desire  of  commerce  merely,  but  to  discover  new 
countries,  and  to  explore  unknown  seas.  Tliesc  dis- 
coveries were  indeed  subservient  to  commerce  ;  for,  in 
the  reign  of  Solomon,  the  king's  ships,  witli  the  ser- 
vants of  Huram  and  the  navy  of  Tarsliish,  every  three 
years  brought  ivory,  silver,  and  the  gold  of  Ophir.^ 
The  prophet  Ezekiel,  who  was  contemporary  with  Necho, 
mentions,  in  his  account  of  tlie  merchandise  of  Tyre, 
ivory,  ebony,  and  the  persons  of  men,  evidently  desig- 
nating African  commodities.^  Some  idea  of  the  strength 
and  materials  of  the  ships  of  the  Tynans,  and  of  their 
seamanship,  may  be  gathered  from  Ezekiel's  apostrophe 
to  Tyrus :  "  They  have  made  all  thy  ship-boards  of 
fir  trees  of  Senir  ;  they  have  taken  cedars  of  Lebanon 
to  make  masts  for  thee ;  of  the  oaks  of  Bashan  they 


vGooglc 


ANSALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  51 

have  made  thine  oars.  Thy  wise  men,  0  Tyrus,  were 
tliy  pilots.  The  ancients  of  Gebal,  tlie  wise  men 
thereof,  were  thy  calkers." 

Of  the  voyage  of  "  Sataspes,  the  man  of  the  Achje- 
menides,"  much  has  been  said ;  but  that  such  a  voyage 
was  undertaken,  with  the  consent  of  Xerxes,  about 
five  hundred  years  before  Chr^t,  there  can  be  httle 
doubt;  nor  that  the  circnmnavigation  of  the  African 
continent  was  tlien  already  demonstratecl  a  practical 
thing. 

Of  the  voyages  mentioned  by  Pliny,  that  of  Hanno, 
the  Carthaginian,  is  best  authenticated,  who  sailed  from 
Carthage  with  sixty  galleys,  each  carrying  fifty  oars, 
having  on  board  tliirty  thousand  men  and  women,  with 
provisions  and  articles  of  traffic,  on  a  colonizing  expe- 
dition to  the  western  coast  of  Africa. 

The  fact  of  the  circumnavigation  of  Africa  by  the 
Phoenicians  and  Egyptians  appears  to  be  clearly  proved 
by  ancient  history,  as  also  by  confirmatory  discoveries 
reserved  for  the  fifteenth  century.  TIaese  voyages, 
together  with  those  of  the  Carthaginians,  have  sug- 
gested to  many  minds  the  thought  that  portions  of  the 
American  continent  may  have  been  peopled  from 
beyond  the  Atlantic. 

The  discovery  of  the  Canary  Isles  by  the  Cartha- 
ginians is  a  fact  well  attested.  Pliny  speaks  of  them 
as  then  destitute  of  inhabitants,  but  containing  vestigia 
cedificwrmn  —  the  remains  of  buildings.  They  must 
then  have  been  inhabited  before  the  Carthaginian 
discovery.  In  Plutarch's  time,  the  Fortunate  Islands 
were  not  only  inhabited,  but  were  celebrated  for  then- 
fertility.  But  when  Madeira  and  Porto  Santo  were 
discovered  by  the  Normans  and  Portuguese,  both  were 
uninhabited. 


vGooglc 


52  THE   inSTOBY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

A  question,  hence,  has  ai-isen :  if  these  isLands  were 
some  time  inhabited,  and  then  deserted,  what  became 
of  the  inhabitants?  Glas,  in  hia  history  of  these 
islands,  in  1764,  refers  to  the  fact  that  two  thirds  of  the 
Canary  Isles  are  covered  with  calcined  roclis,  pumice, 
and  black  ashes,  formerly  thrown  from  volcanoes.  He 
supposes  that  some  of  the  inhabitants  may  have  been 
destroyed  by  these  eruptions,  and  othera  may  have 
abandoned  the  country  to  go  in  quest  of  more  secure 
habitations.  It  has  been  asserted  by  some  that  they 
passed  over  to  America. 

Again,  it  has  been  supposed  that  ancient  navigators 
may  have  been  driven  by  currents  and  tempests  to  the 
westward,  and  thus  brought  to  the  continent  or  islands 
of  America  —  in  confirmation  of  which  many  such 
cases  of  more  modem  date  may  be  adduced,  as  also 
such  facts  as  that  mentioned  by  Herrera,  the  Spanish 
historian,  of  Columbus  having  found  parfe  of  vessels  at 
the  Island  of  Guadaloupe. 

In  the  class  of  fortuitous  visits  to  America  is  men- 
tioned the  fact  that  Vasco  Nunez  met  "vvitli  a  colony  of 
negroes  in  the  Gulf  of  Darien,  who  seemed  not  long  to 
have  been  planted  there,  and  which  "  must  have  come 
in  canoes." 

Cabral,  the  Portuguese,  in  1500,  in  a  voyage  to  India, 
to  his  surprise  found  himself  ashore  in  an  unknown 
country,  which  proved  to  be  the  coast  of  Brazil. 

Numerous  instances  might  be  named  illustrative  of 
the  manner  in  which  America  may  have  proved  an 
asylum  to  ancient  navigators.  That  the  continent  was 
peopled  in  part  by  Phoenicians,  has  been  ably  main- 
tained by  many. 

The  idea  that  the  Indian,  or  red  man.  was  the  most 
ancient   or  original   mun    in   America   is    uol   clearly 


vGooglc 


ANXALS   OF   BARXSTABLE   COUNTY.  Oci 

demonstrated ;  neither  is  the  assertion  made  clear  that 
these  men  were  eveiy  where  of  the  same  race  or 
people.  That  the  Indians  of  America  belonged  to  the 
same  general  family,  may  be  very  probable;  and  the 
attempts  made  to  trace  tlieir  connection  with  the  most 
ancient  nation  in  Asia  are  not  without  tlie  appearance 
of  great  probability.  It  is  asserted  that  the  Hindoos 
were  the  Indians  of  Asia.  Again,  it  is  stated  that  the 
American  Indians  bear  much  resemblance  to  another  of 
the  nations  of  Asia  —  the  Tartars.  The  Tartars,  join- 
ing upon  India,  spread  over  the  northern  parts  of  Asia, 
and  extended  to  the  eastern  coasts  of  the  Pacific.  In 
Peru,  it  is  said,  were  found  relics  of  Chinese  customs 
and  manners.  So  that  the  conclusion  of  many  has 
been,  that,  though  the  red  man  of  America  was  of  the 
same  origin  with  the  red  man  of  Asia,  tlieir  descent 
was  not  from  any  particular  nation,  but  from  several 
on  the  eastern  continent 

No  insuperable  difficulty  attends  the  idea  of  such 
emigrations.  The  continents  of  Asia  and  America 
approach  so  nearly  to  each  other,  that  at  no  time 
within  the  period  of  history  was  the  navigation  of  the 
rudest  tribes  unequal  to  the  passage.  Nor  is  it  im- 
probahle  even  that  the  red  man  might  have  found 
a  passage  to  this  continent  altogether  by  navigation. 
The  Malayans  possessed  in  former  times  much  the 
largest  trade  of  the  Indies,  and  their  ships  visited  not 
only  all  the  coasts  of  Asia,  but  those  of  Africa,  pai'- 
ticularly  Madagascar,  and  even  extended  their  voyages 
and  migrations  to  the  Marquesas  and  Easter  Islands  — 
a  space  including  nearly  one  half  the  circumference  of 
the  globe.  It  has  been  regarded  as  highly  probable, 
that  the  same  people  who  spread  over  the  islands  in 
the  Pacific  at  times  arrived  on  the  western  shores  of 


vGooglc 


54  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

this  continent.  In  both  ways  might  people  from  dif- 
fere:it  nations  in  Asia  find  a  passage  to  America,  and  at 
very  different  periods  of  time. 

The  Esquimanx,  differing  in  many  respects  from  the 
red  men,  were  early  spread  over  the  most  northern 
parts  of  America.  Their  migrations  had  extended  to 
Norton's  Sound,  Oonalashka,  and  Prince  "William's  Somid, 
fifteen  hmidred  leagues  from  their  stations  in  Greenland 
and  Labrador;  and  their  appearance,  it  is  shown,  de- 
notes them  to  be  the  same  with  the  Laplanders,  the 
Zemblans,  the  Samojeds,  and  the  Tai'tars,  in  the  East. 
The  passage  from  the  northern  parts  of  Europe  to 
America  was  certainly  an  easy  one  at  a  very  early 
period.  The  voyage  from  Norway  to  Iceland,  and  from 
Iceland  to  Greenland  or  the  coast  of  Labrador,  was 
practised  from  the  earliest  times  of  which  we  have  any 
account.  None  doubt  that  in  the  ninth  century  the 
Norwegians  bad  planted  and  settled  their  colonies  in 
Greenland;^  and  it  is  confidently  asserted  that  the 

^  The  ancient  inhaliifanls  of  Norway  and  Drnmark  were  dis- 
tinguiJjhed  by  the  name  of  Normans.  Their  situalion  near  the  sea 
coast,  and  the  advanlages  presented  by  the  sea  oyer  a  rough  soil  and 
cold  climate,  led  thpm  at  an  early  period  to  the  science  and  practice 
of  navigation.  They  built  their  vessels  with  the  best  of  oak,  and 
constructed  them  in  such  a  manner  aa  to  encounter  the  storms  and 
billows  of  tie  northern  ocean.  They  covered  them  with  decks,  and 
furnished  them  with  high  forecastles  and  stems.  About  the  end  of 
the  eighth  century,  the  Normans  began  to  make  themselves  dis- 
tinguished by  their  predatory  exouvsioni.  In  tiie  year  861,  they 
discovered  Iceland,  and  soon  had  a  colony  there.  In  889.  Greenland 
was  likewise  an  object  of  attention.  Bivon,  an  Icelander,  made 
voyages  every  year  to  different  conntries  for  trafRc.  There  cannot 
be  much  doubt  that  in  1002  they  were  in  Newfoundland,  where  were 
already  a  people  whom,  from  their  diminutive  size,  they  denominated 
ahrmlings,  or  dwarfs.  In  subsequent  voy^es  it  is  supposed  that 
they  visited  different  parts  of  the  New  England  coast.    It  is  thought 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BARSSTABLE   COUNTY.  55 

Esquimaux  were  derived  from  the  same  people  in  the 
north-west  parts  of  Europe,  and  that  their  descent 
must  have  been  from  the  Tartars  of  Asia,  from  whom 
the  Laplanders,  in  the  north-west  parts  of  Europe, 
originated.  That  all  the  present  inhabitants  of  the 
earth  are  derived  from  the  race  of  Adam,  is  generally 
regarded  an  established  fact ;  and  that  the  Esquimaux 
and  the  Indians  were  both  descended  from  the  men  of 
Asia,  it  is  easy  to  imagine,  although  the  demonstration 
may  be  more  difficuli  The  peoples  found  in  America, 
in  whatever  part,  or  of  whatever  name,  were  not  more 
distinguished  by  differences  of  complexion,  stature, 
features,  customs,  or  peculiarities  of  any  kind,  than 
the  inhabitants  of  other  parts  of  the  globe.  "Wlietlier 
these  differences  were  originally  caused  by  climate, 
manner  of  life,  or  other  circumstances,  this  one  tiling 
seems  to  be  generally  conceded — the  inhabitants  were 
not  of  a  different  primary  origin  or  location. 

by  some  highly  prohaMe  that  they  spent  a  s-hort  soneon  at 
tile  head  of  Narraganset  Bay:  and  the  inscription  on  the  rnck  at 
Dight«n  is  believed  to  corroborate  the  hypothesis.  A  discoveiy  of 
more  recent  date,  on  an  island  near  the  shores  of  Maine,  gives  addi- 
tional plausibility  to  tlie  theory  that  the  cnasts  of  North  America 
were  visited  by  Northmen  some  centuries  before  natives  of  England 
or  France  came  hither.  On  a  small  island  near  Monhegan  was 
found,  in  1808,  a  curious  inscription,  made  on  the  side  of  a  rock.  On 
the  top  of  the  rock  were  found  three  holes  perforated,  about  one  foot 
apart,  as  if  to  accommodate  a  tripod.  The  characters  oa  the  side 
are  eighteen  in  number,  and  that  accomplished  Oriental  scholar.  Dr. 
Jenks,  has  pronounced  them  Runic  in  their  origin.  In  18Si,  in 
dicing  down  a  hill  in  the  vicinity  of  Fall  River,  and  not  fai'  remote 
from  the  Dighton  rock,  a  human  skeleton  wa't  exhumed  in  a  remark- 
able state  of  preservation,  under  the  envelopments  of  which  was  a 
breastplate  of  brass,  a  belt  composed  of  brass  tubes,  and  brass  aiTows 
in  a  sort  of  quiver.  The.  skeleton  and  appendages  had  no  resem- 
blance to  that  of  the  Indian  relics,  but  rather  to  drawings  taken 
from  Talenque. 


yGoogle 


56  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

That  Indians  scattered  through  the  continent  should 
have  formed  themselves  into  distmct  tribes,  was  a 
natural  consequence  of  their  position ;  and  tliat,  sub- 
sisting long  in  tribal  forms  as  a  distinct  people,  they 
should  have  at  length  acquired  distinct  dialects,  was 
also  natural.  It  has  been  asserted,  with  much  show  of 
plausibility  certainly,  that  there  are  circumstances 
seeming  to  claim  for  them  an  antiquity  fully  equal  to 
that  of  any  of  the  nations  of  the  other  hemisphere. 

But  we  must  not  prolong  these  desultory  reminis- 
cences and  speculations.  There  is  much  in  regard  to 
the  whole  subject  that  must,  probably,  ever  remain  a 
mystery. 

Still,  we  may  be  pardoned,  if  we  remind  the  reader 
of  Hakluyt's  account  of  Madoc,  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
who,  in  1170,  discovered  a  new  country  in  the  west, 
which  has  been  supposed  to  be  America,  and  who 
brought  a  colony  of  his  countrymen  to  the  newly- 
discovered  land  long  before  the  days  of  Columbus : 
"After  the  death  of  Owen  Gwynneth,  his  sons  fell  at 
debate  who  should  inherit  after  him.  For,  the  eldest 
son  bom  ni  matrimony,  Edwai'd  or  Torweth  Drwydion, 
was  counted  unmeet  to  govern,  because  of  the  maime 
upon  his  face ;  and  Howel,  that  took  upon  him  all  the 
rule,  was  a  base  son,  begotten  of  an  Irish  woman. 
Therefore  David  gathered  all  the  power  he  could,  and 
came  against  Howel,  and  fighting  with  him,  slew  him ; 
and  afterward  enjoyed  quietly  the  whole  land  of  North 
Wales,  until  his  brother  Torweth's  son  came  to  age. 
Madoc,  another  of  Owen  Gwynneth  his  sons,  left  the 
land  in  contention  between  his  brethren,  and  prepared 
certain  ships  with  men  and  munition,  and  sought 
adventures  by  sea,  sailing  west,  and  leaving  the  coast 
of  Ireland  so  far  north  tliat  he  came  to  a  land  unknown, 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARKSTABLE   COUNTY.  57 

where  ho  saw  many  strange  thhigs.  ,  .  .  He  left 
most  of  his  people  in  that  western  country,  and 
retm'ning  back  for  more,  went  again  with  ten  sails." 
Whether  the  destination  of  Madoc  was  Mexico,  the 
West  Indies,  North  Carolina,  the  Mississippi,  Nova 
Scotia,  Madeira,  the  Azores,  or  elsewhere,  has  long  been 
matter  of  speculation,  and  must,  for  aught  that  we  see, 
always  remain  in  uncertainty.  Respecting  all  the 
hypotheses  that  have  been  started,  we  are  at  best 
compelled  to  adopt  in  effect  the  opinion  expressed  by 
Bancroft,  when  speaking  of  the  traditions  respecting 
the  "  Northmen : "  "  The  story  of  the  colonization  of 
America  thus  rests  on  narratives  mythological  in  form 
and  obscure  in  meaning  —  ancient,  yet  not  contem- 
porary." 

We  must  not,  however,  conclude  this  part  of  our 
subject,  without  giving  the  reader  the  benefit  of  the 
novel  mode  hit  upon  by  the  learned  Dr.  Mather  to 
settle  the  knotty  point  which  has  puzzled  so  many 
theorists.  Whilst  some  have  ascribed  the  original 
peopling  of  America  to  the  remnants  of  the  antedilu- 
vian inhabitants  escaped  from  the  general  deluge; 
some  to  a  band  of  emigrants  from  the  old  world  soon 
after  the  dispersion  of  the  grandsons  of  Noah ;  some 
to  the  Japanese,  by  way  of  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  some  to 
tlie  Carthaginians,  by  way  of  the  Atlantic ;  some  attrib- 
uting the  result  to  the  Greeks;  some  to  the  Jews; 
some  saying  that  the  original  inhabitants  came  from 
the  noi-th-east  coasts  of  Asia;  some,  that  they  migrated 
from  the  north-west  shores  of  Europe;  others,  that, 
during  the  three  years'  voyage  of  the  Tyrian  fleet  sent 
by  King  Solomon  in  search  of  elephants'  teeth  and 
peacocks'  tails,  the  Phoenicians  proved  to  be  the  for- 
tunate discoverers;  —  in  short,  Phcenicians,  Scythians, 
VOL.  I.  8 


vGooglc 


58  THE   HISTORY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

Tartars,  Chinese,  Spaniards,  Swedes,  Norwegians,  Welsh, 
all  have  their  advocates;  —  Dr.  Mather  most  adroitly 
cuts  tlic  gordian  knot  at  once :  he  says,  "  The  natives 
of  the  country  had  been  forlorn  and  -vvretchecl  heathen 
ever  since  their  first  landing  here ;  and  though  we 
know  not  when  or  how  they  first  became  inhabitants 
of  this  mighty  continent,  yet  we  may  giiess  that  probably 
the  devil  decoyed  these  miserable  salvages  hither,  in 
hopes  that  the  gospel  should  never  come  here  to 
destroy  or  disturb  his  absolute  empu-e  over  them.  But 
our  Eliot  was  on  such  ill  terms  with  the  devil  as  to 
alarm  him"  (miim  ^eKefl^is/)  "with  sounding  the  silver 
trumpets  of  heaven  in  his  territories,  and  make  some 
noble  and  zealous  attempts  towards  ousting  him  of  his 
ancient  possessions  here.  There  were,  I  think,  twenty 
several  nations  of  Indiana  upon  this  spot  of  ground, 
and  our  Eliot  was  willing  to  rescue  as  many  of  them 
as  he  could  from  the  old  usurping  landlord  of  Amer- 
ica." ^  After  so  hicid  an  hypothesis,  all  further  specula- 
tion mast  end. 

^  See  Mafhei's  Magnah'a.-vol  ii  part  3d.  And  yet  even  Eliot  was 
punished  by  the  roAgistratea  for  censuring  their  treatment  of  the 
Indians'  Both  he  and  the  zealoDS  Gookin  were  "threatened,  and 
dare  not  for  lome  time  leave  their  houses,  or  go  into  the  street."  We 
are  told  that  such  was  "  the  rage  of  the  people,  that  the  governor  of 
Massachusetts  gratified  them  with  a  victim :  an  Indian  was  executed." 
BancToft  and  others. 


vGooglc 


ASKAL8   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUXTY. 


CHAPTER    III. 

The  Assay  of  the  Leyden  Pilgrims  at  a  Settlement,  and  tlieir  Anival  at 
Cape  Cod.  — The  Compact.  —  Election  of  Governor. —First  CSiristian 
Sabbath. 

It  was  reserved  for  the  company  who,  in  1G08,  had 
removed  to  Amsterdam,  in  Holland,  and  thence  to  Ley- 
den,  to  accomplish  the  result  in  New  England.  These 
began,  in  1617,  to  meditate  a  removal  to  some  new 
country,  notwithstanding  the  discouragements  of  for- 
mer attempts.  Wliether  to  go  to  Guiana,  tlie  fame  of 
which  had  about  this  time  spread  abroad,  through  the 
influence  of  Sir  "Walter  Raleigh,  or  to  Virginia,  was  the 
question ;  but  the  idea  of  a  settlement  in  a  new  coun- 
try somewhere,  was  seriously  entertained.  Their  neigh- 
bors, the  Dutch,  labored  to  persuade  them  to  go  to 
Hudson's  River,  and  settle  under  the  patronage  of  the 
"West  India  Company.  But  having  a  decided  prefer- 
ence for  the  government  and  protection  of  England, 
they  finally  applied  to  the  Virginia  Company  for  a 
patent.' 

The  Virginia  Company  favored  the  application ;  but 
various  causes  combined  to  postpone  final  action  until 
the  latter  part  of  the  year  1619,  when,  eminent  mer- 
chants of  London  engaging  to  adventure  their  capital 
in  the  enterprise,  the  necessary  preparations  were 
made,  and  the  July  of  1620  found  the  first  company 
of  emigrants  at  Southampton  waiting  to  embark  on 

^  Mr.  Bradford  and  Mt.  Cusliman  were  sent  aa  agents  to  London, 
to  agroa  with  llie  Company. 


yGoogle 


60  THE  HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

board  of  the  two  ships,  the  Speedwell  and  the  May- 
flower, that  were  being  made  ready  to  receive  them. 

Thus,  after  residing  in  Holland  twelve  years,  they 
sailed,  August  6,  the  whole  number  of  emigrants  being 
one  hundred  and  twenty.  Still,  disappointments  must 
needs  await  them.  They  were  obliged  to  put  into 
Dartmouth  for  repairs  August  13,  one  of  the  vessels 
proving  leaky.  Putting  to  sea  again  August  21,  the 
same  cause  compelled  them  to  put  back  again  to  Plym- 
outh, and  leave  one  of  their  ships,  the  Speedwell,  Rey- 
nolds master,  which  was  pronounced  unfit  for  the 
voyage.  The  number  of  emigrants  was  also  diminished 
by  the  lessened  accommodations.  Sailing  again  from 
Plymouth,  England,  September  6,  in  the  Mayflower, 
Jones,  with  one  hundred  and  one  passengers,  intending 
to  go  to  what  was  known  as  Virginia,  or  the  coast  at  or 
near  the  Hudson  River,  they  found  themselves, "  after 
many  boisterous  storms,  in  which  they  could  bear 
no  sail,  but  were  forced  to  lie  at  hull  for  many  days 
together,"  carried  so  far  northward  that,  November  9, 
they  fell  in  with  Cape  Cod,'  "  the  which  being  made, 
and  certainly  known  to  be  it,  they  were  not  a  little 
joyful."  After  taclcing,  and  bearing  south  a  while,  they 
became  discouraged,  changed  their  course  again,  doubled 
the  Cape,  and  finally  entered  and  came  to  anchor  in 
Cape  Cod  harbor,  November  11, 1620. 

After  their  first  making  the  Cape,  they  had  still  hoped 
to  find  some  place  about  Hudson  River  for  a  settlement ; 
but  sailing  in  its  direction  about  half  a  day,  they  fell  in 
among  roaring  shoals  and  breakers,  and  seemed  to  be 
in  great  danger.  These  shoals  were  the  same  tljat 
Captain  Gosnold  had  encountered,  and  which  led  him 


vGooglc 


A^'^^VLS  of  earsstacle  couxty.  G1 

to  call  the  land  Point  Care,  and  the  shoals  Tucker's 
Terror ;  and  ■which  the  French  and  Dutch  ciilled  Mai- 
ebarre/ 

The  fact  was,  the  Dutch  themselves  had  at  this  time 
an  eye  upon  the  place  of  the  Mayflower's  supposed 
destination,  intending  themselves  to  settle  a  plantation 
on  tlie  Hudson,  and,  it  is  alleged,  had  bribed  the  pilot." 
We  confess  that  we  attach  but  little  importance  to  this 
story  of  tlie  bribery  of  the  Dutch  captaiUj  for  circum- 
stances combine  to  favor  a  different  view.  "We  are 
rather  disposed  lo  cherish  the  faith  which  teaches  that 
it  was  an  overriding  power  that  delayed  tlie  Pilgrims 
so  long  on  their  voyage,  and  determined  their  approach, 
after  the  severities  of  winter  had  begun,  to  a  l^loak 
shore,  creating  a  necessity  to  land. 

They  were,  of  course,  disappointed  at  finding  them- 
selves at  a  point  so  remote  from  the  object  of  their 
intention ;  but  it  was  already  late  in  the  season,  and 
the  fatigues  of  the  voyage  had  been  too  severe  to  allovv' 
them  to  think  of  putting  to  sea  again,'  Tlie  weatiier 
had  been  unfavoral:ile  during  the  whole  voyage ;  the 


Cliatliam. 

^  The  Dutch  West  Intlia  Company,  it  is  asserteil,  -sviio  wouH  have 
been  quite  willing  to  have  had  them  settle  in  some  of  their  colonies, 
ascertaining  that  they  would  continue  iheir  allegiance  to  England, 
ivere  apprehensive  of  the  conseqnences  of  their  settlement  on  the 
Hudson ;  for  the  title  to  the  river  and  adjacent  country  wa^  as  yet 
unsettled  between  England  and  Holland. 

"  "  Tljey  had,  by  their  agents,  negotiated  with  the  South  Virginia 
Company,  and  obtained  permission  to  transpovt  themselres  to  America, 
within  their  limits."  Failing  to  obtain  all  that  indulfrence  they  de- 
sired from,  the  crown,  under  hand  and  seal,  still  they  were  content 
that  it  Iiad  been  declared,  that  "the  king  would  connive  at  them,  pro- 
vided they  behaved  peaceably."  So,  "  castin^v  themselves  on  the  care 
of  divine  Providence,  they  ventured  to  Ameriea." 


yGoogle 


62  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

ship  was  leaky,  and  the  people  almost  constantly  wet. 
One  young  man  had  died  at  sea,  and  one  child  had 
been  born. 

Arrived  at  their  anchorage  in  Cape  Cod  harbor,  they 
seem  to  have  felt,  as  many  a  tempest-tossed  mariner 
has  often  felt  since,  that  they  were  in  good  quarters. 
It "  is  a  good  harbor  and  pleasant  bay,  circled  round, 
except  in  the  entrance,  which  is  about  four  miles  over 
from  land  to  land,  and  compassed  about  to  the  very  sea 
with  oaks,  pines,  juniper,  sassafras,  and  other  sweet 
wood.^  It  is  a  harbor  wherein  a  thousand  sail  of  ships 
may  safely  ride.  There  we  relieved  ourselves  with 
wood  and  water,  and  refreshed  our  people,  while  our 
shallop  was  fitted  to  coast  the  bay  to  search  for  a  hab- 
itation.^ There  was  the  greatest  store  of  fowl  that  we 
ever  saw.  And  every  day  we  saw  whales  playing  hard 
by  us,  of  which,  in  that  place,  if  we  had  instruments 
and  means  to  take  them,  we  might  have  made  a  very 
rich  return,  which,  to  our  great  grief,  we  wanted.  Our 
master  and  his  mate,  and  others  experienced  in  fishing, 
professed  we  might  have  made  three  or  four  thousand 
pounds'  worth  of  oU,  They  preferred  it  to  Greenland 
whale  fishing.  For  cod  we  assayed,  but  found  none ; 
there  is  good  store,  no  doubt,  in  their  season.  Neither 
got  we  any  fish  all  the  time  we  lay  there,  but  some  few 


^  That  this  harbor  was  once  thickly  skirted  by  a  heavy  growtb  of 
wood,  is  evident  from  the  stumps  still  remdning  one  hundred  yeai-3 
ago,  (see  Mass.  Mag.  vol.  iii.  p.  150,)  and  from  the  name  Wood  End. 
As  late  as  the  year  1740,  there  were  oats  in  the  woods  north-west  of 
East  Harbor.     Mass.  But.  OoR.  yiii.  p.  204. 

^  On  the  day  of  their  arrival,  they  landed  sisteen  men,  headed  by 
Captain  Miles  Standish,  and  well  aimed,  to  procure  wood  and  recon- 
noitre the  place.  They  ako  immediately  commenced  repairing  their 
shallop;  that  they  might  explore  the  harbor  and  tlie  shores. 


yGoogle 


AKX.U.8   OF   BARNBTAliLG   COUKTT.  63 

little  ones  on  the  shore.  We  found  great  muscles,  and 
very  fat  and  fuU  of  sea  pearl/  .  .  .  The  bay  is  so 
roimd  and  circling,  that  before  we  could  come  to  an- 
chor, we  went  round  all  the  points  of  the  compass."  ^ 

The  permission  from  the  Virginia  Company  was  of 
no  use  to  them  here  ;  and  having  neither  autliority  nor 
form  of  government,  they  felt  themselves  obliged,  for 
the  sake  of  order,  to  -form  themselves  into  a  body  pol- 
itic, by  a  written  instrument,  before  disembarking.^ 

Their  first  act  after  their  arrival  (to  their  honor  be  it 
said)  was  to  "  fall  on  their  knees  and  offer  thanksgivings 
to  God,  who  had  brought  them  safe,  and  delivered  them 
from  so  many  perils."  Had  all  the  company  been  mem- 
bers of  the  Leyden  congregation,  it  is  possible  they 
might  have  relied  on  the  rectitude  of  each  and  all, 
without  resort  to  aiiy  procedure  that  imposed  restraints. 
But  their  servants  were  not  of  this  number,  and  insub- 
ordination might  arise.  Therefore,  after  solemnly  in- 
voking tlie  throne  of  grace,  it  was  proposed  that  forty- 

^  "  Though  muscles  are  found  in  Cape  Cod  harbor,  yet  the  sea  clam, 
or  hen,  seems  to  be  meant."  Hist.  Coll. — The  narrative  says,  "We 
coald  not  eat  tliem,  for  they  made  us  all  sick  that  did  eat,  as  well  sail- 
ors as  passengers.  They  caused  us  to  cast  and  scour ;  but  we  were 
soon  well  again."  Purckas.  —  The  sea  clam  is  a  ';h(,ll  fi=h  that  the 
epicure  might  covet;  but  there  is  a  part  of  it  ali^ays  to  be  rcitelcd. 
If  this  be  not  understood,  and  that  part  be  retained,  fcuch  effects  may 
be  expected  to  follow. 

^  The  narrative  continues,  "We  could  not  come  nuir  the  shoif  by 
three  quarters  of  an  Enghsh  mile,  because  of  shallow  natei,  which 
was  a  great  prejudice  to  us;  for  our  people  gomg  on  =hoie  vieie 
forced  to  wade  a  bow-shot  or  two  in  gomg  a  land,  which  caused  many 
to  get  colds  and  coughs ;  for  it  was,  many  times,  freezing  w  eather  " 

*  "  They  were,  in  a  sort,  reduced  to  a  state  of  nature  ,  and  'mme  of 
the  strangers  received  in  London  dropping  some  mutinou'*  spcpche",  as 
if  there  were  now  no  authority  over  them,  this  people  before  they 
land'^d,  H-ifcly  foi-med  them-ielvcs  in!o  T  hndi  ]  olitif  '     Pi  me 


vGooglc 


(54  THE   HIST02Y    OP   CAPE   COD. 

one  persons,  including  all  the  male  emigrants  of  age, 
should  subscribe  the  following  compact,  as  tlie  basis  of 
their  government : '  — 

**  In  the  name  of  God,  amen.  We  whose  names  are 
underwritten,  the  loyal  subjects  of  otir  dread  sovereign 
lord,  King  James,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  Ireland,  king,  defender  of  the  faith,  &c., 
having  imdertaken  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  advance- 
ment of  the  Christian  faith,  and  honor  of  our  king  and 
country,  a  voyage  to  plant  the  first  colony  in  the  north- 
ern parts  of  Virginia,  do,  by  these  presents,  solemnly 
and  mutually,  in  the  presence  of  God  and  of  one  an- 
other, covenant  and  combine  ourselves  together  into  a 
civil  body  politic,  for  our  better  ordering  and  preserva- 
tion, and  furtherance  of  the  ends  aforesaid ;  and  by 
virtue  hereof,  do  enact,  constitute,  and  frame  such  just 
and  equal  laws,  ordinances,  acts,  constitutions,  and  of> 
fices,  from  time  to  time,  as  shall  be  thought  most  meet 
and  convenient  for  the  general  good  of  the  colony, 
unto  which  we  promise  all  due  submission  and  obe- 
dience. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunder  subscribed 
our  names,  at  Cape  Cod,  the  11th  day  of  November,  in 
the  year  of  the  reign  of  our  sovereign  lord,  King  James, 
of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  the  eighteenth,  and  of 
Scotland  the  fifty-fourth,  anno  Domini  1620." 

'  "  This  day,  before  we  came  to  liarbor,  observing  some  not  iveU 
affected  to  unity  and  concord,  but  gave  some  appearance  of  faction,  it 
was  thought  good  that  there  should  be  an  association,  and  ogroement 
that  we  should  combine  together  in  one  body,  aad  to  submit  to  such 
government  and  governors  as  we  should  by  common  consent  agree  to 
make  and  choose,  and  set  our  hands  to  this  that  follows,  word  for 
word."     Mourt's  Eelation, 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


This  compact  was  agreed  to,  and  subscribed  in  the 
following  order : '  — 


,  Mr.  John  Carver,*  ....  8 
.  Mr.  William  Bradford,*  .  2 
.  Mr.  Edward  Winslow,*  .  5 
:.  Mr.  William  Brewster,*  .  6 
:  Mr,  Isaac  Allerton,*  ...  6 
!.  Capt.  Miles  Standish,*  .  .  2 

'.  John  Alden, 1 

i.  Mr.  Samuel  Fuller,.  ...  2 
).  Mr.  Ohristopker  Martin,*  4 
).  Mr.  Williain  Mullens,*  .  .  5 
I.  Mr.  William  White,*  ...  5 
I.  Mr.  Richard  "Warren, ...  1 
5.  John  Howland,^ 

1.  Edward  Fuller* S 

2.  John  Turner, 3 

3.  Francis  Eaton,* 3 

4.  James  Chilton,* 3 

5.  John  Crae&sSon, 2 

6.  John  Eillinglon,* 4 

:7.  Moses  Fletcher, 1 

18.  John  Goodman, 1 

19,  Degory  Priest, 1 


.  JJiomas  Williams,  .  . 
■  Gilbert  Winslow, .  .  . 
.  Edmund  Margeson, .  . 

.  Peter  Brown, 

.  Richard  Butteridge,    . 

I.  George  Soule,^ 

b.  Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins,*.  .  8 

;.  Edward  TUley,* 4 

i.  John  TiUey,* 3 

'.  Francis  Coohe 2 

),  TTiomas  Sobers, 2 

),  2%omas  Tinier,* 8 

),  Jolai  Sidffdale,* 2 

3.  Richard  Clarke, 1 

7.  Richard  Gardiner,   .  .  .  .  1 
3.  John  AUerton,' I 


.  Edward  Dotey,* 
.  Edward  Leister.* 


The  Hon.  Francis  Baylies,  in  his  History  of  New 
Plymouth,  says,  "  Tliis  brief,  comprehensive,  and  simple 
instrument  established  a  most  important  principle,  a 
principle  'which  is  the  foundation  of  all  the  democratic 


^  It  seems  that  to  those  we  have  g^ven  titles  was  conceded  the  Mr.; 
those  marked  *  brought  their  wives  ;  and  that  all  those  who  are  Ital- 
icized were  in  their  graves  before  the  end  of  March.  Of  the  one 
hundred  and  one  English  settlers,  were  twenty  females  accompanying 
their  husbands,  and  forty-two  children  and  servants. 

*  Of  Carver's  family. 

*  Of  Edward  Winslow's  family. 

'  Both  of  Stephen  Hopkins's  family. 
VOL.  I.  9 


vGooglc 


tiO  THE   niSTORT    OF    CAPE   COD. 

institutions  of  America,  and  is  the  basis  of  tlie  republic ; 
and  however  it  may  be  expanded  and  complicated  in 
our  various  constitutions,  however  unequally  power 
may  be  distributed  in  the  diiferent  branches  of  ovx 
various  governments,  has  imparted  to  each  its  strongest 
and  most  striking  characteristic. 

"  Many  philosophers  have  since  appeared,  who  have, 
in  labored  treatises,  endeavored  to  prove  the  doctrine 
that  the  rights  of  man  are  unalienable,  and  nations 
have  bled  to  defend  and  enforce  them ;  yet  in  tliis  dark 
age,  the  age  of  despotism  and  superstition,  when  no 
tongue  dared  to  assert,  and  no  pen  to  write,  this  bold 
and  novel  doctrine,  which  was  then  as  much  at  defiance 
with  common  opinion  as  with  actual  power,  of  which 
the  monarch  was  then  held  to  be  the  sole  fountain,  and 
the  theory  was  universal  that  all  popular  rights  were 
granted  by  the  crown, —  in  this  remote  wilderness, 
amongst  a  small  and  unknown  band  of  wandering  out- 
casts, the  principle  that  the  will  of  tlie  majority  of  the 
people  shall  goveni,  was  first  conceived,  and  was  first 
practically  exemplified. 

"  The  pilgrims,  from  their  notions  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity, the  force  of  circumstences,  and  that  pure  moral 
feeling  which  is  the  offeprhig  of  true  religion,  discov- 
ered a  truth  in  the  science  of  government  which  had 
been  concealed  for  ages.  On  the  bleak  shore  of  a  bar- 
ren wilderness,  in  the  midst  of  desolation,  with  tlie 
blast  of  whiter  howling  around  them,  and  surrounded 
with  dangers  in  their  most  awful  and  appalling  forms, 
the  pilgrimii  of  Leyden  laid  the  foundations  of  Ameri- 
can liberty." 

Thus  wa-s  executed,  in  Cape  Cod  harbor,  tlie  first 
instrument  probably  that  the  world  ever  saw,  recogniz- 
ing true  republican  principles,  intrusting  all  powers  in 


vGooglc 


ANS.iLS    OF   I5AESSTABLE    COUKTY.  07 

the  hands  of  the  majority;^  and  thfi  same  day,  pro- 
ceeding to  an  election  of  officers,  John  Carver  was 
unanhnonsly  chosen  to  officiate  as  governor^  for  one 
year.' 

Government  was  thus  regularly  established ;  and  the 
next  day,  being  Sunday,  was  observed  as  a  day  of  rest. 
Without  daring  to  assume  that,  among  the  numerous 
adventurers  to  New  England  in  years  anterior,  the 
Christian  Sabbath  was  never  before  observed  in  proper 
manner,  it  may  be  claimed  that  here,  at  Cape  Cod,  was 
its  first  religious  observance  by  the  pilgrims  on  these 
shores.*  It  were  strange  indeed  if  it  were  not  also 
observed  during  all  the  Sundays  tliat  intervened,  to  the 
10th  of  December  following,  notwithstanding  the  re- 
markable assertion  often  made,  that  the  Sunday  which 

'  John  Quincy  Adams  has  said,  "  This  is  perhaps  the  only  instance 
in  human  history  of  that  positive,  original,  social  compact,  which 
speculative  philosophers  have  imagined  aa  the  only  legitimate  source 
of  government." 

"  This  was  the  first  political  act,  after  submitting  themselves  to  a 
government,  by  signing  the  compact.  The  legislative  and  judicial 
power  wa.s  in  the  whole  body,  and  the  governor  was  the  sole  executive 
officer.  The  goveraraent  regulation  and  diswpline  ecclesiaotical  re- 
maned as  when  under  the  superintendence  and  instructions  of  Eob- 

'  Governor  Carver  dying  April  5,  Mr,  Bradford  succeeded  him  as 
governor,  with  Mr.  Allerton  as  a^iatanl,  who,  by  renewed  elections, 
were  in  office  for  several  years. 

*  "Thirteen  years  before  a  landing  was  made  on  'Forefather's 
Rock,'  the  wilderness  of  Maine  echoed  to  the  sound  of  a  pure  and 
fervent  liturgy."  Indeed,  it  appears  that  "  Protestant  worship  and 
preaching  were  continued  in  the  Kennebec  some  time  even  previous 
to  Pophara's  expedition.  ...  In  a  little  chapel  built  after  the  savage 
feshion,  L'Eseanbote  gave  public  religious  instruction  to  the  colonists 
on  Sundays  and  at  other  times."  See  the  Frontier  Missionary,  by 
Rev,  Wm.  S.  Bartlett ;  2d  vol.  CoUecttons  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
HiUoAeal  Suddii/ ;  see  also  previoLis  pages. 


yGoogle 


68  THE   III3T0BY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

■was  the  third  day  after  the  explorers  came  to  anchor 
under  Clark's  Island,  in  Plymouth  or  Duxbury  harbor, 
viz.,  December  10,  "was  the  first  Christian  Sabbath 
ever  observed  in  New  England." 

It  seemed  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Maj^- 
flower  perhaps  hardly  po^ible  that  the  event  would 
come  to  be  regarded  as  so  important  an  era  in  history 
—  one  of  those  great  waymarks  by  which  we  measure 
the  track  of  time.  But  its  results  can  hardly  be  over- 
estimated. Like  those  of  the  voyage  of  Columbus, 
which  marks  another  era,  at  a  time  when  Europe  was 
just  emerging  from  its  "  night  of  a  thousand  years ; " 
when,  by  the  aid  of  the  mariner's  compass,  be  steered 
"  due  west,"  and  made  his  grand  discovery ;  and  when 
the  edict  went  forth  that  the  ocean  should  be  the  high- 
way of  nations,  and  that  from  the  camel  and  the  carar 
van  the  commerce  of  the  world  should  be  transferred 
to  swift  ships  and  proud  navies,  borne  by  every  wind 
to  every  clime ;  and  when  merchants  were  destined  to 
become  merchant-princes,  and  human  nature  to  claim  a 
higher  destiny, —  it  is  a  subject  for  vast  thought,  and 
seems  to  be  exhaustless. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that  when  the  cver-to-be- 
remembered  Mayflower — a  vessel,  indeed,  of  no  great 
capacity,  but  freighted  with  destiny — crossed  the  ocean, 
the  mighty  influences  of  the  mariner's  compass,  the  art 
of  printing,  the  revival  of  leammg,  and  the  reforma- 
tion, had  been  in  operation  only  about  a  century,  and 
that  it  was  not  until  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
that  the  old  world  had  heard  of  the  new,  and  we  are 
the  more  forcibly  struck  with  the  number  and  f 
of  the  events  that  have  since  transpired. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAEKSTABLE   COONTY. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Esplorations  of  the  Cape  by  the  Pilgrims. — Misfaken  Policy  towards  the 

Natives. 

The  company  who  had  gone  on  shore  the  day 
previous,  after  the  signing  of  the  compact  and  tlie 
election  of  their  governor,  (sixteen  men,  well  armed, 
with  Captain  Miles  Standish  at  their  head,  to  fetch 
wood  and  to  reconnoitre,)  made,  a  very  satisfactory 
and  encouraging  report,  on  their  return  at  night :  they 
had  seen  no  house,  nor  a  human  being  j  but  found 
the  place  to  be  "  a  small  neck  of  land ;  ^  on  this  side 
where  we  lay  is  the  bay,^  and  the  farthest  side  the  sea  f 
the  earth,  sand  hills, —  much  like  downs  in  Holland,  but 
much  better ;  the  crust  of  the  earth,  a  spit's  depth,* 
excellent  black  earth;  all  wooded  with  oaks,  pines, 
sa^afras,  juniper,  birch,  holly,  vines,  some  ash,  walnut; 
the  wood  for  the  most  part  open  and  without  under- 
wood, fit  either  to  go  or  ride  in." 

Some  sixteen  days  were  required  for  the  repairs  of  the 
shallop,  which  was  drawn  to  the  land  for  the  purpose  ;  ^ 

^  "  The  men  appear  fo  have  landed  on  Long  Point,  which  tradition 
says  has  been  much  diminished  in  its  length,  breadth,  and  height." 
Mst  Coll. 

2  "  By  the  bay  is  intended  the  harbor.  They  also  called  Plym- 
outh harbor  a  bay,  as  they  did  the  harbor  of  Cummaquid,  or  Barn- 
stable."    lb. 

^  "  That  is,  Barnstable  Bay  proper."     lb. 

*  "  The  depth  of  a  spade."     lb. 

s  They  had  "been  forced  to  ^■ut  her  doi\'n,  for  the  purpose  of 
bestoiviiig  her  between  decks,  and  slie  was  much  opened."     MouH. 


yGoogle 


70  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

and  in  the  mean  while  the  people  found  much  employ- 
ment and  recreation  on  shove/ 

Impatient  of  the  delay  in  repairing  the  shallop,  {"  for 
the  carpenter  made  slow  work  of  it,")  some  were 
desirous  of  exploring  the  country  at  once  by  land. 
This  was  considered  dangerous,  and  inconvenient,  too,  as 
it  would  require  them  to  carry  their  provisions  on  their 
backs.  This  was  finally  rather  permitted  than  ap- 
proved, since  all  felt  anxious  to  know  "whether  the 
place  would  answer  for  them  to  seat  in  or  no."  As 
they  sailed  into  the  harbor,  there  had  "seemed  to 
be  a  river  opening  itself  into  the  main  land ; "  and  this 
they  wished  to  verify.  "  So  with  cautions,  directions, 
and  instructions,  sixteen  men  were  sent  ont,  with  every 
man  his  musket,  sword,  and  corselet,"  under  the  conduct 
of  Captain  Miles  Standish,  "Wednesday,  November  15. 
They  marched  about  a  mile  by  the  sea,^  when  tliey 
saw  several  Indians,  with  a  dog,  coming  towards  them. 
The  Indians,  discovering  their  approach,  whistled  for 
the  dog,  and  then  disappeared  in  the  woods.  They 
followed  after  them ;  but  the  Indians,  seeing  that  tliey 
were  pursued  by  armed  men,  "ran  with  might  and 
main."  Following  them  about  ten  miles  by  their 
tracks,  they  perceived  the  Indians  had  circuitously 
returned  "to  the  same  way  they  went,"  and  at  the 
turning  found  they  had  run  up  a  hill,  to  see  whether 
they  were  still  followed.  So  our  adventurers  set 
three  sentinels,  kmdled  a  fire,  and  encamped  for 
the  night.^ 

1  "  Our  people  went  on  shore  to  refresh  themselves,  and  our  women 
to  wash,  aa  there  was  great  need."     Mourt. 

2  "  They  probably  had  been  set  ashore  at  the  east  side  of  Mill 
Creek,  and  their  course  was  on  the  Barnstable  Bay  side."     Hint.  Coll. 

3  "Probably  near  Stout's  Creek."     lb. 


vGooglc 


AKNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUSTY.  71 

Eiii'ly  next  morning  tliey  again  followed  the  track 
of  the  Indians,  until  they  had  compassed  the  head  of 
a  long  creek,'  where  the  pursued  took  to  another  wood. 
Still  pursuing,  "  tlirough  bushes,  under  hills,  and  along 
valleys,^ — tearing  our  very  armor  in  pieces,  —  finding 
no  Indians  or  houses, —  and  thirsty,  finding  no  water, 
having  with  us  no  drink  save  a  little  bottle  of  agmi  vUm, 
—  and  having  no  victuals  save  biscuit  and  Holland 
cheese,  —  at  last,  we  came  into  a  deep  valley,  full  of 
brush,  wood-gaile,  and  long  grass,  through  which  were 
little  paths;  and  there  we  saw  a  deer,  and  found 
springs  of  fresh  water,^  and  sat  down  and  drank  our 
first  New  England  water  with  as  much  delight  as  we 
ever  drank  in  all  our  lives." 

Directing  their  course  full  south,  they  came  to  the 
shore ;  and  there,  according  to  directions  received 
before  leaving  the  ship,  made  a  fire  as  a  signal.* 
Going  through  another  valley  to  find  the  supposed 
river,  they  found  a  fine  clear  pond  of  fresh  water, 
being  about  a  musket-shot  broad,  and  twice  as  long,^ 
near  which  were  many  vines  and  much  sassafras, 
and  which  pond  was  much  frequented  by  fowl  and 

1  "  East-harbor  Creek."    Hi$t.  Coll. 

3  "  This  is  an  exact  deBcription  of  that  part  of  Truro  called  East- 
Lartior,  except  that  the  trees  and  bushes  have  disappeared."     lb. 

^  "  In  this  valley  is  the  village  of  East-harbor.  In  the  valley  is 
Dyer's  Swamp,  around  which  were  springs,"     lb. 

*  "The  course  from  Dyer's  Swamp  to  the  pond  is  south,"     Ih. 

5  "This  pond  gives  name  to  the  principal  village  of  Ti-uro.  It 
begins  near  the  western  shore,  and  extends  east.  In  some  maps  it  is 
not  laid  down ;  in  others  it  is  erroneously  made  to  communicate  with 
the  bay.  East  of  it,  on  the  Clay  Pounds,  stands  the  lighthouse.  The 
greatest  part  of  this  pond  b  now  filled  with  grass  and  flags  in  summer, 
though  it  is  still  a  pond  in  winter,  as  in  1630  it  probably  was  at  all 
seasons."     lb.,  year  1801. 


vGooglc 


72  THE   HISTORY   OP    CAl'i;   COD. 

deer.^  Passing  on  from  thence,  was  found  much  plain- 
ground,  about  fifty  acres  fit  for  the  plough,  and  signs 
of  the  Indians  having  formerly  planted  corn  there.*^ 

Thinking  it  beet,  in  order  to  reach  the  supposed 
river  by  the  surest  route,  to  travel  on  the  sea  shore, 
they  soon  became  wearied  by  the  sands ;  they  then 
"  struck  into  the  lands  again,"  ^  and  found  a  path  to 
certain  heaps  of  sand,  one  of  which  was  "  covered  with 
mats,  and  had  a  wooden  thing  like  a  mortar  whelmed 
on  the  top  of  it,  and  an  earthen  pot  laid  in  a  little  hole 
at  the  end  thereof"  "  We,  musing  what  it  might  be, 
digged  and  found  a  bow,  and,  aa  we  thought,  arrows ; 
but  they  were  rotten.  We  supposed  there  were  many 
other  things  ;  but  because  we  deemed  them  graves,  we 
put  in  the  bow  again,  and  made  it  up  as  it  was,  and 
left  the  rest  untouched,  because  we  thought  it  would 
be  odious  unto  them  to  ransack  their  sepulchres. 
We  went  on  farther,  and  found  new  stubble,  of  which 
the  Indians  had  gotten  com  this  year,  and  many 
walnut  ti'ees  full  of  nuts,  and  great  store  of  straw- 
berries, and  some  vines.  Passing  thus  a  field  or  two, 
we  came  to  another  where  the  com  had  been  newly 
gotten,  and  here  we  found  where  a  house  had  been, 
and  several  old  planks  laid  together;*  also  a  great 
kettle,  which  had  been  some  ship's  kettle.    Here  was  a 

^  "  Deer  have  been  seen  near  this  pond  hy  persona  now  living," 
mst.Coll,jeavimi. 

^  "  The  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  pond  is  an  elevated  plain,"  Ih. 

3  "  Probably  at  the  Great  Hollow."     lb. 

^  "  From  the  Great  Hollow,  they  travelled  south  to  the  hill  which 
terminates  in  Hopkins's  Cliff.  This  they  named  Corn  Hill.  Indians 
formerly  dwelt  in  great  numbers  on  this  hill,  and  shells  are  still 
ploughed  «p  there  in  great  quantities,  Hopkins's  Cliff  is  on  the 
north  aide  of  Pamet  Kiver,  in  Truro,  and  Great  Hollow,  north  of  the 
cliff."    n. 


vGooglc 


ASXALS    OF   BARXSTA2LE    COUXTY.  ii 

heap,  newly  matle,  in  which  were  found  baskets  of  com 
in  the  ear,  some  red,  some  yellow,  some  mixeel  with 
blue,  which  was  a  goodly  eight  The  baskets  were 
round,  and  narrow  at  the  top,  and  held  each  three  or 
four  bushels,  and  were  very  handsomely  and  cunningly 
made.  AYhllst  digging  up  the  corn,  sentinels  were 
placed  around.  "We  took  the  kettle,  and  filled  it  with 
com,  for  two  men  to  cany  on  a  staff,  and  each  man 
filled  his  pockets  witli  as  much  com  as  we  could  carry ; 
the  rest  we  buried  again,  for  we  were  so  laden  with 
armor  that  we  could  carry  no  more. 

"  Not  far  from  this  place  we  found  the  remainder  of 
an  old  fortj  or  palisado,  which,  as  we  conceived,  had 
been  made  by  some  Christians.  This  was  hard  by  that 
place  where  we  thought  was  the  river.  "We  found  it 
dividing  itself  into  two  arms  by  a  high  bank  standing 
in  itg  mouth,  the  bank  reaching  from  the  sea.^  That 
which  was  next  unto  us  was  the  lesser,^  the  other  arm 
being  twice  as  large,  and  not  unlike  to  be  a  harbor  for 
ehips ;  but  whether  it  be  a  fresh  river,  or  only  an 
indraught  of  the  sea,  we  had  no  time  to  discover.^ 
Here  also  were  two  canoes,  one  on  either  side.  That 
night  we  came  back  to  tlie  fresh  water  pond,  and  there 
encamped,  making  a  banicado  to  tlie  windward  of  xis, 
and  kindling  a  great  fire.     Wo  kept  good  watch,  with 

^  "This  is  an  accurate  deseripfion  of  tlae  entrance  of  Pamet 
River.  The  high  banlt  is  now  callecl  Old  Tom's  Hill,  aiid  it  is  the 
termination  of  a  neclt  between  the  two  creeks.  "When  Tmro  was 
iir^t  planted,  this  neck,  with  other  lands,  was  reserved  for  the  In- 
dians."    Ifist.  Coll. 

a  "  Hopkins'a  Creek.  There  is  on  it  a  body  of  salt  marsh.  The 
depth,  when  the  tide  is  in,  is  five  feet,"     Ih. 

3  "  Pamet  Eiver,  extending  almost  entirely  across  the  township, 
being  separated  from  the  ocean  only  by  a  narrow  beach.     On  its 
banks  is  a  body  of  salt  marsh,"     lb. 
VOL.  I.  10 


vGooglc 


74  THE   mSTOKY   OF    CAi'E   COD. 

tliree  sentinels,  ihrougli  tlie  night,  whicli  proved  very 
rainy,  every  one  standing  when  his  turn  came ;  and 
five  or  six  inches  of  match  was  kept  burning. 

"In  the  morning  we  sunk  our  kettle  in  the  pond. 
In  the  woods,  on  our  way  home,  we  lost  our  way.^ 
Wandering,  we  came  to  a  tree  where  a  youug  sprit 
was  bowed  down  over  a  noose,  and  some  acorns  strewed 
underneath,  set  by  the  Indians  to  catch  deer.  William 
Bradford,  being  in  the  rear,  came  up,  and  whilst 
examining  it,  it  gave  a  sudden  jerk,  catching  him  by 
the  leg.  It  was  a  pretty  device,  made  with  a  rope  of 
the  Indians'  own  making,  which  we  brought  away  with 
us.  Getting  out  of  the  -wood,  about  a  mile  too  high 
above  the  creek,^  we  saw  three  bucks,  —  we  had  ratlier 
have  had  one  of  them  ;^  we  also  sprang  three  couple  of 
partridges.  In  the  creek  were  great  flocks  of  wild 
geese  and  ducks.  Marching  some  time  in  the  woods, 
some  time  on  the  sands,  and  some  time  in  the  water  up 
to  our  knees,*  we  at  length  came  near  the  ship,  and  the 
long-boat  came  off"  to  fetch  us.  We  were  weary,  and 
welcome  home,  delivering  our  corn  into  store  to  be 
kept  for  seed,  purposing  to  make  satisfaction,  should 
we  meet  with  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  place." 

Subsequently,  November  27,  as  soon  as  the  shallop 
was  ready,  twenty-four  men  were  appointed,  and  armed, 

'  "  The  woods  was  terminated  by  a  pond,  by  the  side  of  which  tliey 
travelled  and  then  thi-ough  a  valley  continuing  east  towards  the 
ocean."     Hist.  Coll. 

s  "  This  brought  them  about  a  mile  south-east  of  East-harbor 
Creek."     Ih. 

3  "Their  muskets  had  become  useless,  because  of  the  wet." 
Mourt. 

*  "  They  appear  to  have  waded  through  Stout's  Creek,  and  also 
through  Mill  Crock,  and  lo  have  passed  on  to  the  end  of  Long  Point, 
from  which  the  ship  lay  at  a  distance  less  than  a  furlong."     Hist.  Coll. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OE   BARSSTABLE    COUiNTY.  To 

to  go  forth,  and  make  further  discoveries.  The  captain 
of  the  Mayflower,  Jones,  joined  the  party,  with  several 
of  his  seamen,  making  in  all  thirty-four  men.  The 
■weather  was  rough,  and,  with  the  shallop  and  long-boat, 
they  were  soon  forced  to  make  harbor  for  the  night ; 
but  a  portion  of  tliem  marched  six  or  seven  miles 
farther,  appointing  for  the  shallop  to  meet  them  as 
soon  as  tlie  weather  would  permit.^ 

All  that  day  and  night  it  blew  and  snowed,  and 
froze  withal.  The  next  day,  about  eleven  o'clock,  the 
shallop  coming,  they  sailed  for  the  river  before  dis- 
covered, which  they  named  Cold  Harbor.  "  We  found 
it  not  navigable  for  ships,  yet  we  thought  it  might  be 
a  good  harbor  for  boats,  for  it  flows  there  twelve  feet' 
at  high  water.  Landing  our  men  between  the  two 
creeks,*  we  marched  four  or  five  miles  by  the  greater 
of  them,*  and  the  shallop  followed  us.  Night  coming  on, 
and  our  men  being  tired  of  marchmg  up  and  down  the 
steep  hills  and  deep  valleys,^  which  lay  half  a  foot  thick 
with  snow,  we  made  there  our  rendezvous  for  the  night, 
under  a  few  pine  trees ;  and  as  it  fell  out,  we  got  three 
geese  and  six  ducks  for  our  supper,  which  we  ate  with 
soldiers'  stomachs,  for  we  had  eaten  little  all  that  day. 

*  "  East-harbor.  The  men  were  landed  on  the  point "  which  forms 
the  harhor.     Hist,  Coll. 

3  "  The  mouth  of  Pamet  River,  or  Cold  Havhor,  [in  Truro,]  is 
twelve  feet  deep  at  high  water.  Thence  the  river  gradually  shoals  to 
five  feet,  whieh  is  the  depth  at  the  lower  bridge.  This  is  to  be  under- 
stood of  the  lowest  summer  tides."     Ih. 

3  "The  men  were  landed  at  Old  Tom's  Hill."     lb. 

*  "  From  Old  Tom's  Hill  to  the  head  of  Pamet  River,  tho  distance 
is  about  three  sHid  a  half  miles  as  the  hilts  run,  or  three  miles  in  a 
straight  line.  The  tradition  is,  that  Pamet  River  was  formerly  deeper 
than  it  is  at  present,  and  if  so,  the  shallop  might  follow."     lb. 

^  "  This  is  aa  exact  desci-iption  of  the  land  on  Pamet  Ilivoi'."     lb. 


vGooglc 


76  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

"  We  inarched  to  the  place  where  we  obtained  com 
formerly, — Com  Hill, — and  found  the  rest  of  which  we 
were  very  glad.  We  also  found,  on  digging  at  another 
place,  a  bottle  of  oil.  We  went  to  another,  -which  we 
had  seen  before,  and  found  more  com,  and  a  bag  of 
beans.  We  found  yet  another  heap.  So  that  we  had 
in  all  about  ten  bushels."  A  portion  of  the  party 
returned  to  the  ship,  December  1,  in  the  shallop,  with 
the  corn,  and  eighteen  encamped  that  night,  ready  for 
other  discoveries. 

Marching  thence  five  or  six  miles  in  the  woods,  and 
then  returning  another  way,  "^  as  we  came  into  a  plain 
ground,  we  found  a  place  like  a  grave,  but  much  larger 
and  longer  than  any  we  had  yet  seen,  and  covered  with 
boards.  Resolved  to  dig  it  up,  we  found  first  a  mat, 
under  that  a  bow,  then  another  mat,  and  under  that  a 
board  about  three  quarters  long,  and  finely  cai-ved  and 
painted,  having  three  tines  or  broaches  on  the  top,  like 
a  crown.  Also  between  mats  we  found  bowls,  trays, 
dishes,  and  such  like  trinkets.  Then  imder  a  fair,  new 
mat,  two  bundles.  We  opened  the  greater,  and  found 
in  it  a  quantity  of  fine,  red  powder,  surrounding  the 
skull  and  bones  of  a  man.  The  skull  had  fine  yellow 
hair  on  it,  and  some  of  the  flesh.  There  was  also 
bound  up  together  a  knife,  a  pack-needle,  and  two  or 
three  old  iron  things.  These  were  enclosed  by  a 
sailor's  canvas  cassock  and  a  pair  of  cloth  breeches. 
The  red  powder  was  a  kind  of  embalmment,  and  yielded 
a  strong,  but  not  offensive,  smell.  It  was  as  impalpable 
as  the  finest  flour.  We  opened  the  lesser  bundle ;  it 
contained  the  same  kind  of  powder,  and  the  head  and 
bones  of  a  little  child,  the  legs  and  other  parts  of  which 
were  bound  with  strings  and  bracelets  of  fine,  white 
beads.     There  was  also  by  it  a  little  bow,  and  some 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BABNSTABLE   COUNTY.  Y7 

other  odd  knacks.  We  brought  away  with  ns  sundry 
of  the  prettiest  things,  and  covered  up  the  corpse 
again.  After  this,  we  digged  in  sundry  like  places,  but 
found  no  more  corn,  nor  any  thing  else  butgraves. 

"Whilst   thus   ranging    and  searching,  two  houses, 
lately  dwelt  in,  were  discoTered ;  but  the  people  were 
gone.     The  two  sailors  who  made  the  discovery,  having 
their  pieces  with  them,  and  hearing  no  one,  entered 
the  houses  and  took  some  things,  but  dare  not  long 
remain.     Others  now  went,  and  found  the  houses  to  be 
made  of  long,  young  sapling  trees  bent  and  both  ends 
stuck  in   the    ground.     The  houses  were  thus  made 
round,  like  an  arbor,  and  covered  down  to  the  ground 
with  thick  and  well-wrought  mats.    The  doorway  was 
not  over  a  yard  high,  with  a  mat  hung  up  for  a  door. 
The  chimney  was  a  wide,  open  hole  at  the  top,  with  a 
mat  to  cover  it  at  pleasure.     In  the  centre  of  these 
dwellings  were  four  tranches  driven  into  the  ground, 
with  small  sticks  laid  over,  on  which  were  hung  tire 
pots  and  what  they  had  to  seethe.     Mats  were  around 
about  the  fireplace,  probably  for  beds.    These  dwellings 
were  double-matted ;  tliose  within  the  walls  were  fairer 
and  newer.    In  the  houses  were  wooden  bowls,  trays, 
and  dishes,  earthen  pots,  hand-baskets  made  of  crab 
shells  wrought  together ;  also  an  Enghsh  pail,  with  two 
iron  ears,  but  wanting  a  bail.     There  were  also  baskets 
of  sundry  sorts,  and  of  various  sizes  and  qualities. 
Some  were  curiously  wrought  with  black  and  white  in 
pretty  work,  and  sundry  other  of  their  household  stuff. 
We  found  also  two  or  three  deer's  heads,  one  whereof 
had  been  newly  killed,  for  it  was  still  fresh.     There 
were  also  a  lot  of  deer's  feet  stuck  up  in  their  houses, 
harts'  horns,  eagles'  claws,  and  such  like  things ;  also 
several  baskets  of  parched  acorns,  pieces  of  fish,  and  a 


vGooglc 


78  THE   HISTOSY    OF    CAPE    COD. 

piece  of  broiled  herring.  We  found  also  a  little  silk- 
grass,  tobacco  seed,  and  other  seeds  which  we  knew 
not  Without  were  sundry  bundles  of  flags,  sedge, 
bulrushes,  and  other  stuff  to  make  mats.  Tliere  was 
stowed  away  in  a  hollow  tree  some  venison.  Some  of 
the  best  things  we  took  away  with  us,  but  left  the 
houses  stq,nding  as  they  were." 

On  the  morality  of  these  entire  transactions,  the 
author  does  not  feel  that  he  is  called  upon  to  pro- 
nounce. But  the  profanation  of  the  graves,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  taldng  of  the  kettle,  corn,  beans,  &c., 
was  unfortunate.  Tlie  policy  carried  out  too  often,  in 
the  early  intercourse  of  the  white  man  with  the 
natives,  was,  to  say  the  least,  too  much  in  imitation  of 
that  of  Hunt, — at  best,  not  calculated  to  secure  the 
Indians'  favorable  regard. 

Indians  were  always  remarked  for  the  reverence 
which  they  entertain  for  the  sepulchres  of  their  Idn- 
dred.  Tribes  that  have  passed  generations  exiled  from 
the  abodes  of  their  ancestors  have  been  known,  when 
by  chance  they  have  found  themselves  travelling  in 
the  vicinity,  to  turn  aside  from  the  highway,  and, 
guided  by  wonderfully  accurate  tradition,  have  crossed 
the  country  for  miles  to  some  tumulus,  buried  per- 
haps in  woods,  where  the  bones  of  then-  tribe  were 
anciently  deposited,  and  there  have  spent  hours  in 
silent  meditation.  In  the  early  records,  it  may  be  seen 
that  the  planters  had  defaced  the  monuments  of  the 
dead  at  Passonagesit,  and  had  plundered  the  grave  of 
the  sachem's  mother  of  some  skins,  &c.,  with  which  the 
grave  had  been  decorated.  Influenced  by  the  sublime 
and  holy  feeling  of  which  we  have  spoken,  the  sachem, 
whose  mother's  tomb  had  been  violated,  gathered  his 
men  together,  and  addressed  tliem  in  bcautifull}-  simple 


vGooglc 


AKSALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  79 

and    pathetic    language  —  an   affecting    instance,  we 
cannot  but  think,  of  filial  piety,  if  not  so  remarkable 
a  specimen  as  might  be  offered  of  Indian  eloquence. 
"We  may  not,  indeed,  give  his  speech  in  full,  or  do 
justice  to  it.     The  gist  of  it,  however,  is  contained  in 
the  words  in  which  the  spirit  of  his  mother  seemed, 
"when  the  glorious  light  of  the  sky  was  under  the 
earth,  and  the  bircU  had  ceased  to  sing,  and  he  had 
sought  for  repose,"  to  reproach  him :  "  Behold,  my  son 
whom  I  have  cherished  —  see  the  breasts  that  gave  thee 
suck,  and  the  hands  that  lapped  thee  warm ;     .     .     . 
see  now  the  sachem's  grave  defaced ! "     As  a  great  par 
triarchal  family,  such  injury  offered  to  one  was  a  sacri- 
lege felt  by  all ;  and  tliat  which  is  sometimes  attributed 
by  the  white  man  to  caprice  or  perfidy,  arises  in  the 
Indian's  breast  from  deep,  noble,  and  generous  motives.' 
Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  heatlienism  of  the 
Indians,  it  is  clear  that  they  believed  in  an  invisible 
and  superior  power,  who  governs  the  destinies  of  men. 
Some  will  have  it-that  they  believed  in  two  supreme 
gods,  or  great  spirits  —  the  good  and  the  evil.    Hence 
their  sacrifices,  with  all  the  tumultuons  ceremonies  of 
their  poimoows  and  war  dances.  If  their  enmity  was  strong, 
their  friendship  was  warm  and  affectionate.     They  sel- 
dom had  personal  quarrels,  and  never  were  disposed  to 
steal  from,  rob,  or  defame  each  other.    Whenever  a 
family  had  occasion  to  leave  their  hut,  or  wigwam,  it 
was  sufficient  for  them  to  set  up  a  stick  against  the 
door :  this  was  their  lock,  and  proved  a  religious  secu- 
rity to  their  dwelling  from  invasion  by  Indians.     They 
were  also  rigid  against  adultery.     Their  mode  of  war- 
fare was,  to  be  sure,  by  surprise ;  and  this  grew  out  of 
their  peculiar  circumstances  —  isolated  and  without  the 
modem  appliances  or  instruments  of  war. 


vGooglc 


THE   HISTORY    01'   CAl-E   COD. 


CHAPTER    Y. 


Fiirther  Explorations  by  the  Company,  and  final  Departure  of  the  Mayflower 
fov  Plymoulh. — Patent  for  Northern  Virginia.  —  Pierce's  Patent. 

"  Much  disputation  fell  out  soon  after  this  excursion 
about  the  place  where  wo  should  abide,  and  a  company 
was  chosen  to  go  out  upon  a  third  discovery.  We  set 
out  Wednesday,  December  6.  It  was  a  long  time  be- 
fore we  could  get  clear  of  a  sandy  point  which  lay 
within  a  furlong  of  the  ship.^  It  was  cold,  and  the 
weather  hard,  which  caused  several  of  the  company  to 
be  very  seasick.'  At  length,  clearing  the  point,  and 
hoisting  our  sails,  we  were  within  an  hour  or  two  under 
the  weather  shore  and  had  smoother  water  and  better 
sailing. 

"  After  sailing  six  or  seven  leagues  by  the  shore,  and 
seeing  neither  river  nor  creek,  we  at  length  met  with  a 
tongue  of  land,  being  flat  off  from  the  shore,  with  a 
sandy  point.^  We  bore  up  to  gain  the  point,  and  found 
a  fair  mcome  or  road  of  a  bay,  being  a  league  over  at 
the  narrowest,  and  some  two  or  three  in  length.  Mak- 
ing directly  over  to  the  land  before  us,  we  saw,  as  we 
drew  near  the  shore,  some  ten  or  twelve  Indians,  who 
1  very  busy.'    As  soon  as  they  saw  us,  they  ran 


'  "  Tlie  end  of  Long  Point."     IRsl.  Coll. 

^  "  Billingsgate  Point.  This  point  tlien  joined  the  land  nortli  of  it ; 
bat  it  is  now  an  island."  Ik  —  Tlie  locations  are  doubtless  correct, 
but  the  distances  are  magnified. 

^  Tiicy  were  ciigiigiid  in  euUing  up  a  gi-ampus.     Prince's  Annals. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY,  81 

to  and  fro,  as  if  they  were  carrying  something  away. 
We  landed  a  league  or  two  froni  them,  and  had  much 
ado  to  put  ashore  any  where,  it  lay  so  full  of  flat  sands.' 
When  we  came  to  shore,  we  made  a  barricade,  procured 
firewood,  set  out  sentinels,  and  prepared  to  lodge.  "We 
saw  the  smoke  of  fire  made  by  the  savages  about  four 
or  five  nules  from  us. 

"  In  the  morning,  December  Y,  our  company  divided, 
some  in  the  shallop  and  some  on  shore,  to  discover  the 
place.  We  found  it  to  be  only  a  bay,  without  either 
river  or  creek  flowing  into  it.  This  place  we  were 
minded  to  call  Grampus  Bay,  because  we  found  many 
of  that  species  of  fish  there.^  Following  the  track  of 
the  Indians  in  the  sand,  we  came  to  where  they  had 
struck  into  the  woods  by  the  side  of  a  pond.^  We 
found  where  there  had  been  com ;  also  a  great  burying 
place,  one  part  of  which  was  encompassed  by  a  great 
palisado,  like  a  churchyard,  with  young  spires,  four  or 
five  yards  long,  set  close,  two  or  three  feet  in  the 
ground.  Within,  the  enclosure  was  full  of  graves,  of 
all  sizes,  Some  of  these  were  paled  about ;  others  had 
something  like  an  Indian  house  over  them,  but  not 
matted.  These  graves  were  more  sumptuous  than 
those  at  Com  HUl ;  yet  we  digged  into  none  of  them. 
Outside  the  palisado  were  graves  also,  but  not  so 
costly.* 


1  future  pages.  Mr.  Pratt  says, 
"  They  landed  near  the  present  camp  meelJng  ground,  in  Eastham,  a 
litlle  north  of  Great  Pond." 

^  "  Tliey  found  fishes  called  grampus,  dead,  two  inches  thick  of  fat, 
and  five  or  six  paces  long." 

"  "  Great  Pond,  in  Eaathiun,  north  of  which  they  landed."     Sist. 
ColL 
'  Bradford  says  tlicy  found  four  or  five  deserted  wigwams. 
VOL,  I.  11 


vGooglc 


82  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE    COD. 

"  After  ranging  up  and  down  in  the  woods  till  sun- 
down, we  hasted  to  our  shallop,  supped,  set  a  watch, 
and  betook  us  to  rest  for  the  night  But  about  mid- 
night, we  heard  a  great  and  hideous  cry,  and  our  sen- 
tinel called, 'Arm,  arm!'  We  bestirred  ourselves,  and 
shot  off  a  couple  of  muskets,  and  the  noise  ceased. 
We  concluded  the  noise  was  made  by  wolves  and  foxes, 
as  one  of  our  company  told  us  he  had  heard  such  noises 
in  Newfoundland.  About  five  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
December  8,  on  a  sudden  we  heard  a  great  and  a  strange 
cry.  One  of  our  company,  being  abroad,  came  running 
in,  and  cried, '  Indians,  Indians ! '  and  at  once  their  arrows 
came  flying  amongst  us,  and  our  men  hastily  seized 
their  arms.  The  cry  of  our  enemies  was  dreadful ; 
our  men  had  no  sooner  seciu'ed  their  arms,  than  the 
enemy  was  ready  for  the  assault.  One  lusty  Indian, 
and  no  whit  less  valiant,  who  was  thought  to  be  the 
captain,  stood  behind  a  tree  within  half  a  musket  shot 
of  us,  and  there  let  fly  liis  arrows. 

"  He  stood  three  shots  of  the  musket.  At  length  one 
took,  as  he  said,  full  aim  at  him,  when  he  gave  an  ex- 
traordinary cry,  and  away  they  all  went.  We  followed 
them  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  leaving  men  to  keep 
our  shallop,  for  we  were  careful.  We  took  up  eighteen 
of  their  arrows,  which  we  sent  to  England.  Some  were 
headed  with  brass,  others  with  hart'a  horn,  and  otliers 
with  eagles'  claws." 

They  named  the  place  where  this  skirmish  occurred, 
the  "First  Encounter."  For  their  preservation  they 
rendered  thanks  to  God. 

From  hence  departing,  and  coasting  along  about  fif- 
teen leagues,  they  saw  no  place  for  a  harbor,  and  there- 
fore concluded  to  hasten  to  a  port  which  Mr.  Robert 
Coppin,  their  pilot,  assured  them  was  a  good  one,  and 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.  hd 

■which  they  might  reach  before  night,^  It  soon  began 
to  snow  and  rain  ;  the  wind  was  high,  the  sea  rough ; 
they  broke  their  rudder,  and  it  was  as  much  as  two  men 
coiild  do  to  steer  the  shallop  with  a  couple  of  oara. 
The  pilot  bade  them  be  of  good  cheer,  for  he  saw  the 
port  where  he  had  been  on  a  former  voyage.  The 
storm  increased,  as  night  drew  on,  and  anxious  to  get 
to  harbor  whilst  they  could  see,  they  carried  all  tlie 
sail  they  could.  Their  masts  broke  in  a  heavy  sea, 
their  sail  fell  over,  and  they  were  near  being  cast 
away ;  but  fortunately  the  flood  was  with  them,  help- 
ing to  bear  them  into  the  imagined  harbor.  The  pilot, 
being  deceived,  cried  out,  "  Lord,  be  merciful ;  my  eyes 
never  saw  this  place  before  ! "  "  and  he,  with  the  mas- 
ter's mate,  would  have  run  tlie  shallop  ashore  before  the 
wind,  in  a  cove  among  breakers,'  had  not  a  resolute 
seaman  at  the  helm  cried  out,  "  About  with  her,  or  we 
are  all  dead  men."  The  boat  iivas  witii  difficulty  put 
about,  and  although  it  was  very  dark,  and  rained  hard, 
they  came  safe  to  anchor  under  the  lee  of  a  small 
island,*  where  they  remained  that  night  in  safety.' 

^  It  has  been  supposed  probable  that  the  pilot  had  visited  this  shore 
with  Captain  Smith  or  Captain  Hunt. 

'  He  was  now  passing  the  point  called  the  Gurnet  Nose,  at  the 
mouth  of  Plymouth  harbor.  The  harbor  of  Plymouth  is  foiTnod  by 
a  narrow  beach,  extending  from  Marshfield  southerly  six  miles,  the 
head  of  which  is  a  high  knoll  called  Gurnet,  on  which  now  stands  the 
lighthouse,  and  by  another  beach  extending  from  tlie  mouth  of  Eel 
River  northerly  about  three  miles. 

^  This  cove  ia  between  the  Gurnet  Head  and  Saquiah  Point. 
Morton.  —  "Within  the  Gurnet  Nose,  and  not  far  from  the  Plymouth 
Beach,  is  Saquish  and  Clark's  Island.  Saqaish  is  connected  with  the 
Gurnet  by  a  nari-ow  beach. 

*  Clark's  Island;  called  so  after  the  master's  mate  of  the  M;iv- 
fiower,  who  was  first  to  land  on  the  island.     Morion. 

'  "  This  being  the  la.,t  day  of  the  week,  Di-ccmber  9,  thej'  di-y  their 


vGooglc 


84  THE    HISTORY    OF    CAPE    COD. 

The  Monday  following,  December  ll,having  sonneted 
the  harbor,  and  finding  it  fit  for  shipping,  and  having 
marched  into  the  land,  and  finding  cornfields  and  run- 
ning brooks,  they  deem  it  a  place  fit  for  a  habitation, 
at  least  the  best  to  be  found,  and  one  which  the  season 
and  their  present  necessity  should  make  them  glad  to 
accept ;  and  the  same  day  they  returned  to  the  ship 
in  Cape  Cod  harbor,  with  the  news  of  their  discovery. 

On  returning,  they  find  that,  during  their  absence. 
Mistress  Wilham  White  has  been  dehvered  of  a  son, 
who  is  called  Peregrine,  the  first  child  born  of  English 
parents  in  New  England ; '  also,  that  Mistress  William 
Bradford  has  accidentally  fallen  overboard  from  the 
ship,  and  been  drowned,  which  sad  event  occurred  De- 
cember 7,  her  husband,  afterwards  governor,  being 
absent  in  the  shallop.  Besides  these  events,  Edward 
Thompson  died  December  4,  the  first  after  the  arrival 

stuff,  fix  their  pieces,  rest  themselves,  return  thanks  to  God,  and  the 
next  day,  December  10,  they  keep  the  Christian  Sabhath."  Brad- 
ford.—  We  have,  in  the  preueding  quotations  in  the  text,  followed 
the  accounts  given  in  early  times  ;  but  have  found  it  necussary  to  use 
some  liberty  in  varying  the  expressions,  and  condensing  occasionally. 
The  full  sense  is  retained,  and  also  all  that  is  important  in  the  precise 
expression, 

^  Prince  says,  Peregrine  White  was  liorn  "  before  the  end  of  No- 
vember." He  died  at  Mai'shfield,  July  20,  1704,  aged  eighty-three 
years  and  eight  months.  His  father  dying,  his  mother,  Mrs.  Susanna 
White,  was  married  to  Mr.  Edwai-d  Winslow,  who  was  the  third  gov- 
ernor of  the  colony,  in  Plymouth,  May  12, 1C31  j  and  this  was  the 
first  marriage  in  the  colony.  It  may  be  worthy  of  remark,  in  this 
connection,  that  Elizabeth  Patch,  the  first  born  female  in  the  oid  col- 
ony of  Massachusetts  Bay,  died  at  Salem,  June  14,  1715-16,  aged 
eighty-seven ;  and  Mary  Godfrey,  the  fii"st  child  bom  in  the  Rhode 
Island  Plantation,  died  in  Newport,  April  14, 1716,  aged  eighty-seven. 
Such  was  the  longevity  of  the  first-born  in  each  of  these  three  col- 
onies.    See  Hutch,  ii.  216. 


vGooglc 


ANXALS    OP   BAKMSTABLE    COU.VTY.  85 

of  the  Mayflower.'  Jasper,  a  son  of  Mr.  Carver,  died 
December  6.  James  Chilton  died  December  8.  Thus 
are  recorded  the  first  birth  and  the  first  deaths  among 
the  colonists,  all  these  occurring  at  Cape  Cod. 

As  has  been  already  suggested,  the  question  touch- 
ing the  place  of  settlement  had  been  earnestly  contro- 
"verted  previous  to  the  late  discovery.  It  was  con- 
tended by  soijie  that  they  had  better  locate  where  they 
then  were ;  it  was  a  good  harbor ;  there  was  corn- 
ground  ready  to  the  hand,  and  land  that  had  yielded 
so  goodly  grain  might  be  expected  to  yield  its  future 
crops;  the  place  would  be  a  good  one  for  whale  and 
other  fishing ;  it  was  likely  to  be  healthy,  safe,  and 
defensible,  and  further  explorations  could  not  be  made 
without  danger  every  way.  Others,  however,  were 
urgent  to  go  to  Agawam,"  a  place  about  twenty  leagues 
north,  which  had  been  represented  to  them  as  an  ex- 
cellent harbor,  better  soil,  and  better  fishing ;  besides, 
for  aught  they  knew,  there  might  be  a  better  seat,  and 
that  near  by.  It  would  be  unwise  to  settle  here,  and 
then  remove  again.  The  result  of  these  deliberations 
was  the  conclusion  to  make  a  further  exploration  of 
the  bay,  but  in  no  case  to  go  so  far  as  Agawam.  The 
place  recommended  by  Coppin,  who  represented  it  as 
having  a  good  harbor^  and  a  great  and  navigable  river, 

^  Edward  Thompson  was  a  servant  of  Mr.  AViiitc,  and  his  name 
does  not  appear  affixed  to  the  compact. 

^  Ipswich. 

^  In  this  representation  their  pilot  seems  to  have  been  sustained; 
for  those  who  accompanied  him  report,  "  The  harbor  is  a  bay  greater 
than  Cape  Cod,  compassed  with  goodly  land,  and  in  the  boy  two  fine 
islands  uninhabited,  wherein  are  oaks,  pines,  walnut,  beech,  sassafras, 
vines,  and  other  frees  which  we  know  not.  The  bay  is  a  most  hope- 
M  place  :  innumerable  store  of  fowl;  and  cannot  but  be  fish  in  their 
season  —  scale,  cod,  turbot,  and  bcning,  we  have  tasted  of;  abun- 
dance of  muscles,  the  greatest  and  beat  we  ever  saw  ;  crabs  and  lob- 


vGooglc 


60  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

lying  at  the  other  headland  of  the  bay,  directly  op- 
posite to  Cape  Cod,  about  eight  leagues  distant,  —  and 
recommended,  too,  upon  his  own  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  spot,  was  not  to  be  passed  by  without  consid- 
eration. Beyond  that  point  it  was  resolved  not  to  look. 
And  now  the  discoverers,  Mr.  John  Carver,  Mr.  "William 
Bradford,  Mr.  Edward  Winslow,  Captain  Miles  Standish, 
Mr.  John  Rowland,  Mr.  Richard  Warren,  Mr.  Stephen 
Hopkins,  Mr.  Edward  Tilley,  Mr.  Clark,  Mr.  Coppin, 
John  Allerton,  Thomas  English,  Edward  Dotey,  with 
the  master  and  gunner  of  the  ship,  and  three  common 
seamen,  had  returned,  bringing  back  a  good  report  of 
the  land.  So  the  place  finally  fixed  upon  was  the  same 
to  which  Captain  Smith  had,  in  1614,  given  the  name 
of  New  Plymouth.^ 

The  ship  sailed  for  this  new-found  port  December 
15;  but  coming  within  two  leagues  of  it,  a  north-west 
wind  sprang  up,  and  they  were  forced  back.  The  next 
day,  December  16,  the  wind  came  fair,  and  the  May- 
flower took  her  final  departure  from  Cape  Cod,  arriving 
quickly  at  the  desired  haven.^ 

sters,in  their  time  infinite.  It  is  in  fashion  like  a  sickle  or  fish-hook." 
Mourt.  —  That  there  were  two  islands  in  I'lymouth  harbor  is  now 
tradition,  verified  by  the  fact  that  there  is  a  shoal  called  Bi-own'a 
Island,  about  half  a  mile  east  by  north  from  Beach  Point.  Tradition 
says  the  stumps  of  trees  were  formerly  seen  there.  The  navigable 
river  was  found,  upon  acquainfance,  to  be  shoun  of  its  dimensions. 
The  capacity  and  comparative  excellence  of  the  harbor  is  a  question 
which  mariners  may  decide. 

^  Coppin  denominated  the  place  whither  be  would  go,  as  "  Thievish 
Harbor;  "  so  called  from  a  native  having  stolen  a  harping  iron  from 
the  company  vrith  which  Coppin  had  originally  visited  the  place ;  but 
whether  this  was  it,  or  some  other,  does  Dot  clearly  appear,  since  his 
exclamation,  in  the  moment  of  danger — "My  eyes  never  saw  tliis 
place  before!"  —  leaves  the  matter  in  some  doubt. 

^  "  It  must  not  be  inferred  from  the  abandonment  of  the  Cape  by 
the  pilgrims,  that  it  was  a  sheer  expanse  of  drifting  sand,  as  much  of 


yGoogle 


ASNALS    OF   lUllNSTAUi-E    COL.VTY.  87 

As  it  falls  not  witlim  our  province,  as  the  historian  of 
Cape  Cod,  to  follow  the  early  pilgrims  longer  beyond 
our  uivn  native  soil,  we  must  here  take  leave  of  them, 
except  as  we  ehall  occasionally  find  it  necessary  to  record 
their  visits  to  this  land  of  plenty  in  the  time  of  famine, 
and  at  other  times,  when  they  found  it  convenient  to 
transact  important  business  with  the  natives;  premis- 
ing, however,  in  addition,  that,  as  numbers  of  them,  and 
those  that  came  after  them,  had  a  yearning  still  for  this 
goodly  Cape,  and  ultimately  settled  here,  and  inas- 
much as  Cape  Cod  was  for  a  long  time  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Plymouth  Colony,  and  our  history  is 
necessarily  much  involved  in  theirs,  we  may  not  entirely 
lose  sight  of  them. 

Before  the  adventurers  in  the  Mayflower  had  left 
England,  the  project  of  settling  America '  had  already 

its  extremity  now  is,  and  [almost]  witiout  tree  or  Terrluri'.  HnJ 
they  arrived  in  the  vema!  months,  and  not  at  ihe  immediate  approach 
of  a  rigid  winter,  they  would  have  rejoiced  in  the  presence  of  fragrant 
forests  and  flowering  shruhs,  similar,  it  may  be,  to  those  which  greeted 
Gosnold  at  the  I=1p  of  Eliz\heth  .     .     As  we  [now]  traverse 

the  wild  and  bltak  expanse  ot  the  Province  Lands,  there  occasionally 
emetges  from  the  desert  of  sparkhng  sand  the  dark  and  mouldering 
remains  of  «ome  ancient  cedar  These  enduring  memorials  of  the 
antiquu  foiest  the  well  authenticated  traditions  of  the  affluent  growth 
of  pine  and  other  hee=  and  the  piovincial  le^slation,  compel  t!ie  be- 
lief, that  in  cAiher  tmiei  thf  Cape  was  crowned  with  a  bounteous 
vegetation  "     ffm  Franm  B  inkg's  Report. 

^  The  fact  is  (although  it  miy  detract  somewhat  from  the  romance 
of  pilgrim  adventures,)  when  the  emigrants  by  the  Mayflower  finally 
landed  at  Plymouth, "  the  idea  of  a  settlement  here  had  well  nigh 
ceased  to  he  terrific  The  American  fisheries  Lad  long  before  become 
a  prosperous  and  well-established  business."  "  The  fisheries  of  New- 
foundland were  an  object  of  attraction  to  both  England  and  France 
early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  both  nations  cherished  designs  of 
founding  colonies  in  America."  "  Commerce  and  colonization,"  Ban- 
croft well  remarks,  "rest  on  regular  industry.     And  tlie  humble  labora 


yGoogk' 


88  Tim   HISTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

greatlj  revived  in  England ;  and,  November  3,  about  a 
■week  before  their  arrival  in  Cape  Cod  harbor,  King 
Jamea  had  signed  a  patent  for  the  incorporation  of  the 
adventurers  to  the  Northern  Colony  of  Virginia,  be- 
tween 40°  and  48°  north,  —  the  Duke  of  Lenox,  the 
Marquises  of  Buckingham  and  Hamilton,  the  Earls  of 
Arundel  and  Warwick,  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  and 
thirty-four  other  associates,  and  their  successors, — 
styled  "  The  Council  established  at  Plymouth,  m  the 
County  of  Devon,  for  the  planting,  ruling,  ordering,  and 
governing,  of  New  England,  in  America:"  "wliicli," 
says  Prince,  "  is  the  great  and  civil  basis  of  all  the  fu- 
ture patents  and  plantations  that  divide  this  country." ' 
Measures  were  taken  by  the  council  for  occupying 
their  patent,  and  in  the  summer  of  1622,  two  ships 
were  sent  over,  to  begin  a  plantation  on  tlie  territory 
which  the  settlers  at  New  Plymouth  had,  contrary  to 
their  first  intentions,  already  begun  to  occupy  of  ne- 
cessity. The  colonists  could  not  take  the  benefit  of  the 
patent  that  had  been  granted  them ;  and  it  was  not 
until  1630  that  they  obtained  the  patent  from  the 
council  of  Plymouth,  under  which  they  acted.     There 

of  tlie  English  fishermen  w!io  frequented  the  Grand  Bank,  had,  as  early 
aa  1575,  not  only  bred  a  race  of  mariners  for  the  navy  of  tlieir  countiy, 
but  had  prepared  the  way  for  settlements  in  the  new  world.  Al- 
ready, year  after  year,  had  four  hundred  vessels  come  annually  from 
Europe  to  the  shores  of  Newfoundland,  and  others  to  Iceland,  for 
fishing  alone."  A  settlement,  as  eai-ly  as  1607,  had  been  begun  on 
the  Kennebec,  Previously,  another  had  been  undertaken  at  Port 
Royal,  and  afterwards  at  Quebec.  The  settlement  at  Jamestown, 
Virginia,  also  preceded  that  at  Plymouth  by  six  years. 

•  The  circumstances  of  the  unexpected  location  of  the  adventurers 
in  the  Mayfiower,  and  of  the  establishment  of  the  council,  were,  of 
course,  unknown  to  either  party  in  this  connection,  but  fortunately 
served  the  interests  of  both. 


yGoogle 


ANSALS   OF   BAEHSTABMl   COUNTY.  89 

were,  however,  prior  proceeding  and  patents ;  one 
patent  even  prior  to  the  sending  by  the  council 
the  two  ships  in  1622,  the  history  of  which  patent 
seems  to  be,  at  the  present  time,  involved  in  some 
obscurity. 

The  settlers,  arrived  at  Plymouth,  "  began  "  early  in 
the  spring  "  to  hasten  the  ship  away,  which  tarried 
so  long  by  reason  of  the  necessity  and  danger  that 
lay  on  them,  because  so  many  died,  both  of  them- 
selves and  the  ship's  company  likewise,  by  which  they 
became  so  few  that  the  master  durst  not  put  to  sea 
until  those  that  lived  recovered  of  their  sickness,  and 
the  winter  was  over."  The  ship  sailed  April  5,  and 
arrived  in  England  May  6. 

The  council,  when  informed  of  the  establishment  of 
a  colony  within  their  Umits,  were  quite  ready  to  talce 
them  under  their  protection,  and  the  colony,  it  was 
understood,  were  equally  desirous  of  receiving  it,  if 
thereby  a  grant  of  territory  might  be  procured.  An 
agent  being  despatched  to  England,  Sir  F.  Gorges  inter- 
ested himself  in  the  matter,  and  a  grant  was  according- 
ly made  early  in  June,  with  great  promptitude. 

By  the  arrival  at  Plymouth  of  the  ship  Fortune, 
which  sailed  from  England  in  July,  but  by  reason  of 
head  winds  was  not  clear  of  the  channel  till  the  end  of 
August,  and  in  which  came  Mr,  Eobert  Cushman  and 
thirty-five  others,  (and  Mr.  Cushman  had  "  been  an 
active  and  faithful  agent  and  useful  instrument  in 
the  first  design,")  which  ship  "  staid  at  Plymouth  not 
above  fourteen  days,'  and  returned,"  a  letter  was  re- 

'  This  is  supposed  to  have  "  meant  fourteen  days  from  the  time  of 
her  heing  unladen ;"  and  site  is  supposed  to  have  left  December  13. 
The  ship  was  captured  near  the  English  coast,  and  carried  to 
France, 

VOL.  I.  12 


vGooglc 


90  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

ceived,  addressed  by  Mr.  Weston  to  Governor  Carver, 
dated  London,  July  6,  informing  him  that  the  adven- 
turers had  procured  for  them  a  charter  —  "the  best  we 
could  —  better  than  your  former,  and  with  less  limita- 
tions." "  What  use  was  made  of  this  patent  by  the 
Plymouth  planters,"  says  Judge  Davis,  "does  not 
appear," 

The  fird  patent  to  John  Pierce  and  his  associates, 
given  by  the  president  and  council  of  New  England,  in 
trust  for  the  company,  bears  date  June  1, 1621.     It 
was  probably  brought  in  the  Fortune,  which  sailed  from 
England  early  in  July,  the  same  year.     It  was  found 
among  the  papers  in  the  Land  Ofiicc  at  Boston,  early 
in  the  present  century.     That  document  "  grants  to  the 
patentee  and  his  associates,  who  have  undertaken  a 
plantation  in  New  England,  one  hundred  acres  of  land 
for  each  person  continuing  here  three  years,  or  who 
shall  die  in  the  mean  season,  having  shipped  with  the 
intention  of  so  inhabiting ;  the  land  to  be  chosen  and 
taken  in  any  place  or  places  not  inhabited  or  settled 
by  any  English,  or,  by  order  of  the  council,  already 
selected ;  with  the  further  allowance  of  one  hundred 
acres  for  every  person  sent  by  the  undertakers  to  the 
plantation,  at  their  own  expense,  within  the  term  of 
seven  years,  reserving  a  quitrent  of  two  shillings  for 
each  one  hundred  acres,  to  be  paid  to  the  president 
and  council  of  New  England,  after  the  expiration  of 
seven   years :    and  fifteen    hundred   acres    for    every 
undertaker  are  granted  for  the  erection  of  churches, 
schools,  hospitals,  town  houses,  &c.,  and  for  the  main- 
tenance of  magistrates   and    officers :   free   liberty  of 
fishing  on  the  coasts,  and  in  the  bays,  harbors,  &c.,  of 
New  England,  being   granted,  and   freedom    of  trade 
with  England,  or  elsewhere,  paying  such  duties  as  the 


vGooglc 


ASNALS   Oy   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY  01 

council  are  holden  to  pay :  also  the  privilege  of  trading 
with  the  savages ;  and  of  hunting,  hawking,  fishing,  or 
fowling,  in  any  place  not  inhabited  by  any  English. 
It  contains  a  covenant  for  further  assurance,  and, 
after  due  survey  of  lands  located  within  seven  years, 
for  enfeoffment  and  confirmation  of  the  territory,  by 
letters  of  incorporation,  with  authority  to  make  laws, 
ordinances,  and  constitutions,  for  the  rule  and  govern- 
ment of  all  pei'sons  belonging  to  the  plantation: 
authority  is  given  to  defend  the  possessions  and  privi- 
leges granted,  by  force  of  arms,  against  all  invaders 
and  intruders:  and  when  the  lands  granted  shall  be 
settled,  it  is  further  agreed  that  there  shall  be  an 
additional  allowance  and  grant  of  fifty  acres  for  each 
person  transported  and  settled  in  the  plantation :  the 
patentees  agreeing  to  see  that  a  full  account  is  ren- 
dered of  all  persons  conveyed  to  the  plantation — 
these  to  apply  themselves  and  their  labors,  in  a  large 
and  competent  manner,  to  the  planting,  setting,  making, 
and  procuring  of  good  and  staple  commodities,  in  and 
upon  the  said  land  granted  unto  them,  such  as  corn, 
silk-grass,  hemp,  flax,  pitch,  tar,  soap,  ashes,  potashes, 
iron,  clapboards,  and  other  like  materials." 

This  patent,  it  would  seem,  was  aftenvards  "  super- 
seded by  a  second  patent,  surreptitiously  obtained  by 
Pierce,  for  his  own  benefit,  and  which,  after  his  mis- 
fortunes, was  assigned  to  the  adventurer." 

In  the  ship  Fortune,  on  her  leaving  Plymouth,  {and 
"  whose  cargo  was  valued  at  five  hundred  pounds,  con- 
sisting of  furs,  clapboards,  and  sassafras,")  Mr.  Cushman 
"  returned,  as  the  adventurers  had  directed,  to  give 
them  information  respecting  the  plantation." 

In  1623,  the  second  patent  was  issued  to  John  Pierce, 
in  titisi  for  the  colony ;  but  Pierce  was  selfish,  and  so 


vGooglc 


92  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

mfinaged  matters  as  to  have  his  success  enure  to 
his  individual  benefit,  intending  to  hold  the  adven- 
turers as  his  tenants.^  The  patent  obtained  in 
1629-30,  was  made  to  William  Bradford  and  his  asso- 
ciates." 

One  end  which  the  council  evidently  had  in  view  in 
their  earliest  acts,  was  the  preventing  of  the  access  of 
unauthorized  adventurers.  The  crews  of  ships  visiting 
the  coast  of  New  England  had,  in  their  intercourse 
with  the  natives,  —  being  far  from  any  established 
government,  —  been  guilty  generally  of  great  enormi- 
ties, which  conduct  was  injuring  the  reputation  of 
Europeans  among  the  natives,  and  exciting  them  to 
acts  of  hostility.     It  was  with  this  view  that  Sir  F. 

'  Letters  from  the  "  adventurers  "  in  England — one  bearing  dale 
December  22,  1622,  the  other  April  9,  1 623  —  being  received,  proba- 
bly by  fishing  vessels  sent  over  as  usual,  they  learned  that  the  ship 
Paragon  had  left  the  Thames  for  Plymouth,  which  ship  "  bad  been 
bought  by  Mr.  John  Pierce,  and  set  out  on  his  own  charge,  upon 
hopes  of  great  matters.  This  was  he  in  whose  name  their  j?rs(  patent 
was  taken  for  this  place  where  Plymouth  is,  by  reason  of  acquaintance 
and  some  alliance  that  some  of  their  friends  had  with  him ;  but  his 
name  was  only  used  in  trust;  and  when  he  saw  they  were  hopefully 
seated,  he  goes  and  sues  to  the  council  for  another  patent  of  much 
larger  extent,"  in  their  names,  meaning  "to  keep  it  to  himself,  and  to 
allow  them  what  they  pleased  to  hold  of  him  as  tenants,  and  sue  to 
his  courts  as  chief  lord.  But  the  Lord  marvellously  crossed  him  in  liis 
proceedings.  His  ship  sprung  aleak  by  the  time  she  got  to  the  Downs, 
her  cable  broke,  and  she  was  in  imminent  danger,  and  thus  compelled 
to  pnt  back  to  London.  "When  again  repaired  and  fitted,  and  half  way 
to  New  England,  he  was  again  forced  back  to  Portsmouth  in  Hamp- 
shire. Tlie  other  merchant  adventurers  thereupon  induced  Iiim  to 
assign  the  grand  patent  to  the  company,"     Morton. 

'^  A  singular  fatality  for  a  time  seems  to  have  attended  these  several 
patents.  The  Plymouth  patent  of  1629  was  missing  for  many  years, 
until  1741,  and  is  understood  to  have  been  found  among  Governor 
Bradford's  papers,  in  Plyrapton.     Judge  Davis. 


yGoogle 


AMNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COL'KTY.  93 

Gorges'  son,  Captain  Robert  Gorges,  was  despatelied,  in 
1623,  with  a  commission  as  "lientenant  general  and 
governor  of  New  England,"  Captain  Frs.  West,  Chris- 
topher Levet,  and  the  governor  of  New  Plymouth  for 
the  time,  being  appointed  for  his  council.  Gorges, 
much  dreaded  by  the  new  comers,  after  holding  one 
court  in  Plymouth,  and  remaining  in  the  country  a 
year,  returned  to  England,  and  also  the  Eev.  William 
Morrell,  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  acting  as  chaplain  to 
Gorges,  who  was  sent  over  to  have  a  superintendence 
in  ecclesiastical,  as  Gorges  had  in  civil  affairs.  Mr. 
Morrell,  however,  made  no  use  of  his  commission  at 
Plymouth,  and  only  mentioned  his  having  it  in  a  con- 
versation about  the  time  of  his  departure.  Thus  the 
general  government  which  the  council  aimed  to  estab- 
lish, and  which  was  much  feared  by  the  planters,  fell 
through.  Mr.  Morrell  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of 
prudence,  and  a  diligent  inquirer  in  respect  to  the  state 
and  circumstances  of  the  country,  its  natural  produc- 
tions and  advantages,  and  the  manners,  customs,  and 
government  of  the  natives.  The  result  of  his  observa- 
tions he  wrought  into  a  poem,  which  was  published 
both  in  Latin  and  Enghsh.  The  Latin  was  not  without 
classical  merit/ 

^  The  foUowJog,  addressed  to  King  Cliarles  I.,  13  a  specimen ;  — 

"  Est  locus  oceiduo  procul  hine  spatiosus  in  orbe 
Plurima  regna  t«nens,  populisque  ineognitus  ipsis ; 
Fffilix  frugiferis  fulcis,  aimut  requore  fselix, 
Prfedis  perdivea  variis,  et  flumine  dives, 
Ase  satis  ealidus,  rigiJoque  a  frigore  tutus." 


vGooglc 


TliE   iilSTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


Subsequent  Intercourse  with  the  Cape.  —  lyaDOugh  of  Cmnmaqui!l.  —  As])inet 
of  Niuset.  — Effects  of  Hunt's  Perfidy.  —  Indian  Tribes, —The  Ship 
Fortune  touches  at  the  Cape.  —  Cape  Cod  a  Granary  for  tlie  Early  Set- 
tlers at  Plymouth.  —  Maltachicst.  —  Monamoyidt.  —  Manomet  viBiicd  by 
Dutch,  French,  and  English. 

The  first  mention  we  find  of  Cape  CotI,  after  the 
settlement  at  Plymouth,  is  March  17,  1621,  when, 
after  the  settlers  had  their  first  interview  with  an 
Indian,  who  came  to  them  boldly  with  the  salutation, 
"  Welcome,  Englishmen !  welcome,  Englishmen ! "  they 
were  informed  that  the  Nauset  ^  Indians,  south-east  of 
Plymouth,  were  much  incensed  against  the  English, 
because  of  Captain  Hunt,  of  Smith's  fleet,  who  carried 
away  twenty  Indiana  from  Patuxet,  and  seven  from 
Nauset,  and  sold  them  as  slaves.  Samoset,  who  has 
given  this  information,^  says  that  the  Indians  whom  tlie 
party  from  the  Mayflower  first  encountered,  as  before 
related,  were  Nausets.  He  says  further,  that,  because 
of  this  act  of  treachery  and  perfidy  on  the  part  of 
Hunt,  these  Indians,  about  five  months  before  thv 
landing  of  the  pilgrims  on  Cape  Cod,  had  slain  three 
Englishmen,  and  that  two  more  barely  escaped  to 
Mohiggon.^ 

'  Easthara,  which  originally  embraced  Chatham. 

^  Samoset  had  learned  to  speak  broken  English  from  the  crows  iii' 
fishing  vessels  visiting  the  eastern  shores,  the  names  of  most  of  the 
commanders  of  which  vesseli  he  knew,  and  seemed  familiar  with  the 
coast  from  Nauset  lo  Jlaine. 

3  Samoset  came  from  Mohig-^on— =. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  95 

The  next  mention  of  the  Cape  is  in  connection  with 
the  loss  of  John  BilUngton  in  the  woods  near  Plym- 
outh, in  the  month  of  July,  1621.     This  boy,  belonging 
in  Plymouth,  being  missed,  search  was  made  for  him 
in  vain,  —  until  at  last  the  governor  caused  inquiry 
to  be  made  among  the  natives.     The  great  sachem 
of  the  Wampanoags,  MassasoiTj  on  hearing  that  a  boy 
was  lost  by  his  new  neighbors  at  Plymouth,  with  great 
promptness  and  kindly  feeling,  caused  an  inquiry  to  be 
instituted  among  all  the  surrounding  tribes,  and  was 
soon  enabled  to  send  word  to  Plymouth  that  the  boy 
was  at  Nauset.    He  had  wandered  in  the  woods  five 
days,  living  on  berries,  and  then  had  come  to  an  Indian 
plantation    at   Manomet,^    twenty  miles   south ;    from 
thence  he  had  been  taken,  by  those  who  had  sheltered 
and  fed  him,  to  Nauset.     He  was,  it  will  be  perceived, 
in  the  keeping  of  that  very  people  who,  the  December 
previous,  had  the  conflict  with  the  predatory  gentlemen 
from  the  Mayflower,  who  had  ransacked  the  Indian 
sepulchres,  opened  their  storehouses  of  grain,  and  sup- 
plied themselves  ad  Uhitum,  spoiled  their  habitations  of 
whatever  they  fancied,  and  had  given  demonstration 
to  the  natives  of  the  magic  power  of  firearms,  —  that 
very  people  whose  bosoms  were  yet  filled  with  fear 
and  the  spirit  of  revenge,  on  account  of  the  treatment 
they  had   aforetime   received  from   the    famous   kid- 
napper, Captain  Hunt. 

The  governor  of  Plymouth,  on  receiving  this  intelli- 
gence, despatched  a  shallop,  on  board  of  -which  were 

or  Monhegan.     Indian  names  are  so  variously  recorded  that  il  mny 
be  difficuh,  in  Ihe  progress  of  this  work,  to  pi-eserve  a  wniformity. 
Indeed,  we   may  of  cliuice  follow  the   orthography  of  tlie    record 
from  which  we  quote. 
^  In  Sandwich. 


yGoogle 


96  T>1E   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

ten  men,  with  TIsquantum  ^  and  Tockamahamon  ^  as 
guides  and  interpreters,  to  fetch  the  boy.  On  their  way 
they  were  obliged  to  come  to  anchor  at  night.^  The 
next  morning,  they  found  that  the  ebbing  tide  had  left 
their  shallop  aground,  and  saw  Indians  on  the  other 
side  of  the  channel  beckoning  to  them.  These  Iiidians, 
it  was  ascertained,  had  come  down  to  the  shore  to  bear 
an  invitation  to  the  English  to  come  over  the  channel, 
as  soon  as  the  shallop  should  float,  and  partake  of  the 
hospitality  of  their  sachem,  Iyanough,  whose  residence 
was  near  by.  Iyanough  was  tlie  sachem  of  Cummay- 
quid.*  At  the  proper  time,  the  messengers  again 
presented  themselves;  but  the  English  being  always 
suspicious,  and  aiming  to  be  prudently  cautious,  ar- 
rangements were  made  by  which  they  were  to  re- 
tain on  board  the  shallop  four  of  the  messengers  of 
Iyanough  as  hostages,  whilst  sis  only  of  the  boat's 
company  should  go  with  the  other  messengers,  to  visit 
the  sachem,  agreeably  to  invitation. 

They  found  the  sachem  ready  to  receive  them  with 
great  kindness  and  courtesy.    He  was  "  a  man  very 
.e,  gentle,  courteous,  and  fair  conditioned  — 


^  Usually  written  Squanto;  the  Indian  who  came  with  S 
his  second  visit  to  the  pilgrims,  and  who  was  represented  as  the  only 
eurviyjng  native  of  Patuxet,  and  one  of  those  kidnapped  by  Hunt, 

^  The  Indian  sent  by  Massasoit  to  guide  the  English  deputation 
back  to  Plymouth,  after  their  visit  to  Pokanoket. 

3  At  Cummaquid  —  Eavnstable  harbor. 

*  The  country  between  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth  harbor.  They 
are  said  to  have  come  to  anchor  ia  the  bay  ;  bwt  by  the  bay  is  meant 
the  harbor  of  Barnstable.  Iyanough  was  sometimes  called  Iyanough 
of  Cummaquid,  and  sometimes  Iyanough  of  Mattacbiest.  This  is 
accoimted  for  by  the  fact  that  Cummaquid  was  the  region  about  Barn- 
stable harbor  proper,  and  Mattacbiest  that  part  of  Barnstable  border- 
ing directly  on  Yarmouth,  including  a  part  of  Yarmouth,  These  were 
his  pos.sessioiis. 


yGoogle 


ASfJALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COTJKTY.  97 

about  twenty-six  years  of  age  —  indeed,  not  a  savage, 
save  in  his  attire.  His  entertninment  was  answerable 
to  his  parts,  and  his  cheer  plentiful  and  various." 

After  dinner,  the  sachem,  with  two  of  his  men, 
offered  to  accompany  them  to  Nauset,  which  civility 
they  "  gladly  accepted,"  and  the  shallop  was  soon  under 
"weigh  for  the  place  of  their  destination.  The  tide, 
however,  was  not  favorable ;  the  harbor  of  Nauset  was 
shallow,  and  before  they  could  get  in  they  were  aground 
again. 

It  was  now  proposed  by  lyanough  to  send  a  m.essen- 
ger  by  land  to  Nauset,  to  acquaint  the  sachem  of  that 
plantation  with  their  position  and  errand.  lyanough 
and  his  men  went  on  shore,  and  Tisquantmn  (or 
Squanto,  as  he  was  familiarly  called  by  the  English) 
was  despatched  with  a  message  to  Aspinet,  the  Nauset 
sachem. 

Soon  after  sunset,  Aspinet  arrived,  a  hundred  men 
with  him.  On  receiving  the  message,  in  a  long  train  he 
had  repaired  promptly  to  the  location  of  the  shallop, 
bringing  the  boy  with  him.  On  arriving  at  the  shore, 
one  half  of  the  number  unhesitatingly  waded  through 
the  water  to  tlie  shallop  unarmed,  one  of  the  number 
bearing  on  his  shoulders  the  youth  all  decorated  with 
ornaments,  and  delivered  him  to  his  English  friends. 
The  other  part  of  the  company  had  stood  off  at  a  short 
distance,  with  their  bows  and  arrows. 

A  present  of  a  knife  was  made  to  the  Indian  who 
had  kindly  entertained  the  boy,  and  a  knife  was  also 
presented  to  the  sachem,  Aspinet 

Aspinet  embraced  the  opportunity  thus  presented  of 
"  making  peace,"  and  establishing  a  firm  friendship  with 
the  English  settlers  at  Plymouth. 

"When  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  are  consid- 
VOL.  I.  13 


vGooglc 


98  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

ered,  we  are  constrained  to  admire  the  forbeai'imcc,  and 
not  only  pacific,  but  friendly  disposition,  of  the  Indians. 
There  was  present  on  this  occasion  an  Indian  woman, 
who  was  more  than  one  hundred  years  of  age.  She 
had  come  from  Nanset  on  purpose  to  see  the  English, 
for  she  had  never  seen  an  Englishman  before ;  but, 
seeing  them,  she  wept  with  great  and  sore  lamentation. 
The  English,  inquiring  the  cause,  found  that  she  was 
the  mother  of  three  of  the  men  stolen  away  by  Hunt, 
and  that  the  remembrance  of  her  loss  had  overpowered 
her.  She  said  her  three  boys  were,  at  the  time  they 
were  kidnapped,  her  only  surviving  family,  and  she,  by 
that  act,  was  left  alone  in  her  old  age.  The  party  from 
Plymouth  endeavored  to  pacify  her  by  assuring  her 
that  Hunt  and  his  people  were  bad  Englishmen,  but 
that  the  Plymouth  people  were  good  friends  to  the  In- 
dians.   Tliey  gave  her  also  "  some  small  trifles." 

lyanough,  also,  before  parting  with  the  company  of 
English  visitors,  embraced  the  occasion  to  give  in  his 
friendly  adhesion.  The  Indians,  it  is  proper  to  add, 
were  prevailed  upon  to  accept  some  trifling  presents 
for  the  corn  which  had  been  taken  from  their  granaries 
the  December  previous. 

lyanough  seems  to  have  been  regarded  by  the  8c1> 
tiers  as  particularly  distinguished  for  liis  com'tcous 
manners  and  comely  appearance.  "Were  he  not  a  "  sav- 
age," it  would  have  been  thought  that  his  whole  de- 
portment indicated  great  goodness  of  heart  and  refined 
sensibilities.  Besides  various  kind  offices  which  he 
seemed  desirous  of  rendering  with  his  own  hand,  such 
as  taking  the  rundlet  of  the  Englishmen  and  going  in 
the  night  some  distance  to  fill  it  with  cool,  fresh  water, 
he  could  not  let  his  visitors  return  without  a  parting 
festival,  at  which  all  his  people,  men,  women,  and  chil- 


vGooglc 


ANS.\L9    OP    BARNSTABLE    COUXTi".  90 

dren,  -were  assembled.  The  women  joined  Iiand  in 
hand  in  dancing  and  singing,  and  the  scene  closed  by 
Ijanough  taking  a  bracelet  from  his  own  neck,  and 
placing  it  upon  the  neck  of  the  leader  of  the  English 
party. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  that  same  year,  nine  sa^ 
chems  subscribed  an  instrument  of  submission  to  King 
JameSj  "viz.,  |  Ohquamehud/  Cawnacome/  Obbatinnua,* 
I  Nattawahunt,  Corbitant,*  Chikatabak,*  Quadaqnina,'' 
§  Huttamoiden,  and  |  Apannow.  The  great  "  Massasoit 
also  does  the  same,  with  many  kings  under  him,  as  of 
Pamet,  Nauset,  Cummaquid,  Namasket,  with  divers 
others  who  dwell  about  the  bays  of  Patuxet  and  Mas- 
sachusett." 

It  may  as  well  here  be  stated  that,  before  the  arriYiil 
of  the  Plymouth  settlers,  the  territory  afterwards  con- 
stituting the  old  colony  of  Plymouth,  was  possessed  by 
a  nation  of  Indians  called  Wampanoags,  or  Pawkun- 
nawkuts,  generally  written  Pokanokets.  The  Indians 
in  tlie  county  of  Barnstable  were  made  tip  of  distinct 
tribes,  but  they  seem  to  have  been,  in  some  sense,  under 
the  chief  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags/    Of  the  various 

'  Of  those  marked  §  no  satisfactory  account  can  be  given.  In  the 
Relation  by  Monrt,  he  says,  "  Yea,  Massasoit  has  owned  the  King  of 
England  to  be  his  master,  both  he  and  many  kings  under  him,  as  of 
Pamet,  Naivset,  Cummaquid,  Namasket,  with  divers  who  dwell  about 
the  bays  of  Patuxet  and  Massachti  setts." 

^  Of  Manomet,  in  Sandwich.  ^  Shawmut,  now  Boston. 

*  Of  Mattapuyst — Swansey.  '  Of  Nepotiset. 

*  Brother  of  Massasoit. 

'  The  Indians  upon  the  Cape  were  not  considered  as  a  pai't  of  the 
Wampanoags,  whatever  may  have  been  their  position  in  regard  to 
Massasoit  It  is  asserted  that  there  were  two  sachemdoms  or  cantons 
of  the  Cape  Indians,  one  extending  from  the  borders  of  Plymouth, 
and  embracing  Maslipee,  a  part  of  Barnstable  and  Falmouth,  iis  well 


vGooglc 


100  tllE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE    COD. 

tribes  upon  the  Cape,  the  Nauset  Indians  occupied 
a  prominent  position.  They  dwelt  on  the  land  which 
the  English  afterwards  settled  by  the  name  of  East- 
ham  ;  and  their  country  extended  from  Xobscussett  to 


aa  Sandwich,  including  divers  petty  saeliems  or  sagamores ;  the  other 
extending  from  Mattachieat  to  Cape  Cod  harbor.    "  The  WamponoJiga 
were  a  great  people  heretofore,"  says  Gookin.     "  They  lived  to  the 
east  and  north-east  of  the  Marragansets,  and  their  chief  sachem  held 
dominion  over  divers  other  petty  sagamores  or  sachems,  as  upon  the 
Island  of  Nantucket  and  Nope,  or  Martlia'a  Vineyard,  Nauset,  Man- 
omayick,  Saukatueket,  Nobsquassct,  Mattakees,  and  othei-s,  not  ex- 
cepting some  of  the  Nipmueka.     This  people  were  a  potent  nation  in. 
former  times,  and  could  raiae  about  three  thousand  fighting  men. 
They  held  war  with  the   Harragansets,  and  often  jomed  with  the 
Massachusets,  as  iriends  and  confederates,  against  the  Narraganseis. 
Great  numbers  of  them  were  swept  away  by  an  unasual  pestilence 
which  prevailed  in  tlie  years  1612  and  1613.     Thereby  divine  Provi- 
dence made  way  for  a  quiet  and  peaceable  settlement  of  the  English. 
Some  old  Indians,  who  were  youtlis  at  the  time  of  this  desolating  epi- 
demic, say  that  the  bodies  were  exceeding  yellow,  both  before  and 
ailer  death."     Gookin. — "Besides  the  Wampanoaga,  the  principal 
nations  of  Indians  then  inhabiting  New  England  were  the  Karrngan- 
sets,  whose  territory  extended  about  thirty  or  forty  miles  from  Spc- 
konk  Eiver  and  Narraganset  Bay,  including  nearly  the  whole  of 
Rhode  Island,  and  other  islands  in  that  bay,  being  their  eaat  and  north 
bound.'!,  and  so  running  westerly  and  southerly  to  "Welcapage,  four  or 
five  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Pawkatuck  River.     Tliey  could  once 
raise  five  thousand  figliting  men.    The  Pequots  were  in  Connecticut, 
having  the  Narragatisets  east,  and  could  once  raise  four  thousand  men 
fit  for  war.     The  Masaachuseta  inhabited  principally  about  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  and  their  chief  sachem  held  dominion  over  many  infe- 
rior sachems,  aa  of  the  Weechagaskaa,  Neponset,  Punkepoag,  Nonan- 
tam,  Nashaway,  and  some  of  the  Nipmuck  people,  as  far  as  Pokam- 
tahuke.     They   could,   in  former  times,  arm  for  war   about   tlu'ee 
thousand  men.     Tliis  people  were  also    smitten  by  the   pe&tilcnee. 
The   Pawtuckets   were  north  and  north-east   of  the  Maasachuset'i, 
and  included  the  Pennakooks,  Agawames,  Nacukeeks.  Pascafawaa, 
Accomintas,  and  others.     They  could  i-aise  three  thousand  \yavrioi-*. 
The   pestilence  reached  them  al:^o.     The  Tarrantt'eu*  were  furtl."r 
east."     GooMn. 


yGoogle 


ASNALS    OF    EARNSTAUr-U;    COUKTi'.  101 

the  end  of  the  Cape,  including  Sautucket,'  Monamoyick/. 
Potannmaquut,*  Pochet,*  Tonset,°  Weesit,  Pononakanit,* 
Pamet/  and  Mesliawn,'  The  principal  seafes  of  the 
Nausets  were  at  Namskalcet,  within  the  present  limits 
of  Orleans,  and  about  the  cove  which  divides  Orleans 
from  Eastham.  At  this  cove,  shell-fish  have  always  been 
abundant,  and  there  are  still  to  be  seen  some  indica- 
tions of  the  great  use  they  made  of  them,  in  the  vast 
collections  of  shells  in  different  places. 

The  other  Indian  tribes  on  the  Cape  occupied  Nob- 
scusset,"  Mattakees,'"  Weeqnakut,"  Skanton,"^  Sugkones," 
Manomet"  Kataumet,"  Comassakumkanit,'^  Pokeeste/ 
and  Massapee,^  which  last  included  Coatuit,'*  Satuitj"" 
Pawpoesit,  Walcoquet/'  Ashimuet,*'  and  Weesquobs.^ 

^  West  part  of  Harwich.  ^  Chatham. 

°  South-east  part  of  Eastham  then,  now  Harwich. 
*  In  Orleans.  '  In  Orleans  —  the  Nd^k. 

"  BilUngsgate,  or  "Welllleet.  '  Truro. 

^  Part  of  Traro  and  Provincetown. 

'  Norlh-east  part  of  Yarmouth,  since  North  Dennis.  Sometimes 
Nobsquassit. 

'"  North-west  part  of  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable  harbor.  Generally 
Mattachiest. 

"  Pronounced  Chequaket.  South  part  of  the  east  precinct  in 
Barnstable. 

^^  Scorton,  on  the  line  between  Sandwich  and  Barnstable. 

^  The  more  modem  pronunciation,  Succoncssit — Falmouth. 

"  Near  Buzzard's  Bay,  in  Sandwich. 

"  On  Buzzard's  Bay. 

"  Near  Sandwich — probably  Hereing  Pond. 

"  Or  Pokes! t — now  Pocasset. 

'*  Or  Mashpee.  The  Mashpee  tribe  has  long  been  the  principal 
body  of  Indians  residing  in  the  Old  Colony, 

'"  Since,  the  south-west  part  of  Barnstable. 

*  Dennis. 

**  Or  Waquoit,  now  a  part  of  Falmouth. 

^  Or  Shuniet,  now  in  Falmouth,  on  the  west  line  of  Mashpee. 

^  Probably  Great  Neck. 


vGooglc 


102  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAM    COD. 

Bordering  on  some  of  these  locations  was  Pispogutt, 
and  othei'  places  not  now  definable,  as  also  Wayayontat 
and  Agawam,  now  Wareham. 

The  Indians  on  Nantucket,  Martha's  Vineyard,  and 
the  Elizabeth  Isles,  although  near,  and  in  constant  com- 
munication with  the  Cape,  were  separate  tribes,  under 
their  own  sachems. 

The  Mattachiest  Indians  were  under  lyauongh; 
the  Indians  at  Manomet  had  Caunacome  for  their  sa- 
chem ;  and  the  Mashpees  Tookenchosen,  or  Paupmun- 
nuck,  perhaps  both  in  succession.^  The  government  of 
the  other  Indian  settlements  is  not  so  apparent,  but  it 
has  been  supposed  that  those  in  Succonessit  extending 
to  Wood's  Hole,  and  tliose  at  Scorton,  were  under  their 
own  distinct  sagamores. 

The  Indians  on  Cape  Cod,  although,  as  we  have  said, 
owing  some  kind  of  fealty  to  the  Wampanoags,  could 
not  be  induced  by  Metacomet,  alias  King  Pliilip,  the  son 
of  Massasoit,  notwithstanding  his  success  in  engaging 
almost  all  the  other  Indians  of  the  country  in  the  war 
of  1675,  to  join  him.  Those  at  Manomet,  from  the 
tune  that  Canonicns,  their  sachem,  gave  in  his  adhesion 

'  "Some  deny  that  Paupmunnuck  was  the  chief,  and  make  Tooken- 
chosen the  aachem.  But  in  1648,  the  former  sold  lands  to  the  people 
of  Parnatable,  as  heing  the  ehief  of  his  tribe."  fftitchinson.  —  In  1764, 
the  Mashpees  were,  says  Mr.  Hawley,  "  the  principal  body  of  Indians 
left  in  New  England.  They  had,  at  that  time,  it  is  thonght,  not  pre- 
served a  succession  of  sairhems,  but  had,  for  many  years,  affected  gov- 
ernment in  imitation  of  the  English,  However,  the  great-grandson  of 
Paupmunnack  was,  in  1761,  considered  their  chief  speaker."  Dying 
that  year,  another  of  Paupmunmick's  descendants  was  conspicuous 
among  them.  "  In  1764,  he  was,  when  nearly  fourscore  years  old,  a 
schoolmaster.  They  had  then  a  town  of  sixty-five  wigwams.  They 
had  also  nine  wigwams  at  Scorton,  and  four  at  Sockanessil^  within  the 
bounds  of  Falmouth." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   BAItSSTABLE   COUSTY,  iKlii 

to  the  English,  were  faithful  allies,  and  proved  a  do- 
fence  to  Sandwich,  and  the  towns  farther  down  on  the 
Cape.^ 

Previous  to  the  arrival  at  Plymouth  of  the  ship 
Fortune,  in  November,  1621,  with  thirty-five  new  set- 
tlers, she  touched  at  Cape  Cod,  and  the  Indians  brought 
word  to  Plymouth  of  her  arrival;  but  as  she  made 
for  Plymouth  harbor,  much  alann  was  created  by  an 
impression  that  it  was  a  French  ship,  and  the  gov- 
ernor ordered  guns  to  be  fired  to  call  in  all  who  were 
abroad  at  work,  and  preparations  were  made  for  de- 
fence. This  act  of  the  Indians  certainly  showed  on  the 
part  of  the  Cape  Indians  friendly  feeling,  a  disposition 
to  be  neighborly  and  kind,^ 

^  Hutchinson. 

°  Prince.  The  Indians  had  long  since  become  familiar,  of  course, 
with,  the  sight  of  ships ;  but  a  ■writer  in  olden  times  hai  said,  "  The 
Indians  in  Maaaa^husetts  took  the  first  ship  they  saw  for  a  walking 
island,  the  masts  to  be  trees,  the  swls  white  clouds,  and  the  discharge 
of  ordnance  lightning  and  thunder,  which  did  much  trouble  them. 
But  this  thunder  being  over,  and  this  moving  island  steadied  with  an 
anchor,  they  manned  out  their  canoes  to  go  and  pick  strawberries 
there.  They  do  much  extol  and  wonder  ut  the  English  for  their 
strange  inventions,  especially  for  a  windmill,  which,  in  their  esteem, 
was  little  less  than  the  world's  wonder,  for  the  strangeness  of  his 
whisking  motion,  and  the  sharp  teuth,  biting  the  com  (as  they  term  it) 
into  such  little  pieces  ;  they  were  loath,  at  first,  to  come  near  to  his 
long  arms,  or  to  abide  in  so  tottering  a  tabernacle,  though  now  they 
dare  go  any  where,  so  far  as  they  have  an  English  guide.  The  fti-st 
ploughman  was  counted  little  better  than  a  juggler.  The  Indians, 
seeing  the  plough  tear  up  more  ground  in  a  day  than  their  clam-shells 
could  scrape  up  in  a  month,  desired  to  see  the  workmanship  of  it,  and, 
viewing  well  the  colter  and  share,  perceiving  it  to  be  iron,  told  the 
ploughman  he  was  almost  abamicho  — almost  as  cunning  as  the  devil. 
They  frequent  often  English  churches,  where  they  sit  soberly,  though 
they  understand  not  such  hidden  mysteries.  They  have  two  sorts  of 
games,  one  called  Puim,  tlie  other  lluh-buh.     They  are  fu  bewitchod 


yGoogle 


104  THE   mSTOKY    OF    CAPE    COD. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1622,  the  provision  of  the 
settlers  at  Plymouth  being  spent,  Mr.  Bradford  records, 
"  A  famine  begins  to  pinch  ns,  and  we  look  hard  for  a 
supply,  but  none  arrives."  From  some  fishing  vessels 
on  the  coast  bread  was  obtained  to  the  amount  of  a 
quarter  of  a  pound  per  day  for  each  person  till  harvest, 
and  tliis  the  governor  caused  to  be  dealt  out  daily,  "  or 
some  had  starved.  The  want  of  bread  had  abated  the 
strength  and  flesh  of  some,  and  had  swelled  others,  and 
had  tltey  not  been  where  are  divers  sorts  of  shell  fish, 
they  must  have  perished."  ^  The  crop  proving  scanty, 
"  partly  through  weakness  for  want  of  food,"  the  settlers 
embraced  the  opportunity  of  buying  from  a  Virginia 
ship,  sent  to  survey  the  shoals  about  Cape  Cod, "  knives 
and  beads,  which  are  now  good  for  trade,"  paying  in 
beaver ;  and  being  thus  "  fitted  to  trade  for  both  corn 
and  beaver,"  they  assayed  to  go  around  Cape  Cod  to 
the  southward,  but  were  often  baffled  in  their  attempt, 
until,  in  November,  the  governor  being  one  of  the 
party,  they  succeeded  in  passing  to  the  south  of  the 
Cape."  "  Seeing  no  passage  through  tlie  shoals  of  Cape 
Cod,"  they  put  into  a  harbor  at  Manamoyk,  and  "  the 
same  evening,  the  governor,  with  Squanto  and  others, 
went  ashore  to  the  Indian  houses,  staid  all  night,  traded 
with  the  natives,  and  obtained  eight  hogsheads  of  corn 
and  beans.^     Here  Squanto,  their  early  friend  and  faith- 

witli  these  two  games,  that  they  lose,  sometimes,  all  they  have ;  beaver, 
moose-skins,  kettles,  ■wampoopeage,  mowhackiea,  liatchets  and  knives, 
is  ail  confiscate  by  these  two  games." 

■  Prince,  Bradfoi-d,  "Winslow. 

*  This  was  the  first  adventure  around  the  Cape. 

^  "  Beans  are  undoubtedlj'  natural  to  the  countiy  as  much  as  In- 
dian com.  la  Canada,  when  the  French  first  found  them  among  the 
natives,  they  called  them  'beans  of  Brazil.'"  Hutchinson.  —  "Tlie 
Indians  had  a  tradition  that  a  erow  brought  (lie  first  grain  of  Indian 


yGoogle 


jVKHAIS   of   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  105 

ful  guide  and  interpreter,  was  taken  sick  and  died," 
bequeathing  his  effects  to  sundry  of  his  English  friends 
as  remembrances  of  his  love.  They  sailed  thence  and 
visited  the  Massachusets,  but  found  they  must  give  as 
much  for  a  quart  of  com  as  they  used  to  give  for  a 
beaver  skin.  Great  complaints  were  made  to  the  gov- 
ernor against  the  treatment  the  Massachusets  received 
from  the  English,  Discouraged  in  their  application 
here,  they  returned  again  to  Cape  Cod.  At  Nauset, 
they  bought  eight  or  ten  hogsheads  of  corn  and  beans. 
They  secured  an  additional  supply  at  Mattachiest' 
But  now  they  had  lost  their  shallop ;  so  they  were 
obliged  to  stack  and  cover  their  treasures,  intrusting 
all  to  the  care  of  the  Indians  since  they  had  no  means 
of  getting  any  thing  on  board  the  ship.^  The  governor 
procured  a  guide,  and  they  "  set  out  on  foot,  fifty  miles, 
receiving  all  respect  from  the  natives  by  the  way,  and 
weary  and  with  galled  feet,"  arrived  safely  at  Plymouth. 
Three  days  after,  the  ship  arrived  bringing  the  com 
first  obtained. 

In  the  January  of  1623,  Captain  Miles  Standish 
being  despatched  in  another  ship,  with  another  shallop, 
sailed  to  Nauset,  found  the  lost  shallop  and  repaired  it, 
fomid  the  com  that  had  been  left  behind  all  safe,  and 
got  it  on  board  ship.  But  whilst  there,  having  lodged 
ashore,  Captain  Standish  discovered  that  in  his  absence 
"  some  trifles  "  had  been  taken  from  the  shallop  as  she 
lay  in  the  creek.  No  sooner  had  he  missed  them,  than 
he  took  with  him  certain  of  his  company,  and  went  to 

corn ;  and  although  this  bird  often  robbed  their  fields,  not  one  Indian 
in  a  hundred  would  kill  them."     Roger  WiUiams. 

^  "  Governor  Bradford  says  twenty-eight 
beans  were  obtained  in  all,"     Prince. 

^  T!ie  siiallop  had  been  cast  away. 
VOL.  I.  14 


/Google 


106  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD, 

the  sachem,  demantling  restitutioa,  and  threatening,  ift 
case  the  goods  were  not  restored,  to  "  revenge  it  on 
the  Indians  before  he  left  them." '  The  sachem  seems 
to  have  listened  to  the  demand  and  threat  without  any 
spirit  of  unchristian  resentment,  and,  so  far  as  we  are 
informed,  with  becoming  dignity.  Foi',  the  next 
morning  he  came  "  in  a  stately  manner,"  attended  by 
many  people,  and  entering  the  rendezvous  of  the  val- 
iant captain,  saluted  him  by  bowing  and  kissing  his 
hand,  and  then  delivered  to  him  "  the  trifles  "  tliat  had 
been  missed,  saying  that  he  had  caused  the  offender 
to  be  punished,  and  that  he  himself  was  very  sorry 
tliat  the  offence  should  have  been  committed.  The 
noble  sachem  then  directed  his  women  to  provide  re- 
freshments for  the  captain  and  his  company,  and  "  was 
glad  to  be  reconciled."  ^ 

Soon  after  this,  needing  more  com,  the  governor, 
with  Hobamok"  and  others, went  "to  Manomot,  twenty 
miles  south  of  Plymouth,  a  town '  standing  on  a  fresh 
river  rmming  into  a  bay  towards  Narraganset.  'Twill 
bear  a  boat  of  eight  or  ten  tons  to  this  place  ;  hither 
the  Dutch  or  French  are  botli  used  to  come  :  it  is  hence 
to  the  Bay  of  Cape  Cod  about  eight  miles,  out  of  which 
bay  the  sea  flows  into  a  creek  about  six  miles  almost 
directly  towards  the  town.  The  heads  of  this  creek 
and  river  are  not  far  distant'     The  sachem  of  tliis  place 

'  Prince,  Winslow.  One  ia  here  naturally  reminded  of  the  i-einark 
wliicli  Mr,  Hubbai-d  made  of  Miles  Standish :  "  A  little  diimiiey  is 
soon  fired ;  so  was  the  Plymouth  captain,  a  man  of  very  small  statuie, 
yet  of  a  very  hot  and  angry  temper." 

^  The  trifles  were  some  beads  and  a  pair  of  scissors. 

^  Hobamok  was  a  pinese  or  chief  captain  of  Massasoit,  and  had 
come  to  reside  with  the  English,  after  their  mission  to  Pokanoket. 

*  Indian  settlement  at  Herring  Pond  and  Miinomot. 
See  Annals  of  Sandwich.     The  creek,  whiijh  opens  easterly  into 


yGoogk' 


ANS.-VLS   OF   BAENSTAISLE    COUNTY.  lOV 

is  Caunacum,  whoj  September  13,  with  many  others, 
owned  himself  a  subject  of  King  James,  and  now  uses 
the  governor  veiy  kindly.  The  governor,  lodging  here 
in  a  bitter  night,  buys  corn,  but  leaves  it  in  the  sachem's 
custody."  ^ 

Again  in  February,  not  having  much  corn  left,  Cap- 
tain Standish  went  with  six  men  in  a  shallop  to  Mattar 
chiest,  and  procured  "  a  good  quantity  of  com  from  the 
natives.  Through  extremity,  he  and  his  men  are  forced 
to  lodge  in  the  Indians'  houses,  which  they  much 
pressed,  as  he  thinks,  with  a  design  to  kill  him." 
Somehow,  his  mind  was  much  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  a  conspiracy  was  in  progress.  He  therefore 
ordered  his  men  that  were  near  his  person  to  keep 
awake  by  turns,  and  afterwards  concluded  tliat  tlius 
only  were  they  saved. 

Here,  also,  "some  trifles"  were  missed,^  which  the 
captam  no  sooner  perceived  than,  though  he  had  hut 
few  men  with  him, "  he  drew  them  from  the  boat,  beset 
the  sachem's  house,  where  most  of  tire  people  were, 
and  threatened  to  fall  upon  them  without  delay  if  they 

Scusset  Harbor,  and  the  river  at  Manomet  nearly  meet  on  low 
ground  and  indicate  the  route  for  tiie  canal  early  projected  across  the 
Isthmus  of  Cape  Cod,  and  which,  it  was  supposed,  would  be  of  "  vast 
advantage"  to  commerce,  not  only  "by  saving  a  long  and  dangerous 
navigation  around  the  Cape,  and  over  the  shoals  adjoining,"  but  would 
"open  almoat  a  new  creation "  to  this  place.  It  was  said,  "Where 
are  now  seen  a  few  scattered  dwellings,  hundreds  would  then  appear. 
Employment  to  large  numbers  of  people  would  be  rapidly  furnished ; 
real  estate  situated  on  its  borders  would  be  greatly  enhanced  in  value  ; 
constant  markets  and  easy  transportation  would  be  obtained,  ware- 
houses erected  on  the  banks  of  the  canal,  and  the  oggregale  of  na- 
tional blessings  would  be  immense."  The  supply  of  water  from  the 
Herring  Pond  would,  doubtless,  Imve  been  adequate  to  the  work. 

'  See  Prince  and  Winthrop. 

'  A  few  heads  only. 


vGooglc 


108  THE   HISTOEY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

did  not  forthwith,  restore  thenij  signifying  that,  as  he 
would  not  offer  the  least  injury,  so  he  would  not  receive 
any^  without  due  satisfaction."  The  sachem  meekly 
inquired  out  the  offender,  and  made  him  return  the 
articles  talcen  which  were  a  few  beads.  And  then, 
further  to  appease  the  wratli  of  the  testy  captain, 
ordered  more  corn  to  be  brought.  The  shallop  was 
loaded,  and  reached  home  in  safety. 

The  next  month,  March  25,  1623,  Captain  Standish 
went  again  to  Manomet  for  the  corn  the  governor  had 
bought,  entering  Scnsset  harbor  with  his  shallop.  And 
now  being  in  the  house  of  Caunacum,  the  sachem  of 
Manomet,  two  natives  arrived  from  tlie  Massachusets. 
The  chief  of  these  was  "Witawamet,  who  soon  became, 
as  Captain  Standish  conceited,  very  insulting,  boasting 
of  his  own  valor,  and  intimating  the  weakness  of  the 
English.  "Witawamet  came,  as  Captain  Standish  now 
imagined,  for  the  express  purpose  of  engaging  Cauna- 
cum in  a  conspiracy  against  the  English.  Tliese  sus- 
pected Indians,  nevertheless,  joined  the  others  in  helping 
carry  the  corn  a  long  distance  on  board  the  shallop. 

Captain  Standish  also  alleged,  on  his  return  home, 
that  on  this  occasion,  "a  lusty  savage,  belonging  to 
Paomet,  (Pamet,)  had  resolved  to  kill  him,  and  that  the 
plan  was  for  the  Indians  there  to  fall  on  his  company  ; 
but  the  night  being  exceeding  cold,  he,  Standish,  coidd 
not  sleep,  and  turned  from  side  to  side  before  the  fire 
all  night ;  so  the  Indian  missed  his  opportunity.  The 
next  day,  this  same  Indian  would  fain  have  persuaded 
Captain  Standish  to  go  witli  him  to  Paomet,  where  he 
had  much  com." 

About  this  time,  within  a  few  days,  Hobamok  sug- 

'  This  phrase,  it  will  be  perceived,  has  been  copied  by  modem  mil- 
itary men  and  diplomats. 


yGoogle 


AKXALS   OF   BARKSTABLE    COUx^TY.  109 

1  that  he  had  heard  of  a  plot  against  the  English, 
in  which  the  Indians  of  Paomet,  Nauset,  Mattachiest, 
Succonet,  Capawali,  Manomet,  and  Agawam  were  con- 
cerned, and  advised  the  English  hy  all  means  to  kill 
the  conspirators  without  delay.  Accordingly,  March  23, 
being  yearly  court  day,  the  governor  communicated  this 
intelligence  to  the  people.  They  concluded  that  the 
matter  should  be  left  entirely  with  the  governor; 
authorizing  him,  with  the  assistant  and  Captain  Stan- 
dish,  to  do  in  the  premises  whatever  tliey  might  judge 
expedient  Captain  Standish  was  ordered  to  take  suffi- 
cient force,  and  fall  on  the  principal  conspirators  at  once; 
but  to  forbear  until  he  could  make  sure  of  Witawamet, 
the  insulting  savage  whom  he  had  met  at  Manomet. 

The  next  day  the  captain  repaired  to  the  scene  of 
the  conspiracy,  which  was  at  Wesagusquaset, — now 
Weymouth,  —  "under  the  pretence  of  trade."  He  got 
together  the  Indians  most  prominent,  —  Witawamet, 
Peksuot,  a  noted  chief  and  counsellor,  with  one 
other,  and  also  a  brother  of  Witawamet, —  and  then, 
watching  his  opportunity,  he  and  liis  men  fell  upon 
these  Indians,  and  quickly  slew  tln-ee  of  them  wttli 
knives,  and  hung  the  fourth.  Another  Indian,  Captain 
Standish  had  expected  to  be  present  at  this  interview ; 
but  as  he  had  not  arrived,  the  captain  and  his  men 
hastened  to  his  place  and  despatched  him.  Another 
party,  assisting,  killed  two  others.  Captain  Standish 
and  his  men  then  returned  to  Plymouth  in  triumph, 
bearing  with  them  tlie  head  of  Witawamet,  which  they 
set  up  on  a  pole  over  the  fort. 

Tlie  news  of  this  massacre,  spreading  among  the 
Indiana,  created   tlie   greatest   consternation,'   causing 

'  "Tills    action  so   ama?.cs  tlio   natives,  that   tlioy  fbi'?ai;«    lln^ii' 


vGooglc 


110  Tim  HISTORY  OF  cape  cod. 

them  to  feel  that  no  confidence  can  be  reposed  in 
those  they  have  befriended,  and  that  any  and  every 
one  is  liable,  at  any  moment,  to  become  the  victim  of 
some  false  accusation,  and,  upon  tlie  shglitest  pretence, 
and  without  a  hearing,  to  be  called  to  swell  the  nnmber 
of  those  fallen  before  the  spirit  of  relentless  extemiina- 
tion.  Among  those  who  now  ceased  to  regard  their 
dwellings  as  safe  resorts,  and,  in  hourly  expectation 
of  an  attack  upon  themselves,  took  to  woods  and 
swamps,  where  they  contracted  disease  and  became 
familiar  with  death,  were  several  of  the  Cape  Cod 
tribes.  Thus  miserably  died  Caimacum,  the  sachem  of 
Manomet;  Aspinet,  the  sachem  of  Nauset;  and  the 
noble-hearted  and  courteous  lyanongh,  sachem  of  Mat- 
tachiest ;  and  very  many  of  their  people.' 

From  one  of  the  above  tribes  a  boat  was  despatched 
to  the  governor  of  Plymouth,  with  presents,  to  procure 
a  peace ;  but  when  near  Plymouth,  the  boat  was  cast 
away,  three  of  the  Indians  were  drowned,  and  the  only 
one  surviving  dare  not  come  near  t!ie  English  to  make 
known  his  errand.^ 

houses,  run  to  and  fvo,  live  in  swamps,  &c,  winch  lirmc!>  on  tlum 
sundry  diseases,  whereof  many  die."     Piince      limilnti 

'  "  And  many  others  are  still  daily  dying  imong  thf  m  I!  tnslow 
3  "Winslow,  Prince.  It  was  on  hearing  the  rcpoit  of  these  tmn  ac- 
tions, tliat  Rev.  Mr.  Robinson  wrote  from,  Leyden  to  the  chuich  it 
Plymouth,  begging  tliem  "to  consider  tho  dispo->\tion  of  then  captam 
who  was  a  man  of  a  waim  temper."  He  '  trustfd  the  Loid  had  =ent 
him  among  tbem  for  good,  but  feared  he  was  wanting  m  thit  tendci 
neas  of  the  life  of  man,  made  after  Gods  imige,  winch  was  meet, 
and  thought  it  would  have  been  better  if  they  had  conveited  some 
before  they  had  killed  any."  Notwithstanding  these  hnmaae  sugges- 
tions of  Mr.  Robinson,  Dr.  Young,  in  his  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgnms,  m 
timates  the  great  risk  which  any  man  runs  who  impeaches  the  Puntans 
We  have  no  disposition  to  speak  diBparagmglj  of  them,  noi  do  we 
boast  of  sufficient  fortitude  or  recklcssnc  a 


vGooglc 


ASNALS   OF   BATtNST,iBLE    COUKXY. 


CHATTER    VII. 

Conlantied  Intercourse  \vith  Ihc  Cape.  —  Trading  House  established  at  Jlnn- 
omet.  —  Patent.  —  Great  Storm .  —  Troublous  Times. — Declaration  of 
Bights. 

Fkom  this  time  the  Ca.pe  Indians  appear  to  have  had 
but  little  intercoui'se  with  the  English  for  some  time. 
Indeed,  the  trade  with  the  natives  in  every  direction 
fell  off;  partly  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  diminution  of 
their  mimbers  by  the  havoc  of  death,  and  to  the  sur- 
viving being  disheartened,  or  finding  channels  of  com- 
merce more  to  their  interest,  and  less  repugnant  to 
their  feelings;  so  that,  before  tlie  close  of  1623, 
Governor  Bradford  is  heard  complaining  that,*  alUiough 
the  pinnace  sent,  September  10,  around  the  Cape  to 
trade,  got  some  corn  and  beaver,  yet  it  made  a  poor 
voyage}  The  chief  cause,  however,  is  doubtless  to  be 
found  in  the  general  distrust  the  Indians  now  felt  of 
their  neighbors. 

In  the  December  of  1G26,  a  ship,  with  many  passen- 
gers, bound  from  London  to  Virgmia,  was  stranded 
upon  a  flat  at  Monamoyick,  and  those  on  board  barely 

but  we  will  here  venture  the  remark,  that  had  they  followed  the 
example  of  Roger  Williams, — the  victim  of  their  persecution  and 
outkwiy, — or  of  William  Penn,  —  tliat  noble  representative  of  the 
abused  Quakers, — in  their  treatment  of  the  Indians,  our  duty  of 
recording  these  painful  iacfs  might  have  been  alleviated,  and  they 
might  have  saved  an  immense  amount  of  treasure  and  blood. 

'  "  The  Duteh  fimii-.h  elotli  and  better  commodities ;  whereas 
the  pinnace  had  only  beads  and  knives,  which  are  not  esteemed." 
Brw^ford. 


yGoogle 


112  THE  hisiohy  of  cape  cod. 

escaped  ■witli  their  lives  and  goods.  The  master  being 
^clc,  they  had  lost  their  way,  and  had  neither  wood,  nor 
water,  nor  beer  left.  Through  fear  of  starving,  they 
had  "  steered  towards  the  coast  to  find  land,  and  had 
run  over  the  dangerous  shoals  of  Cape  Cod  in  the 
night,  they  knew  not  how.  They  came  directly  before 
a  small,  obscure  harbor  about  tlie  middle  of  Moiiaraoy- 
ick  Bay ;  at  high  water,  touched  the  bar ;  and  towards 
night,  beat  over  into  the  liarbor,  and  run  on  a  flat 
within,  close  to  the  beach,  not  knowuig  where  tliey  were. 
As  the  savages  came  towards  them  in  canoes,  they 
stood  on  their  guard."  But  tlie  Indiana  assuaged  their 
fears,  asking  them  "  if  they  were  the  governor  of 
Plymouth's  men,"  and  offering  to  assist  them,  and,  if 
they  desired,  to  carry  letters  for  them  to  Plymouth. 
The  Indians,  according  to  their  be'^t  ability,  supplied 
the  strangers  with  all  that  the}  needed '     The  governor 

^  From  the  hospitality  and  kindness  so  often  ind  so  invariably  ex- 
hibited by  the  Indians,  whenever  then  humanity  l^aa  addressed  under 
circumstances  which  did  not  preclude  them  oue  caa  hardly  help 
sidverting  to  the  case  of  Logan,  the  eloquent  Cnyuga  chief.  Logan 
was  the  friend  of  the  white  people,  he  admiied  their  ingenuity,  and 
wished  to  be  a  neighbor  fo  them.  But  in  1774  when  Logan's  resi- 
dence was  on  the  Ohio,  his  family  were  mui-dered  by  a  party  of  white 
men.  "War  was  the  immediate  result,  and  great  was  the  amount  of 
blood  drunk  by  the  tomahawk  and  scalpiag  knife  of  the  infuriated 
natives,  before  peace  could  be  restored.  "When  at  last  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  about  being  effected,  Logaii  gave  in  his  adhesion  in  the 
following  terms,  addressed  to  Lord  Dunmore,  then  governor  of  Yii"- 
ginia :  "  I  appeal  to  any  white  man,  if  ever  he  entered  Logan's  cabin 
hungry,  and  1  gave  him  no  meat ;  if  ever  he  came  cold  and  naked, 
and  I  did  not  shelter  and  clothe  him,  I  had  thought  to  live  with  you 
in  peace  —  the  friend  of  the  white  man.  But,  in  cold  blood  and 
unprovoked,  the  white  man  murdered  all  the  relatives  of  Logan.  He 
spared  not  even  my  women  and  children.  There  runs  not  a  drop  of 
Logan's  blood  in  the  veins  of  any  living.  This  called  on  me  for 
revenge.     I    have   sought  it.     I   have   killed   many.     I  have  fully 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUKTl'.  113 

of  Plyraoutli,  having  received  the  intelligence,  came, 
with  others,  to  their  aid,  and  brought  all  the  materials 
written  for.  "  It  being  no  season  to  go  around  the  Cape, 
he  landed  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay,  at  a  creek  called 
Naumskaket,  from  whence  it  was  not  much  above  two 
miles  across  the  Cape  to  the  bay  where  the  ship  lay. 
The  Indians  carried  the  things  he  brought,  over  land  to 
the  ship. 

"  The  governor  bought  of  the  natives  as  much  corn 
as  was  wanted  for  the  ship,  and  returned  to  his  boat. 
He  then  went  into  the  adjacent  harbors,  and  loaded 
with  corn,  and  returned  home." 

Not  many  days  after  his  return,  he  again  received  a 
message  from  the  ship,  saying  that  the  vessel  having 
been  repaired,  a  great  storm  arose  and  drove  her  on 
shore,  by  which  catastrophe  she  is  so  badly  shattered 
as  to  be  wholly  unfit  for  sea.  The  result  was,  they  all 
came  to  Plymouth,  whither  also  their  goods  were 
transported.-' 

In  1627,  the  Plymouth  colonists  had  already  estab- 
lished a  trading  house  at  Manomet,  (Sandwich,)  and 
now  built  a  pimiace  there,  for  their  better  accommoda- 
tion, to  avoid  the  then  dangerous  navigation  around 
the  Cape.  By  transporting  their  goods  up  the  creek, 
from  Scusset  harbor,  to  within  four  or  five  miles  of  the 
trading  house,  and  then  taking  them  a  short  distance 
by  land,  until  they  reached  the  boatable  waters  of  the 
river  on  the  opposite  side,  they  were  enabled  to  make 

glutted  my  vengeance.  For  my  country  I  rejoice  at  tlie  licams  of 
peace.  But  ilo  not  harbor  a  thought  that  mine  is  the  joy  of  feav, 
Logan  knows  no  fear.  Ho  ivill  not  turn  on  liis  bee!  to  e-siva  his  life. 
Who  is  there  to  mourn  for  Logan  ?     Not  one ! " 

^  The  beach  where  tbia  ship  waa  stranded  was  thenceforward  called 
the  Old  Ship.     Tlie  remains  of  the  wreck  were  visible  many  years. 
VOL.  I.  15 


vGooglc 


114  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

tlieir  voyages  southward  in  less  time,  and  ■without 
hazard/  They  not  only  erected  a  house  here,  and  kept 
up  a  trading  estabHshment,  but  planted,  and  raised 
swine ;  and  "  the  establishment  became  one  of  much 
importance,"  not  simply  as  affording  facilities  for  trading 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Cape,  but  for  commercial 
intercourse  with  the  Narraganset  country  and  the 
entire  coast  of  Long  Island  Sound.^  The  first  com- 
munication between  the  Plymouth  colonists  and  the 
Dutch  at  Fort  Amsterdam  was  through  this  channel. 
De  Eazier,  secretary  to  the  Dutch  government,  arrived 
at  the  trading  house  at  Manomet  in  September  of  tliis 
year,  in  a  vessel  "  laden  with  sugar,  linen,  stuffs,  &c.," 
and  Governor  Bradford  sent  a  boat  to  Scusset  harbor 
to  convey  liim  thence  to  Plymouth.  This  Isaac  de 
Eazier  was  a  noted  merchant,  as  well  as  tlie  secretary 


•  This  was  a  mode  of  cotnmunicatiitg  witli  the  ports  south  of  the 
Cape,  resorted  to  by  very  many  of  the  enterprising  seamen,  of  the 
lower  Cape  towns,  during  the  war  of  1812-15,  to  avoid  capture ;  with 
this  difference  only  —  that  the  Town-harhor  was  preferred  to  Scusset- 
harbor,  and  both  boats  mid  cargo  were  carted  over  in  either  direction, 
as  the  case  required, 

^  Governor  Bradford's  account  of  this  arrangement  is,  "  For  our 
greater  convenience  of  trade,  to  discharge  our  engagements,  aud  to 
maintain  ourselves,  we  have  built  a  small  pinnace  at  Manomet,  a  place 
on  tlie  sea,  twenty  miles  to  the  south,  to  ivhicli,  by  another  creek  on 
this  side,  we  transport  our  goods  by  water  within  four  or  five  miles, 
and  then  carry  them  over  land  to  the  vessel ;  thereby  avoiding  the 
compassing  of  Cape  Cod,  with  those  dangerous  shoals,  and  make  our 
voyage  to  the  southward  with  far  leas  time  and  hazard.  For  the 
safety  of  our  vessel  and  goods,  we  there  also  build  a  house,  and  keep 
some  servants,  who  plant  com,  rear  swine,  and  are  always  ready  to 
go  out  with  the  bark,  —  which  takes  good  effect,  and  turns  to  advan- 
tage." The  location  of  this  trading  establishment  was  not  far  from 
what  is  now  called  Monument  Bridge  —  the  Indian  Manomet  being 
corrupted  to  Monument. 


yGoogle 


ASNALy   OF   BARNSTAI5LE   COUNTY.  115 

at  Manhattan ;  and  the  people  of  Plymouth,  having 
some  of  them  accompanied  him  to  his  vessel  at  Mano- 
met,  on  his  return,  to  buy  goods,  purchased  also  some 
wampum,  or  tvmnpuni^eack,  which  was  now  first  known 
to  tliem  as  an  article  of  trade.  "After  this,  the  Dutch 
came  often.  The  first  intercourse  between  these  two 
settlements  of  neighboring  Europeans  was  conducted 
here." 

In  the  year  1630,  Richard  Garratt  and  others,  fi^om 
Boston,  were  shipwrecked  on  Cape  Cod,  and  some  died 
in  consequence  of  their  hardships  and  exposure.  Tlie 
Indians  buried  the  dead  with  great  propriety,  to  save 
the  bodies  from  being  eaten  by  beasts,  although  the 
ground  was  deeply  frozen,  requiring  great  labor  in 
digging  the  graves.  The  survivors,  by  most  assiduous 
attention  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  were  "  literally 
nursed  back  to  life,"  so  nearly  perished  were  they ;  and 
when  recovered  and  endowed  with  sufgcient  strength, 
the  Indians  kindly  conducted  them  some  fifty  miles 
through  the  woods,  to  Plymouth.  Such  was  the 
friendly  and  humane  feehng  that  then  prevailed  among 
"  barbarians." 

The  Cape  seems  to  have  been  a  vciy  frequent  resort 
for  the  procurement  of  com,  both  by  the  Plymouth 
colonists  and  those  now  settled  in  the  Massachusetts 
Colony;  but  in  1631, "  great  misunderstandings  existed," 
we  are  told,  between  the  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts 
settlements,  and  "  rash  measm'es "  were  threatened 
respecting  the  traffic  for  corn  which  was  carried  on  by 
the  Massachusetts  people  with  the  Indians  on  the 
Cape,  the  Plymouth  Colony  demanding  the  exclusive 
privilege. 

The  early  settlers  in  the  Massachusette  seem,  indeed, 
to   have    been  as  much  exposed    to    the    dangers    of 


vGooglc 


116  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

famine  as  the  colonists  at  Plymouth.  "The  poorer 
sort  were  much  exposed,  lying  in  tents  and  miserable 
hovels,  and  many  died  of  scurvy  and  other  distempers. 
They  were  so  short  of  provisions,  that  many  were 
obliged  to  live  on  clams,  muscles,  and  other  shell  fish, 
■with  groundnuts  and  acorns  instead  of  bread.  One 
that  came  to  the  governor's  house,  to  complain  of  his 
sufferings,  was  prevented,  being  informed  that  even 
there  the  last  batch  was  in  the  oven.  A  good  man, 
who  asked  his  neighbor  to  a  dish  of  clams,  after  dinner 
returned  '  thanks  to  God  who  had  given  tliem  to  suck 
of  the  abundance  of  the  seas  and  of  treasure  hid  in  the 
sands.'  Instances  are  mentioned  of  great  calmness  and 
resignation  in  this  distress." 

Soon  after  the  an-ival  of  the  second  company,  (in 
the  Fortune,)  ttie  Plymouth  colonists  were  so  straitened 
for  provisions  that  the  whole  were  put  upon  half 
allowance.  An  eagle  having  been  shot,  Captain  Stan- 
dish  and  others  of  "these  famished  men  found  the 
flesh  of  this  nauseous  bird  so  grateful  that  they  com- 
pared it  to  mutton." 

"We  have  already  noticed  the  inconvenience  which 
the  Plymouth  colonists  suffered  from  being  without 
any  acknowledged  right  to  the  soil;  and  must  not 
omit  to  mention  that,  January  13, 1630,  they  obtained 
a  patent,  under  the  Earl  of  Warwick  and  Sh-  Ferdinan- 
do  Gorges'  act,'  as  follows :  — 

"  The  CouNCn.  for  New  England,  in  consideration  that 
William  Bradford  and  his  associates  have  for  these  nine 
years  Uved  in  New  England,  and  have  there  planted  a 

'  Messrs.  Shirley  and  Ilalherly,  wrifmg  from  Bristol,  March  19, 
1G30,  respecting  tlm  patent,  the  diirieultios  I'lieountereU,  ;i)k1  oi'  Mr. 


vGooglc 


ASMALS   OF   BAKKSTABLE   COUNTY.  117 

town  called  New  Plymouth,  at  their  own  charges, — 
and  now  seeing  that,  by  the  special  providence  of  God, 
and  their  extraordinary  care  and  industry,  they  have 
increased  their  plantations  to  near  three  hundred 
people,  and  are  on  all  occasions  able  to  relieve  any 
new  planters  or  others  of  his  majesty's  subjects  who 
may  fall  on  that  coast,  —  do  therefore  seal  a  patent  to 
the  said  AVilliam  Bradford,  his  heirs,  associates,  and 
assigns,  of  all  that  part  of  New  England  between 
Cohasset  Eivnlet  towards  the  north,  and  Nan-aganset 
River  towards  the  south,  the  Western  Ocean  towards 
the  east,  and  between  a  straight  line  directly  extending 
up  into  the  main  land  towards  the  west  from  the  mouth 
of  Narraganset  River  to  the  utmost  hounds  of  a  coun- 
try in  New  England  called  Pacanokit,  alias  Sawamset, 
westward,  and  another  like  straight  hue  extending 
directly  from  the  mouth  of  Cohasset  River  towards  the 
west  so  far  into  the  main  land  westward  as  the  utmost 
limits  of  the  said  Pacanokit  or  Sawamset  extend :  aa 
also  all  that  part  of  New  England  between  tlie  utmost 
limits  of  Caperwecout  or  Comascecout,  which  adjolneth 

Allevtoa's  fsiithful  services,  say  that  they, 'with  Messrs,  Andrews  and 
Beaucbamp,  had  taken  a  patent  of  Penobscot,  to  carry  on  a  trade 
with  the  natives,  and  offer  the  Plymoulheans  an  opportunity  to  join 
them  in  the  undertaking,  which  offer  was  accepttid.  Mr.  AUeiton 
made  three  voyages  to  En<;land  for  the  procurement  of  the  potent, 
but  returned  in  August,  IG-id,  without  success.  He  went  again  soon 
after.  His  object  was  to  ratify  the  bargain  with  the  adfentuTeTs  ;  and 
he  cnn-ied  bonds  given  by  Governor  Bradford.  "William  Brewster, 
Miles  Standish,  Isaac  Allerton,  Samuel  Fuller,  Edward  Winslow, 
John  Jenny,  John  Alden,  and  John  Howland,  who  were  called  under- 
takers, of  two  bimdred  pounds  each,  in  behalf  of  the  company.  The 
purchasers  subsequently  involved  in  these  transactions  were  those  who 
hired  the  trade,  viz.,  Governor  Bradford,  Edward  Winaiow,  Thomas 
Prince,  Miles  Standish,  William  Brewster,  John  Alden,  John  How- 
land,  and  Isaac  Allerton. 


yGoogle 


118  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

to  the  River  Kennebeck,  and  the  Falls  of  Negumke, 
with  the  said  river  itself,  and  the  space  of  fifteen  miles 
on  each  side  between  the  bounds  abovesaid;  with  all 
prerogatives,  rights,  royalties,  jurisdictions,  privileges, 
franchises,  liberties,  and  immunities,  and  also  marine 
liberties,  with  the  escheats  and  casualties  thereof,  (the 
admiralty  jurisdiction  excepted,)  with  all  the  intex'est, 
right,  &c.,  which  the  said  council  have  or  ought  to  have 
thereto  J  with  liberty  to  trade  with  the  natives,  and  fish 
on  the  seas  adjoining :  and  it  shall  be  lawful  for  tliem 
to  imoiyorate  themselves  or  the  people  there  inhabiting 
by  some  fit  name  or  title ;  with  hberty  to  them  and 
their  successors  to  make  orders,  ordinances,  and  consti- 
tutions, not  contrary  to  the  laws  of  England,  for  their 
better  government,  and  put  the  same  in  execution  by 
such  officers  as  he  and  they  shall  authorize  and  depute ; 
and  for  their  safety  and  defence,  to  encounter  by  force 
of  arms  by  all  means  by  land  and  sea,  seize,  and  make 
prize  of  all  who  attempt  to  inhabit,  or  trade  with  the 
savages,  witliin  the  limits  of  their  plantations,  or  at- 
tempt invasion,  detriment,  or  annoyance  to  their  said 
plantations,"  ^  &c. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  that,  so  far  from  there  being 
any  scramble  for  office,  in  those  early  days,  it  was  found 
necessary,  in  1631,  to  enact  that,  "  if,  now  or  hereafter, 

^  Martha's  Vineyard  siiicl  Naiitucliet  were  not  at  first  inclndecl  in 
either  of  tlie  four  New  England  governments.  The  Earl  of  Stirling 
laid  claim  to  all  the  islands  between  Cape  Cod  and  Hudson's  Itiver; 
and  in  1641,  grants  were  made,  by  his  agent,  of  the  Island  of  Kan- 
tucket,  and  two  small  islands  adjacent,  to  Thomas  Mayhew,  of  "Water- 
town,  and  Thomas  Mayhew,  his  son.  The  same  year  and  monlh, 
Martha's  Vineyard  and  the  Elizabeth  Islands  were  granted  to  the 
same.     Mr.  Mayhew  was  called  Governor  of  tlie  Ishmds. 


vGooglc 


ANSALS   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  119 

any  pei^on  chosen  to  the  office  of  governor  refuse,  he 
shall  be  fined  twenty  pounds ;  and  that,  if  a  councillor 
or  magistrate  chosen  refuse,  he  shall  be  fined  ten 
pounds ;  and  in  case  this  be  not  paid  on  demand,  it 
shall  be  levied  out  of  said  person's  goods  or  chattels." 
The  emoluments  of  office,  it  is  true,  were  not  tempting ; 
but  the  honor  was  something,  and  the  influence  that 
attached  to  the  higher  offices,  it  may  well  be  supposed, 
was  an  object  of  some  consideration.  At  the  present 
day,  the  country  is  ever  preparing  for  the  frequently 
recurring  strife  for  political  ascendency. 

Although  it  was  early  a  serious  question  how  far  the 
peculiar  laws  in  force  in  the  colony  should  be  regarded 
as  applicable  to  the  natives,  it  seems  to  have  been 
generally  admitted  that  the  Indians  had  a  natural  right 
and  title  in  the  lands.  A  verhal  donation  was,  indeed, 
at  first  regarded  as  sufficient;  but  soon  it  was  judged 
expedient  to  have  tlie  title  passed  with  all  the  formality 
and  precision  of  legal  instruments,  whether  the  Indians 
understood  the  verbiage  of  the  deeds  or  not.  The 
sachems  were  generally  considered  as  the  only  persons 
having  authority  to  make  the  conveyance. 

Among  the  remarkable  events  of  this  early  period 
is  recorded  that  of  a  violent  storm,  which  did  great 
damage  —  the  tide  rising  twenty  feet  perpendicular.^ 

^  It  was  in  tJiis  storm  that  Mr.  Thacher  was  cast  ashore  at  Cape 
Ann,  on  what  was  aftevwavda  known  aa  Thacher's  Island.  Twenly- 
one  persons  were  drowned.  None  were  saved  hut  Mr.  Anthony 
Thacher  and  wife.  The  vessel  was  returning  from  Ipswieh  to  Mar- 
blehead,  and  waa  overtaliea  hy  a  tempest,  which  drove  the  vessel  on  a 
rock.  A  cradle,  and  covering  of  scarlet  hroadcloth  embroidered, 
saved  from  the  wreck,  ia  still  preserved  by  the  Thacher  family,  of 
Yarmouth,  where  Anthony  Thacher  took  up  his  residence.  His  pos- 
terity are  numerous.  In  1643  and  suhsequent  years,  be  was  a  deputy 
from  Yarmouth  to  the  General  Court    His  son,  John  Thai;lier,  died  at 


yGoogle 


120  THE   HISTORY    OP    CAPE   COD. 

Hubbard  and  Morton  say,  "  The  Navragansets  were 
obliged  to  betake  themselves  to  the  tops  of  trees,  and 
yet  many  of  them  were  drowned.  Many  hundred 
thousand  of  trees  were  blown  down,  turning  up  the 
stronger  by  the  roots,  and  breakmg  the  high  pines 
and  such  hke  in  the  midst.  Tall  young  oaks  and 
walnut  trees  of  good  bigness  were  wound  as  a  withe 
by  it." 

Governor  Bradford's  account  of  the  storm  is  as  fol- 
lows: "In  1635,  August  15,  was  such  a  mighty  storm 
of  wind  and  rain  as  none  living  in  these  parts,  either 
English  or  Indians,  ever  saw.  It  began  in  the  morning 
a  little  before  day,  and  came  with  great  violence, 
causing  the  sea  to  swell  al)0ve  twenty  feet  right  up, 
and  made  many  inhabitants  climb  into  the  trees.  It 
took  off  the  roof  of  a  house  belonging  to  the  planta- 
tion at  Manomet,  and  pnt  it  in  another  place.  Had 
the  storm  continued  without  shifting  of  the  wind,  it 
would  have  drowned  some  parts  of  the  country.  It 
blew  down  many  thousands  of  trees,  turning  up  the 
stronger  by  the  roots,  breaking  the  higher  pines  in  the 
middle,  and  winding  small  oaks  and  walnuts  of  good 
size  as  withes.  It  began  south-east^  and  parted  towards 
the  south  and  east,  and  veered  sundry  ways.  The 
wrecks  of  it  will  remain  a  hundred  years.  The  moon 
suffered  a  great  eclipse  the  second  night  after  it." 

This  same  year,  about  the  middle  of  November,  a 
vessel,  with  some  of  the  Connecticut  settlei-s  on  board, 
was  cast  away  in  Manomet  Bay.  The  men  succeeded 
in  getting  to  the  shore  in  safety,  and,  after  wandering 

Tannoufh  May  8,  1713,  aged  eeventy-five,  and  at  the  time  of  Lis 
death  was  a  councillor  of  Massachusetts.  Rev.  Thomas  Thacher, 
fii-st  pastor  of  tlie  tkird  church   in   Boston,  was  nephew  of  An- 


vGooglc 


ASNALS    OP   BARNSTABLE    COUNTi'.  121 

ten  days  in  deep  snows,  without  meeting  a  human 
being,  arrived  at  Plymouth. 

"About  this  time  great  troubles  arose  in  the  country, 
especially  at  Boston ;  and  many,  exiled  on  account  of 
their  religious  opinions,  settled  ■within  what  was  then 
conceived  to  be  in  the  patent  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  — 
Rhode  Island.  These  acts  laid  the  foundation  of  future 
troubles  in  regard  to  the  right  of  territory. 

"It  was  the  aim  of  the  leaders  of  the  first  settle- 
ments in  New  England  to  prevent  what  they  con- 
sidered the  intrusion  of  religious  opinions  conflicting 
with  their  own ;  hence  the  hostility  to  innovation  and 
fceedom  of  religious  professions  and  creeds." 

Judge  Davis  charitably  remarks  on  this  subject,  "  It 
is  observed  by  the  Baroness  Stael-Holstein,  that  'the 
cultivation  of  all  pure  and  elevated  sentiments  is  so 
consolidated  in  England  by  political  and  religious 
institutions,  that  the  scepticisms  of  genius  revolve 
around  those  imposing  columns  without  ever  shaking 
them.'  The  remark  is  applicable  to  other  subtle 
speculations ;  and,  in  the  present  state  of  society  in 
this  country  as  well  as  in  England,  —  tliough  our 
columns  may  be  less  imposing,  —  the  application  of 
such  harsh  remedies  as  were  adopted  to  repress  the  An- 
tinomian  and  Eamilistical  delusion  cannot  be  required. 
But  in  the  infant  state  of  society,  just  taking  a  sep- 
arate stand  as  non-conformists,  wild  and  fanatical 
doctrines  occasioned  peculiar  alarm,  and  there  was 
a  constant  solicitude  among  the  considerate  leaders 
of  the  New  England  establishmente  to  avoid  an  oppro- 
brium which  their  anti-Puritanic  antagonists  had  fre- 
quently predicted." 

Tills  same  learned,  eminent,  and  judicious  apologist 
for  the    Pm-itans   adds,   "Sir   Walter  Ealeigb,  in   his 
VOL.  L  16 


vGooglc 


VIA  THE   IIISTOKY    OF    CAI'E   COD. 

History  of  the  World,  expresses  an  apprehension  that 
'  time  will  bring  it  to  pass  that,  if  this  spirit  be  not 
resisted,'  (i.  e.,  the  multiplication  of  private  opinions 
and  sects,)  '  God  will  be  turned  out  of  churches,  into 
bams,  fields,  mountains,  and  hedges,  and  tlie  offices 
of  the  ministry,  robbed  of  all  dignity  and  respect,  -will 
be  as  contemptible  as  such  places ;  all  order,  discipline, 
and  church  government  left  to  newness  of  opinion  and 
men's  several  fancies;  yea,  and  soon  after,  as  many 
kinds  of  religion  spring  up  as  tiiere  are  parish  churches, 
every  contentious  and  ignorant  person  clothing  his 
&ncy  with  the  spirit  of  God,  and  his  imagination  with 
the  gift  of  revelation ;  insomuch  that,  when  the  truth, 
which  is  but  one,  shall  appear  to  the  simple  multitude 
no  less  variable  than  contrary  to  itself,  the  faith  of 
men  will  soon  die  away  by-  degrees  and  all  religion  be 
held  in  scorn  and  contempt. ' "  And  the  same  learned 
judge  conjectures,  *'  that  tlie  political  and  ecclesiastical 
leaders  in  the  settlement  of  New  England  were,  for 
this  cause,  extremely  hostile  to  any  innovations  or 
eccentric  opinions." 

However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  many  con- 
flicting opinions  were  now  dividing  the  religious  com- 
munity ;  ^  but  the  effect,  as  we  have  suggcstetl,  was  felt 
most  in  the  Massachusetts  Colony.^ 

^  "  Not  many  years  after  the  settlement  of  our  progeniiora  m  this 
land,  some,  who,  through  an  excess  of  heat  in  their  imaginations,  haA 
been  betrayed  icto  various  unsound  and  dangerous  opinions,  came 
over  to  them  from  England.  They  had  not  been  here  long  before 
they  freely  vented  their  notions  among  the  people,  multitudes  of 
whom,  both  men  and  women,  church  members  and  others,  were  soon 
led  aside,  to  the  hinderance  of  the  gospel,  and  throwing  these  churches 
info  great  confusion,"     Dr.  Chauncey. 

^  The  errors  and  heresies  charged  upon  ihe  age  were  not  only  Anii- 
nomianisra  and  Familism,  but  Gortonism,  Mortoiiism,  ifce.  Tlic  j-eligious 


yGoogle 


ANSALH    Of   BAltNSTABLE   COUNTY.  123 

It  is,  we  suppose,  well  understood  that  the  difference 
between  the  settlers  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  and  those 
of  the  Massachusetts  was  chieHy  this  :  The  Plymoutheans 
were  in  advance  of  their  brother  Puritans,  being  consid- 
ered as  separatists.  Those  under  the  lead  of  Endicott 
and  Winthrop  were  styled  non-conforaiists.  The  dis- 
tinction had,  before  their  leaving  England,  been  con- 
sidered important.  But  here,  the  differences  between 
the  two  classes  were  soon  forgotten,  or  remembered 
only  as  a  matter  of  history.  They  were  all  Puri- 
tans; and  MaeauUiy,  the  historian,  has  honored  the 
class  to  which  they  belonged,  by  styling  them  "the 
most  remarkable  body  of  men  the  world  has  ever 
produced." 

As  the  settlements  on  the  Cape  are  now  about  to 
commence,  it  may  be  proper  that  we  glance  at  the 
peculiar  state  of  the  colony,  in  respect  to  its  govern- 
ment and  laws,  under  which  the  Cape  settlements 
began  their  existence.  No  constitution,  or  instrument 
of  government,  except  the  simple  compact  of  1620, 

feeling  of  the  times  was  brought  into  violent  antagonism  ;  and,  as  an 
illustration  of  the  prevailing  horror  of  the  new  doctrinea  promulgated 
—  especially  of  Hutchinsonianism,  alias  Antiiiomianism,  —  we,  with 
Bome  hesitancy,  permit  Mr.  Secretary  Morton  to  be  heard  here  in  full 
in  regard  to  the  prejudices  and  credulity  of  the  times ;  he  says,  "  This 
year  there  was  a  hideous  monster  bom  at  Boston,  in  New  England,  of 
one  Mrs.  Mary  Dyer,  a  copartner  with  Mrs.  Hutchinson  in  the  afore- 
said heresies,  Tlie  monster,  as  it  was  related  to  me,  was  without 
head,  but  horns  like  a  beast,  scales  or  a  rough  skiu  like  a  fish  called 
the  thornback ;  it  had  legs  and  claws  like  a  fowl,  in  other  respects 
as  a  woman  child,  —  the  Lord  declaring  his  detestation  of  their  mon- 
strous errors,  as  was  then  thought  by  some,  by  this  prodigious  birth." 
Judge  Davis  remarks,  "  Secretary  Morton  has  the  comparative  merit 
of  being  brief  and  inde<asive  upon  this  subject.  Other  writers,  of 
superior  aci^uirements,  enlarge  upon  the  topic  with  pitiable  credulity 
and  disgusting  particularity." 


yGoogle 


124  THE   IIKTOHY    of    CAl'E   COD. 

existed  until  the  year  16S6.  No  laws  were  made 
touching  the  general  organization  of  the  government ; 
the  limits  of  political  rights  or  powers  were  not 
defined;  and  though  the  laws  of  England  were  sup- 
posed to  be  applicable  to  the  colony,  few  understood 
their  character,  authority,  or  force.  The  clergy,  who 
were  generally  best  informed,  were  disposed  to  follow 
the  code  of  Moses  rather  than  that  of  England.  A 
few  regulations  had  been  made,  such  as  were  supposed 
to  be  imperiously  called  for  by  the  necessities  of  the 
moment ;  but  the  power  of  the  church  was  paramount. 
As  tlie  trade  of  the  colonists  began  to  increase  and 
their  settlements  to  expand,  it  became  evident  that 
law,  and  not  mere  opinion,  —  the  civil  power,  and  not 
church  censure  alone, —  must  be  employed  to  prevent 
otherwise  constantly  recurring  disputes  growmg  out  of 
conflicting  interests,  and  to  check  the  selfish  principle 
inwoven  in  man's  nature  and  tending  to  the  perpetra- 
tion of  wrongs.  ThereforOj  November  15,  16S6,  the 
Court  of  Associates  first  set  forth  tlie  following  declara- 
tion of  rights :  — 

*'  We,  the  associates  of  New  Plymouth,  coining  liither 
as  freeborn  subjects  of  the  state  of  England,  and 
endowed  with  all  and  singular  the  privileges  belong- 
ing to  such,  being  assembled,  do  ordain  that  no  act, 
imposition,  law,  or  ordinance,  be  made  or  imposed  on 
us,  at  the  present  or  to  come,  but  shall  be  made  or 
imposed  by  consent  of  the  body  of  associates,  or  their 
representatives,  legally  assembled, — which  is  according 
to  the  liberties  of  the  state  of  England." 

This,  it  will  be  perceived,  was,  in  effect,  a  declaration 
of  independence.     Not  only  wiis  the  authority  of  Eiig- 


vGooglc 


AKNALS   OF   BARKSTADLE    COUNTY.  125 

llsli  laws,  "present  or  to  come,"  renoimecd,  "but  Par- 
liament was  denied  the  light  to  legislate  for  the 
colony.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  became  neces- 
sary to  provide  for  the  future.  It  was,  therefore,  next 
enacted, — 

"  That  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  June  annually,  an 
election  shall  be  held  for  choice  of  governor  and 
assistants,  to  rule  and  govern  the  plantation."  The 
election  was  confined  to  such  as  shall  be  admitted 
as  freemen,  to  whom  a  stringent  oath  was  prescribed ; 
and  none  were  to  be  admitted  but  such  as  were  "  ortho- 
dox in  the  fundamentals  of  religion,"  and  possessed  of 
a  ratable  estate  of  twenty  pounds.  Tlie  votes  were  to 
be  given  in  person,  or  by  proxy,  at  Plymouth,  Juris- 
diction of  all  causes  under  forty  shillings  was  given  to 
the  governor,  with  any  two  assistants,  "  to  tiy,  and  to 
do  as  God  shall  direct."  ^  The  power  of  trying  larger 
suits  or  offences  was  to  remain  with  the  whole  body  of 
freemen,  by  juries. 

No  person  was  to  "  live,  or  inhabit,  within  the  gov- 
ernment of  New  Plymouth,  without  the  leave  and 
liking "  of  the  governor  and  assistants.^  No  other 
civil  executive  office  was  recognized  than  those  of 
governor  and  assistants,  except  that  of  constable,  to 

'  However  vague  and  general  the  power  conferred,  —  "to  do  as 
God  shall  direct,"  —  such  was  the  oneness  of  religion?  vieivs  among 
those  to  whom  the  power  was  committed,  that  decisions  were  not 
expected  to  be  contradictory.  At  the  present  day,  the  will  of  God 
would  he  interpreted  variously. 

s  This,  Belknap  intimates,  was  "to  prevent  the  contagion  of  dis- 
similar habits  and  heretical  principles  from  without;  and  it  was  fiilly 
uaderstooJ,  that  difTeiing  from  the  religious  tenets  generally  received 
was  as  great  a  di-qualificafion  as  any  polilical  ojiinitin'.  whatever. 
,  .  .  This,"'  he  adds,  "«as  an  act  of  severity  tli.it  would  not  be 
endui-ed  at  the  present  day." 


vGooglc 


126  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

whom  was  given  large  power.  lie  was  to  f:;ei'Ye,  as 
expressed  in  his  oath, "  aceording  to  that  measure  of 
wisdom,  understanding,  and  discretion  as  God  hath 
given  you,"  and  had  authority  to  apprehend,  without 
precept, "  all  suspicious  persona." 

Offences  capital,  punishable  with  death,  were  treason, 
murder,  diabolical  converse,  arson,  and  rape.  Jurors 
were  to  be  chosen  by  the  towns ;  the  grand  inquest 
to  be  impanelled  by  the  government.  The  occasions 
that  called  for  the  interference  of  the  magistrates  were 
comparatively  rare. 

It  may  be  remarked  that,  at  this  time,  the  idea  gen- 
erally prevailed  that  the  colonists  were  at  full  liberty 
to  establish  such  government  as  they  chose  —  even  "  to 
form  a  new  state,  as  fully,  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
as  if  they  had  been  in  a  state  of  nature,  and  were 
making  their  first  entrance  into  civilized  society." 

Hitherto,  the  only  towns  settled  in  this  primitive 
colony  were  Plymouth,  Duxbury,  and  Scituate. 


vGooglc 


AKSALS    OF   BARKSTAELE   COUSTY.  127 


CIIArTER    VIII. 

Settlemeuts  on  the  Cape  begun.  —  Sandwich.  —  Important  Events,  and  Prog- 
ress of  the  Colony.  —  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable.  —  Deputies  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court.  —  Quahiications  for  Habitancy  restricted.  —  A  rigid  Surveillance 
over  the  new  Settlements. 

The  year  1637  marks  the  era  of  tlie  first  English  set- 
tlement on  tlie  Cape.  The  settlement  at  Sandwich  was 
projected  by  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman^  and  others,  who, 
April  3  of  this  year,  obtained  a  grant  from  the  Colony 
of  Plymouth,  and  at  once,  with  a  large  nmnber  of  fam- 
iUes  from  Lynn,  Duxbury,  and  Plymouth,  but  chiefly 
fi"om  Lynn,  the  ancient  Saugus,  removed  to  the  location 
designated.  The  settlement  was  begun  this  year  under 
very  favorable  auspices,  although  it  was  not  regularly 
incorporated  as  a  town  until  about  two  years  after. 

Touching  this  settlement,  the  following  record  ap- 
pears: "April  3, 1637,  it  is  also  agreed  by  the  Court 
that  these  ten  men  of  Saugus,  viz.,  Edmund  Freeman, 
Henry  Feake,  Thomas  Dexter,  Edward  DilHngham,  Wil- 
liam Wood,  John  Carman,  Eichard  Chadwell,  William 
Almy,  Thomas  Tupper,  and  George  Knott,  shall  have 

"We  sh  fo  0  V  the  records  of  the  day  in  respect  to  titles.  The 
fir>t  96  lers  of  e  old  colony,  like  those  of  Massachusetts,  "  were 
ve  y  a  ful  1  o  IJtle  or  appellation  should  be  given  where  it  was 
not  due  Jo  mo  e  thaa  half  a  dozen  of  the  principal  gentlemen  in 
th  Ma.'ia  hu  a  Colony  took  the  title  of  Esqiiire;  and,  in  a  list  of 
one  hundred  freemen,  not  more  than  four  or  five  were  disringuiahed 
by  a  Mr.,  although  they  were  generally  men  of  substance.  Goodman 
and  goodwife  were  the  common  appellations."  See  Htdchimon's  His- 
tory of  Massaehusetis  Bay, 


vGooglc 


128 


TOE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


liberty  to  view  a  place  to  sit  down,  and  have  sufficient 
lands  for  threescore  families,  upon  the  conditions  pro- 
pounded to  them  by  the  governor  and  Mr.  Winslow." 

We  have  before  mentioned  the  temporary  occupancy 
of  a  trading  establishment  in  operation  at  Manomet, 
in  1627,  ten  years  previous,  four  miles  distant  from  the 
part  of  the  township  now  being  settled.  But  as  this 
was  in  its  design  merely  temporary  and  in  its  extent 
limited  to  a  depot  for  merchandise,  with  suitable  appen- 
dages, we  may  properly  regard  the  energetic  movement 
of  Mr.  Freeman  and  associates  as  the  first  in  the  order 
of  the  settlement  of  the  towns.' 

As  we  shall  exhibit  in  the  annals  of  the  several 
to^wns,  in  the  appropriate  place,  a  full  detail  of  all  par- 
ticulars of  interest  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  gather 
them,  we  shall  not,  in  this  part  of  our  work,  aim  at  a 
recital  of  doings  or  events  other  than  those  which  are 


'■  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman  came  over  from  England  in  tlie  ship  Abi- 
gail He  was  at  Saugus  in  1C35,  in  Dnsbury  in  1637,  and,  with  his 
nine  associates,  was  admitted  freeman  at  Plymouth,  January  2. 
Lewis,  in  his  History  of  Lynn,  says,  "Many  new  inhabitants  appear 
in  Lynn  in  ]  635  ;  among  ticm,  worthy  of  note,  was  Mr.  Edmund 
Freeman,  who  presented  to  the  colony  twenty  corselets  or  pieces  of 
plate  armor."  And  Hutchinson  says,  "  John  Carver,  "William  Brad- 
ford, Edward  "Winslow,  Isaac  AUerton,  Miles  Standish,  "\Tilliam 
White,  Stephen  Hopkins,  Richard  "Warren,  John  Alden,  John  How- 
land,  Timothy  Hatherly,  Thomas  "Willet,  "William  Thomas,  Edmund 
Freeman,  James  CndwortJi,  and  Thomas  Southworth,  were  the  found- 
ers of  the  Colony  of  New  Plymouth,  the  settlement  of  which  colony 
occasioned  the  settlement  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  which  was  t!ie  source 
of  all  the  other  colonies  of  Kew  England.  Virginia  was  in  a  dying 
state,  and  seemed  fo  revive  and  flourish  from  the  example  of  Hew 
England."  He  adds, "  I  am  not  preserving  from  oblivion  the  names 
of  heroes  whose  chief  merit  is  the  overthrow  of  cities,  provinces,  and 
empires,  but  the  names  of  the  founders  of  a  flourishing  town  and  col- 
ony, if  not  the  whole  British  empire  in  America." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAEStfT.iBLE   COUNTY.  129 

necessarily  a  part  o^  or  interwoven  with,  the  county's 
history.  And,  leaving  for  the  present  any  further  men- 
tion of  the  settlement  or  progress  of  the  town  of  Sand- 
wich, we  proceed  to  a  record  of  some  of  those  more 
general  events  and  transactions  in  -which  the  Cape  has 
henceforward  an  interest  because  of  its  Englisli  inhab- 
itants. 

This  first  settlement  found  the  Plymouth  Colony  just 
emerging  from  that  state  of  tilings  so  concisely  and 
aptly  described  by  Baylies,  when  he  says,  "  For  twelve 
years,  Plymouth  was  the  cohnp,  and  church  discipline  was 
the  law  ;  "  and  by  Thacher,  and  earlier  writers,  who  say, 
on  the  authority  of  early  records, "  The  people  were 
governed  by  the  moral  law  of  Moses  and  the  New  Tes- 
tament as  paramount  to  all  others,"  A  body  of  laws, 
styled  "  The  General  Fundamentals  "  was  now  adopted 
and  established.  The  first  article  was,  as  set  forth  in 
the  "  declaration,"  "  that  no  act,  imposition,  law,  or  ordi- 
nance, be  made  or  imposed  upon  us,  at  present  or  to 
come,  but  such  as  has  beei}  or  shall  be  enacted  by  the 
consent  of  the  body  of  freemen  or  associates,  or  their 
representatives  legally  assembled,  which  is  according 
to  the  free  liberties  of  the  free-born  people  of  Eng- 
land ; "  and  the  second, "  Por  the  well  governing  of  this 
colony,  it  is  also  ordered  that  there  be  a  free  election 
annually  of  governor,  deputy  governor,  and  assistants, 
by  vote  of  the  freemen  of  this  corporation."  ^  Church 
membership,  however,  was  an  indispensable  requisite  to 
becoming  a  freeman.^ 

^  The  style  of  einetment  wis,  We,  the  assocntes  of  the  Colony 
of  New  Plymouth,  coming  hither  as  fiee  bom  =iubjeeta  of  thr  1  mg 
dom  of  England,  endowed  with  all  and  imKular  the  pri\ikge3 
belonging  to  such,  do  en ict,  ordain  and  constitute,    &i, 

'  They  "had  adopted  bija  Hon  Fnncis  Eiyhes  n  qu  tii 
VOL.  L  17 


vGooglc 


130  TOE   HISTORY    01'   CAPE   COD. 

Previous  to  1G37,  under  the  administrations  of  gov- 
ernors Tliomas  Prince,  William  Bradford,  and  Edward 
Winslow,  some  few  laws  bad  been  enacted ;  sucb,  for 
instance,  as  "  for  the  better  government  of  the  Indians, 
and  for  their  improvement  in  civility  and  Christianity ; " 
also  "  for  making  orders  and  constituting  courts,  appoiutr 
ing  civil  rulers,  and  other  officers,  punishing  misde- 
meanors," &c. ;  and  stocks  and  whipping  posts  were  pro- 
vided, which  soon  became  the  appendage  to  meeting 
houses.  It  was  also  enacted,  "  that  no  persons  shall  be 
allowed  to  become  housekeepers  until  they  are  com- 
pletely provided  with  arms  and  ammunition ;  nor  shall 
any  be  allowed  to  become  housekeepers,  or  to  build 
any  cottage  or  dwelling,  withoiit  permission  from  the 
governor  and  assistants." 

The  qualifications  necessary  for  freemen  were  a 
most  extraordinary  requisite.  Had  the  Puritans  them- 
selves been  denied  civU  privileges  in  England,  until 
they  would  join  in  communion  with  the  churches,  as  in 
Massachusetts,  or  restricted,  as  they  were  in  the  Plym- 
outh Colony,  it  would  have  been  the  very  first  in  their 
list  of  grievances.  If  "  opinionists  "  were  punished  for 
their  religious  preferences,  because  they  were  supposed 
to  be  deluded,  —  enthusiasts,  errorists,  heretics,  or  for- 
malists,—  all  will  now  concede  that  tlieir  oppressors 
were  as  much  deluded  by  zeal  for  the  supposed  honor 
of  God  and  the  interests  of  religion,  in  their  bearing 
towards  those  who  differed  in  opinion  from  themselves. 
Mr.  Edward  Wmslow  was  this  year,  by  reelection,  gov- 
ernor of  the  jurisdiction  of  New  Plymouth. 

tion  or  instniment  of  government,  except  the  simple  conipact  in  tlie 
cabin  of  the  Mayflower.  With  respect  to  political  objects,  previous 
to  1636,  the  colony  was  but  a  voluntary  association,  ruled  by  the 
Biftjority,  and  not  by  fixed  laws.  The  power  of  the  church  was  in 
leffect  superior  lo  the  civil  power." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OP   15ARSSTABLE   COUNTY.  131 

In  1638,  Mr.  Thomas  Prince  was  again  chosen  gov- 
ernor ;    and  Mr.    Morton   records    the    execution    of 
three  men  for  murdering  an  Indian  near  Providence. 
The  facts,  as  they  appear,  are,  that  four  servants  ran 
away  from  their  masters  in  Plymouth,  and,  coming  to 
Rhode  Island,  had,  for  some  reason,  a  conflict  with  the 
Indian.     The   Indian    escaped  to   his  associates,  after 
being,  as  was  supposed,  mortally  wounded.     The  assail- 
ants fled  to  the  island,  where  three  of  tliem  were  arrested 
by  men  sent  from  Plymouth.     The  Massachusetts  gov- 
.emment  refused  to  act  in  the  case,  saying  the  deed 
was  committed  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Plymouth. 
The  Massachusetts  rulers,  however,  urged  action  on  the 
part  of  the  Plymouth  Colony.    Mr.  Winthrop  says  the 
prisoners  confessed  the  deed,  and  acknowledged  that 
they   did   it  for   the   Indian's  wamptim.     Still,   there 
remained  a  question  in  regard  to  the  actual  death  of 
the  Indian.     Two  witnesses  testified  that  the  wound 
was  mortal ;  but  none  had  seen  him  dead.     "  At  last, 
two  Indians,"  says  Mr,  Winthrop,  "  who  with  much  dif- 
ficulty were  procured  to  come  to  the  trial,  (for  they 
still  feared  that  the  English  were  conspired  to  kill  all 
the  Indians,)  made  oath  after  this  manner,  viz.,  that  if 
he  were  not  dead  of  that  wound,  then  (hey  would  suf- 
fer death.     Upoji  this,  they  three  were  condemned  and 
executed."     Judge  Davis  well  remarks, "  This  evidence, 
if  correctly  reported,  will  not  satisfy  modem  lawyera  of 
the  propriety  of  the  verdict"    Mr.  Morton,  however,  says, 
"  Some  have  thought  it  a  great  severity  to  hang  three 
English  for  one  Indian ;  but  the  more  considerate  will 
easily  satisfy  themselves  for  the  legality  of  it"    And  a 
writer  of  comparatively  recent  date  has  said,  "  It  serves 
to  show  the  stem  purpose  of  the  Purita.ns,  that  the  most 
rigid  justice  should  not  be  withheld  from  tlie  defence- 


vGooglc 


132  THE   HISTOKY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

less  natives."  Many  of  us,  the  descendants  of  these 
Puritans,  would  gladly  endorse  this  latter  sentiment,  as 
■well  as  the  former ;  though  it  is  here  no  part  of  our 
office  or  duty  to  uphold  all  the  doings  of  those  early 
days  as  faultless.  But  the  question  in  regard  to  the 
legality  of  the  sentence  every  reader  will  consider, 
with  reference  to  the  circumstances  of  the  colony.  In 
regard  to  the  "  stern  purpose "  that  dictated  the  sen- 
tence, some,  we  presume,  would  be  better  satisfied  if 
they  could  see  that  justice  was  always  so  administered 
in  those  early  days,  and  could  be  assured  that  these 
condemned  were  not  previously  outlaws  in  the  shape  of 
servants.  We  may,  perhaps,  as  well  confess  (for  noth- 
ing in  the  long  run  of  history  is  to  be  gained  by  inces- 
sant adulation  of  the  early  settlers)  tliat  tlie  Indians,  as 
they  tliought,  had  not  always  evidence  of  that  "stern 
pm-pose  "  of  equal  justice.  The  order  of  the  General 
Court,  subsequently,  that  "whosoever  shall  shoot  off  a 
gun  on  any  unnecessary  occasion,  or  at  any  game 
except  at  an  Indian  or  a  wolf,  shall  forfeit  five  shillings 
for  every  shot,"  is,  with  many  other  incidents,  a  sad 
commentary  on  the  quo  aniim  of  many  in  regard  to  the 
people  who  received  the  pilgrims  to  these  shores  with 
a  ""Welcome,  Englishmen." 

In  pursuing  our  narrative  of  events,  the  reader  must 
bear  with  us  if  there  are  many  things  stated  that  are 
of  themselves  comparatively  unimportant  Like  the 
lights  and  shadows  in  a  picture,  they  have  their  use ; 
and  a  correct  view  of  the  position  in  which  our  fathers 
found  themselves,  and  of  the  progress  made,  can  hardly 
be  attained  without  the  recital  witli  some  degree  of 
minuteness  of  detail.  Even  the  peculiar  enactments 
by  which  penalties  were  imposed  for  offences  that  at 
the  present  day  woulil  be  hardly  cognizalile  as  ?uch  in 


vGooglc 


AXX-VLS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  133 

the  courts,  have  their  significaiicy ;  and  the  singular 
grouping  togetlier  of  matters  strikingly  dissimilar  shows 
that  the  powers  that  were,  under  whose  rule  the  settle- 
ments were  just  heginning  to  be  effected,  meant  to 
extend  a  salutary  guardianship  over  all  interest,  and 
were  resolved  that  no  assumed  rights  of  squatter  sov- 
ereignty should  prevent  a  circumspect  and  law-abiding 
community. 

Very  early,  Mr.  John  Alden  and  Capbiin  Miles  Stan- 
dish  were  directed  by  the  court,  to  "  go  to  Sandwich 
with  all  convenient  speed,  and  set  forth  the  bounds 
of  the  lands  granted  there."  The  qualifications  for 
house-keeping  must  also  be  singularly  and  strictly 
defined;  (though,  after  all,  it  was  found  exceedingly 
difBcult  to  cause  the  rules  laid  down  to  be  always  uni- 
formly and  duly  observed  —  for  we  find  that  Joseph 
Winsor  and  Anthony  Besse,  who  had  thus  early  come 
to  Sandwich,  and  were  laboring  to  clear  up  for  them- 
selves their  respective  patches  of  ground  for  future 
culture,  were  severally  presented  to  the  court  "for 
disorderly  keeping  house  ahne^ )  Due  restrictions 
upon  the  intercouse  of  tlie  sexes  seemed  also,  in  view 
of  legislators,  to  justify  the  following  enactments: 
*  Whereas  divers  persons,  unfit  for  marriage,  both  in 
regard  to  their  years  and  also  their  weak  estate, — 
some  practising  the  inveigling  of  men's  daughters,  and 
maids  under  guardianship,  contrary  to  their  parents' 
and  guardians'  liking,  and  of  maid  servants,  without 
hberty  of  their  masters ;  therefore  it  is  decreed,  that  if 
any  man  make  motion  of  maiTiage  to  any  man's  daugh- 
ter or  maid  without  first  obtaining  leave  of  her  parents, 
guardian,  or  master,  he  shall  be  punished  by  fine  not 
exceeding  five  pounds,  or  by  corporal  punishment,  or 
both,  at  the  discretion  of  the  court."     Occasional  in- 


vGooglc 


134  TIIE   HISTOEY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

stances  occur  of  the  rigid  operation  of  this  law,  one 
of  the  most  notahle  of  which  was  that  of  a  young  man 
in  Barnstable,  who,  within  a  few  years  after  this  law 
was  enacted,  was  before  the  court,  and  laid  under 
bonds  "  not  to  attempt  to  gain  the  affections  "  of  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Governor  Prince. — Even  the  allowing 
of  swine  to  go  at  large  without  being  ringed,  was  thus 
early  the  occasion  of  some  trouble  followed  by  the 
imposition  of  numerous  fines ;  nor  does  there  appear 
to  have  been  any  favoritism  or  partiality  shoivn,  since 
numbers  of  the  most  prominent  settlers  were  mulcted 
for  neglecting  to  place  the  wire  in  their  swine's  snouts 
in  due  conformity  with  legal  requisitions.  —  It  was  also 
*  ordered  that  any  person  denying  the  Scriptures  to  be 
a  rule  of  life,  shall  suffer  corporal  punishment  at  the 
discretion  of  the  magistrates,  so  as  not  to  extend  to  life 
or  limb." '-  Such  were  some  of  the  surroundings,  at  the 
time  when  the  first  foundations  of  these  settlements 
were  being  attempted. 

Nature  also,  in  sublime  utterance,  gave  food  for  sol- 
emn thought,  for  on  the  1st  day  of  June  of  this  year, 
occurred  the  great  earthquake  noted  in  New  England's 
annals ;  "  so  violent  its  shock,  in  some  places,  that  mov- 
ables in  houses  were  thrown  down,  and  people  out  of 
doors  could  scarcely  retain  a  position  on  their  feot."     It 

^  Among  the  penalties  inflicted  about  this  time,  in  otliev  parts  of 
the  colony,  was  ten  shillings  on  an  individual  "  for  drinking  over- 
much;" on  two  others,  twelve  shillings  each,  "  for  drinking  tobacco 
in  tbe  highway"  —  probably  smoking;  another  was  presented  "for 
selling  beer  at  two  pence  per  quart  which  was  worth  but  one  penny ; " 
another,  "  for  Sabbath-breaking,"  was  fined  thirty  shillings,  and  set 
one  hour  in  the  stocks ;  another,  less  guilty,  was  fined  twenty  shillings  ; 
another,  "for  selling  a  pair  of  boots  and  spurs  for  fifteen  shillings 
which  coat  him  but  ten  shillings,"  was  fined  thirty  shillings ;  and  yet 
another,  "  for  working  on  Sunday,"  was  severely  whipped  at  the  post. 


yGoogle 


ANKALS    OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  135 

has  been  said  that,  in  computing  dates,  the  expression 
"  80  long  after  the  earthquake/'  became  "  as  common, 
for  many  years,  as  once  with  the  chUclren  of  Israel." 

No  other  settlement  on  the  Cape  had,  up  to  this  thno, 
been  effected  ;  though  it  appeal's  that,  as  early  as  Au- 
gust 7, "  liberty  was  granted  to  Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins  to 
erect  a  house  at  Mattacheese,  and  cut  hay  there  this 
year  to  ■winter  his  cattle  —  provided,  however,  that  it 
be  not  to  withdraw  him  from  the  town  of  Plymouth." 
Again,  September  3,  to  ''  Gabriel  Whelden  and  Gregory 
Armstrong  permission  was  granted  to  go  and  dwell  at 
Mattacheese,  and  have  a  lot  there,  with  the  consent  of 
the  committees  for  the  place."  And  again,  subsequently, 
it  is  said,  "  The  people  of  Lynn,  having  establislied  a 
settlement  at  Sandwich,  an  attempt  was  made  from 
the  same  quarter  to  establish  another  at  Mattakeese," 
(Yarmouth.)  Foremost  in  this  work  was  "the  Eev. 
Stephen  Batchelor,  the  late  pastor  of  Lynn,  who,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  seventy-six,  travelled  the  whole  dis- 
tance from  Lynn  to  Mattakeese,  more  than  one  hundred 
miles,  at  an  inclement  season  of  the  year,  on  foot"  The 
company  with  which  Mr.  Batchelor  was  associated  en- 
countered many  difficulties,  and  tlie  undertaking  was, 
therefore,  soon  abandoned  by  them,  to  be  resumed, 
however,  by  others,  in  due  time/ 

*  Mr.  Batchelor  arrived  in  Boston  June  5, 1632,  then  seventy-one 
years  of  age.  He  waa  soon  eaiablishecl  at  Saugus,  ainee  called  Lynn. 
The  life  of  this  aged  man  in  America  was  "  one  constant  scene  of 
turbulence,  disappoiatment,  discipline,  and  accaaatiou."  As  early  as 
1632,  he  was  required  by  the  Massachusetts  court  "to  forbear  exer- 
cising hia  gifls  as  a  pastor  and  teacher  publicly  in  our  patent,  unless  it 
be  to  those  he  brought  with  him,  for  his  contempt  of  authority,  and 
nntil  some  scandal  be  removed."  The  court  removed  this  inhibition 
May  4,  1G33.     Governor  IVinthrop  says,  "  He  ivas  convented  before 


vGooglc 


136  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE    COD. 

The  first  permanent  settlement  of  Yarniontli,  next 
to  that  at  Sandwich,  commenced  in  the  summer  of 
1639,  and  its  incorporation,  as  will  be  seen,  soon  fol- 
lowed. The  northern  part  of  this  settlement  was  Mat- 
takeese;^  the  north-eastern  part,  Hockanom.  Yet 
another  part  of  the  territory  of  the  ancient  Yarmouth 
was  Sursuit,^  which,  soon  after  becoming  better  known, 

the  ma^trates.  The  cause  was,  for  that  aiming  out  from  England 
with  a  small  body  of  six  or  seven  persons,  and  haYing  since  reeeiycil 
in  many  more  at  Saugus,  and  contention  growing  between  him  and 
the  greater  part  of  hia  church,  who  had  witli  the  rest  received  him  as 
their  pastor,  he  desired  a  dismission  for  himself  and  his  first  memhere, 
■which  being  granted  upon  the  supposition  that  he  would  leave  the 
town  as  he  had  given  out,  lie,  with  the  said  six  or  se\  en  persons, 
presently  renewed  tLeir  old  covenant  intending  to  raise  another 
church  in  Saugus;  whereat  the  most  and  chief  of  the  town  being 
oifended,  for  that  it  would  cross  their  intentions  of  calling  Mr.  Peters, 
or  some  other  minister,  they  complained  to  the  magistrates,  who,  fore- 
seeing the  distraction  that  would  like  to  come  from  this  course,  had 
forbidden  him  to  proceed  in  any  such  church  way,  until  the  cause 
were  considered  by  the  other  ministers,  &c.  But  he  refused  to  desist ; 
whereupon  they  sent  for  him,  and,  after  his  delay  day  after  day,  the 
marshal  was  sent  to  fetch  him.  Upon  his  appearance  and  submission, 
and  promise  to  remove  out  of  town  within  three  months,  he  was  dis- 
charged." After  he  left  Mattateese,  he  went  to  Newbury.  In  1G41, 
he  was  pastor  of  a  church  at  Hampton.  He  was  finally  excommuni- 
cated, when  eighty  years  old.  After  two  years,  the  sentence  of  ex- 
communication was  removed,  but  he  was  still  forbidden  as  a  minister. 
In  Hampton,  there  were  contentions  between  him  and  liis  elder,  Dal- 
ton,  until  1644,  botli  having  their  parties.  He  was  then  called  to 
Exeter,  but  his  settlement  there  was  prevented  by  the  express  inter- 
ference of  the  court.     He  died  at  the  age  of  ninety  years, 

^  The  Indian  Mattakeese,  we  have  already  intimated,  extended 
some  distance  within  the  present  limits  of  East  Barnstable.  That 
part  of  Mattakeese  where  the  settlement  commenced  was  witliin  the 
present  bounds  of  Yarmouth, 

^  Since  known  as  East  Dennis  ;  about  seven  or  eight  miles  distant 
from  the  former. 


yGoogle 


AKTJALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUSTY.  137 

invitod  valuable  accessions  to  the  toivnslnjj  also  in 
that  direction.^  The  grantees  at  Mattakeese  were  Mr. 
Anthony  Thacher,  Mr.  John   Crow,  and  Mr.  Tliomas 

'  Mr.  EiCHAKD  Seaes   came  over  in  1630,  ivith  the  kst  of  the 
Scrooby  congregation  of  Leyden,  and  landed  at  Plymouth  May  8.     It 
was  not  until  after  the  decease  of  his  father  in  1629,  that  he  felt  justi- 
fied in  seeking  a  home  in  the  "  New  World,"    The  tax  rates  e^  Plymouth 
indicate  that  he  was  possessed  of  large  property.     In  1643,  a  company 
led  by  him,  passing  through  Matlachiest  to  Scai^o,  and  looking  from 
its  eminence,  rested  their  eyes  upon  the  green  meadows  of  Sursuit 
and  Quivet,  shut  in  on  three  sides  by  hills  and  open  on  the  left  to  the 
sea,  and  resolved  to  pitch  their  tents  in  that  quiet  retreat.     Between  the 
two  ci-eeks  there  was  a  tongue  of  fine  land  made  up  in  part  of  allu- 
vial deposits,  and  there  they  selected  sites  for  their  future  habitations. 
Mr.  Sears  purehased  the  greater  part  of  this  neck  of  land,  aud  built 
upon  it ;  and  thougb,  after  two  hundred  years,  the  house  in  which  he 
resided  disappeared,  the  spot  where  it  stood  is  still  noted.     Mr.  Sears 
was  a  man  of  much  distinction,  and  is  the  first  and  only  one  of  his 
immediate  compeers  whose  portrait,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  is  pre- 
served.    It  is  therefore  irith  much  propriety  inti-oduced  here,  as  tlie 
first  of  a  series  which  we  shall  be  glad  to  extend.     To  the  courtesy 
of  a  much  honored  descendant  of  this  excellent  man  we  are  indebted 
for  the  opportunity  of  securing  a  beautiful  engi'aving  taken  fi-om  a 
painting  in  Holland  in  possession  of  the  Egmond  family.     The  like- 
ness is  supposed  to  be  accurate,  and  is  strikingly  indicative  of  his 
character,  expressive  of  great  mildness  and  goodness,  having  the  Gre- 
cian features  softened  by  the  Christian  graces.     It  is  deeply  to  be 
regretted  that  the  representations  of  all  the  prominent  men  who  laid 
the  foundations  of  empire  in  the  colony  have  not  come  down  to  us, 
and  that  so  few  are  extant  even  of  the  distinguished  of  later  days. 
The  ancestor  of  the  Colchester  Sears,  originally  of  Kent,  is  sho*vn  by 
undoubted  data  to  have  been  Adam  Sayer,  who  died  in  1346,  pos- 
sessed of  the  manor  of  Hougham,  near  Rochester,  in  tJie  county  of 
Kent.     From  him  also  is  this  branch  of  the  American  line.     From 
Adam  was  John,  great-grandson,  who  was  one  of  the  barons  returned 
to  serve  in  Parliament  for  the  town  of  Sandwich,  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VI.     Thomas,  the  youngest  son  of  John,  was  created  a  ban- 
neret by  Henry  VII.,  after  the  battle  of  Stoke,  in  li87.     Such  are  a 
few  of  the  ascertained,  but  disconnected  facts  in  regard  to  the  lineage. 
VOL.  I.  IS 


vGooglc 


138  THE   HISTORY    Ol'   CAPE   COD. 

Howes,  each  and  all  of  whom  filled  conspicuous  places 
in  the  early  liistory  of  the  times,  Yarmouth  was 
peculiarly  fortunate  in  its    incipiency  in  being  under 

The  flrat  name  among  the  descendants  of  Adam  Sayer  found  standing 
at  tte  head  of  an  unbroken  line,  is  that  of  John  of  Colcl  e  t  aid 
man  of  that  city,  a  man  of  wealth  and  dignity,  1  o  d  el  lt)09  He 
was  buried  in  St.  Peter's  Chufch,  under  the  sou  h  le  a  ur  1  h  s 
memorial  recording,  in  old  English  letters,  bis  n  n  and  loos  By 
Elizabeth,  liis  wife,  who  died  1530,  he  had  three  so  s  Jol  n  Eol  t 
and  George.  The  eldest  of  these,  John,  died  in  1  6  and  asbrei 
near  his  father  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  under  the  south  i  1  iti  a 
similar  memorial.  He  left  two  sons,  Richard  a  d  Geo  g  The 
elder  of  these,  Kichard,  was  born  in  Colchesler,  m  150b,  and  married 
Anne  Bouchier,  daughter  of  Edmund  Kuyvet,  of  Ashwelthorjie, 
county  of  Norfolk,  second  son  of  Sir  Edward  Enyvet.  Richard  died 
in  Amsterdam,  in  1540,  and  left  an  only  son,  John  Bouchier,  bom 
152S,  who  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Hawkins,  the  dis- 
tinguished navigator  and  admiral,  and  accompanied  his  falhcr-iu-law 
in  many  voyages.  He  died  in  Holland,  leaving  four  sons,  John  Bou- 
chier, Henry,  William,  and  Eichard.  John  Bouchier,  born  1561, 
married  Marie  L.,  daughter  of  Philip  Lamoral  Van  Egroond,  of  Am- 
sterdam, in  1.585,  and  had  Marie  L.,  1587,  Richard,  1500,  John,  1593, 
and  Jane  Kuyvet,  1596.  He  died  1629.  RiCHAKD,tlie  pilgrim,  and 
first  ancestor  here  of  the  American  branch,  born,  as  wo  have  seen,  in 
1590,  man-ied  Dorothy  Thacher,  sister  of  Anthony,  at  Plymoatb,  in 
1632.  He  was  a  member  of  tlie  Plymouth  colonial  court  in  1G62, 
and  died  1676.  His  wife  died  1680.  They  had  issue,  Kuyvet, 
Paul,  Silas,  aud  Deborah  who  married  Zacbariah  Paddock.  From 
KJiyvet,  bom  1635,  who  married  Elizabeth  Dymoko,  and  died  1686, 
was  descended  David  Sears,  of  Boston,  ivho  died  October  23,  181C, 
the  father  of  the  present  Hon,  David  Seare.  Prom  Paul,  bora  1637, 
who  married  Deborah  Willard,  and  died  1707,  was  Isaac,  the  pati-iot 
known  in  revolutionary  times  as  "  King  Soars,"  and  also  Rev-  E.  II. 
Sears,  of  Wayland,  and  Rev.  Barnas  Sears,  D.  D.,  president  of 
Brown  TJnivei-sity.  From  Silas,  bom  16S9,  is  descended  a  numerous 
posterity,  widely  scattered,  (See  annals  of  the  towns.)  For  the  data 
above  we  are  chiefly  indebted  to  a  most  interesting  and  beaatifully 
printed  work,  "The  Oklen  Times,"  by  Rev.  Edmund  il.  Scars  — pri- 
vate edition. 


yGoogle 


,f  ■'.  J,  .^  '  , 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


AJIHALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  139 

tho  direction  not  only  of  highly  respectable  and  en- 
ergetic men,  but  of  such  as  probably,  in  general,  coa- 
lesced better  with  the  leaders  at  Plymouth^  than  did 
the  majority  of  those,  also  highly  respectable,  who  laid 
the  foundation  at  Sandwich. 

A  grant  was  also  obtained,  in  September,  for  a  settle- 
ment at  Mattakeese,  between  Yarmoutli  and  Sandwich ; 
and  in  October,  the  settlement  was  commenced  chiefly 
by  people  from  Scituate.  Two  persons  only  are  named 
in  the  grant, "  Mr.  Joseph  Hull  and  Thomas  Dimoc," 
who, "  with  their  associates,"  were  "  to  erect  a  planta- 
tion or  town  at  or  about  a  place  called  by  the  Indians 
Mattacheese ; "  but  many  persons  of  character  and  note 
were  embraced  under  the  term  "associates,"  among 
whom  were  the  distinguished  pastor,  Eev.  John  Lo- 
tliTOp ;  also,  Anthony  Annable,  Henry  Cobb,  Thomas 
Cudworth,  Samuel  Fuller,  George  Lewis,  Barnard  Lum- 
bard,  Samuel  Hinckley,  William  Crocker,  WilHam  Par- 
ker, Henry  Bourne,  and  others.  Indeed,  the  almost 
entire  church  at  Scituate  removed  with  the  pastor,  or 
soon  followed. 

As  a  full  account  of  the  preceding  settlements  will 
appear  in  the  proper  place,  we  reserve  all  further 
remarks  touching  their  eaxly  history,  beyond  the  inci- 
dents of  their  progress,  for  the  annals  of  these  towns, 
as  before  intimated,  —  simply  recording  further  in  this 
place,  the  fact  that  this  year,  Sandwich,  Yarmouth, 
and .  Barnstable  became  invested  with  the  rights  of 
towns. 

'  They  w(ire  apparently  more  identififid,  as  ii  whole,  with  the  pilgrim 
interest.  Some  of  them  were  of  the  Scrooby  congrega,tjon,  and  were 
less  in  the  interest  of  "  the  merchant  adventurers." 


yGoogle 


14:0  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

Hitherto,  the  governor  and  assistants,  under  tlic  gen- 
eral name  of  «  ihe  associates  of  the  Colony  of  Plym- 
outh/' were  the  legislature.  «  These,"  says  Hutchinson, 
"were  elected  from  the  first  rank.  Even  after  the 
appointment  of  deputies,  the  governor  and  assistants 
■were  the  supreme  judiciary  power,  sole  in  judging  of 
high  offences,  and  to  them  lay  appeals  from  inferior 
jurisdictions,  after  lesser  offences  were  made  cognizable 
before  inferior  courts,  in  civil  matters."  The  la^^'S,  we 
have  said,  had  been  few,  and  were  termed  fundamental, 
but  in  general,  the  court  professed  to  be  governed  by 
the  common  law  and  statutes  of  England.  Now,  for 
the  first  time,  the  towns  were  permitted  to  send  dep- 
uties for  legislation.  The  first  representative  assembly 
met  June  4.  Deputies,  or  committees,  as  they  were 
first  called,  were  sent  from  each  toftn  —  four  from 
Plymouth,^  two  from  Duxbury,  two  from  Scituate,  two 
from  Sandwich,  two  from  Cohannet,  (Taunton,)  two 
from  Yarmouth,  and  two  from  Barnstable, 

In  the  committees  from  these  seven  towns  was 
vested,  conjointly  with  the  governor  and  assistants, 
the  power  that  had  been  previously  exercised  by  the 
people  through  the  governor  and  assistants  alone. 
During  the  entire  first  period  of  the  existence  of  the 
colony,  laws  had  been  enacted  to  a  certain  extent,  trea- 
ties concluded,  war  declared,  peace  proclauned,  and  all 
the  powers  of  sovereignty  exercised,  and  this  had,  almost 
entirely  escaped  the  notice  of  the  government  of  Eng- 
land. This  state  of  things  still  continued ;  and  difficul- 
ties with  the  natives,  domestic  factions,  rehgious  con- 
tentions, repeated  attempts  to  obtain  a  charter,  and 
cautious  plans  to  save  themselves  from  the  sufferings 

'  In  1 649,  tlie  numljcr  of  tlie  I'lymoutli  deputies  was  reiluceii  lo  two. 


yGoogle 


ASNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  HI 

of  famine  and  the  desolations  of  Indian  warfare,  gave 
the  colonists  ample  employment.  Says  Baylies, "  Hith- 
erto the  law-making  power  had  been  exercised  by  the 
whole  body  of  the  freemen  when  assembled  in  General 
Court.  The  extension  of  the  settlement  created  a  ne- 
cessity for  delegating  this  power,  inasmuch  as  the  dis- 
tance of  some  from  the  place  of  assembly  was  so  great, 
that  a  general  and  constant  attendance  was  not  only 
inconvenient,  but  often  impossible.  Induced  by  these 
considerations,  the  whole  court,  at  a  session  in  I608, 
had  passed  an  act  in  these  words :  — 

" '  Whereas  complaint  is  made  that  the  freemen  are 
put  to  many  inconveniences  and  great  expenses  by 
their  continual  attendance  at  the  courts,  it  is  tJierefore 
enacted  by  the  coiu't  and  tbe  authority  thereof,  for  the 
ease  of  the  several  towns  of  this  government,  that  each 
town  shall  make  choice  of  two  of  tlieir  freemen,  and 
the  town  of  Plymouth  of  four,  to  be  committees  or 
deputies,  to  join  with  the  bench,  to  enact  and  make  all 
such  laws  and  ordinances  as  shall  be  judged  to  bo  good 
and  wholesome  for  the  whole,  provided  that  the  laws 
they  do  enact  shall  be  propounded  at  one  court  to  he 
considered  of  until  the  next,  and  tlien  to  be  confirmed 
if  they  shall  be  approved  of,  except  the  case  require 
present  confirmation ;  and  if  any  act  shall  be  confirmetj 
by  the  court  and  committees,  which,  upon  further  delib- 
eration, shall  prove  prejudicial  to  the  whole,  that  the 
freemen,  at  the  next  Election-Court,  after  meeting 
together,  may  repeal  the  same  and  enact  any  other 
useful  for  the  whole ;  and  that  every  township  shall 
bear  their  committee's  charges,  which  is  two  shillings 
and  sixpence  a  day ;  and  that  such  as  are  not  freemen, 
but  have  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity,  and  are  masters  of 
families  and  inhabitants  of  the  said  town,  as  tliey  are 


vGooglc 


142  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

to  bear  a  part  in  the  cliarges  of  the  committees,  are 
to  have  a  vote  in  the  choice  of  them,  provided  they 
choose  them  only  of  the  freemen  of  the  said  town 
■whereof  they  are ;  but  if  such  committees  shall  be 
insufficient  or  troublesome,  that  then  the  bench  and 
the  other  committees  may  dismiss  them,  and  the  town 
to  choose  other  freemen  in  their  places.'  " 

Thus  the  government,  which  was  nearly  a  pure 
democracy,  was  changed  to  a  representative  one, 
through  necessity;  but  popular  opinion  was  still  regard- 
ed as  the  foundation  of  all  legislative  proceedings.  The 
right  of  the  assistants  and  committees  to  expel  any  that 
should  be  found  "  insufficient  and  troublesome,"  it  has 
been  well  remarked,  was  "  hardly  consistent  with  a  due 
tenacity  on  the  part  of  the  people  for  their  rights,  for 
the  very  words  of  the  reservation  were  no  less  ominous 
than  liable  to  latitudinarian  construction." 

In  the  court  record,  January  7,  the  following  entry 
appears :  "  The  names  of  those  to  whom  the  grant  of 
land  at  Mattacheesett,  now  called  Yarmouth,  is  made: 
Mr.  Anty.  Thacher,^  Mr.  John  Crow,  Mr.  Thos.  Howes ; 

^  As  Mr.  Akthony  TuACiiKK  was  one  of  llie  most  prominent  men 
among  the  settlers  at  Yarmoulh,  and  the  flrat  meatioDed  in  the  grant, 
some  more  particular  mention  of  hira  may  here  with  due  propriety  be 
made.  In  the  lists  of  early  passengers  to  New  England,  as  they 
appear  in  the  Admiralty  Office,  he  is  entered  as  "  Anthony  Thetcher, 
of  Sarum,  Tailor."  It  waa  doubtless  often  thought  justifiable  and 
desirable,  after  the  restrictions  upon  emigration  wei-e  imposed,  that 
the  vigilance  of  government  should  be  eluded  by  occasional  Minils  ; 
but  this  may  not  have  been  a  mere  evasion  for  such  an  end,  since  the 
duties  and  honors  that  appertain  to  the  avocations  of  widely  differing 
professions  may  have  centred  in  one  individual.  According  to 
Macaulay,  the  secular  position  of  many  of  the  clergy  of  that  day  was 
such,  and  "  such  the  menial  offices  even  they  were  obliged  to  perforin 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY,  143 

^@"  Jolin  Coite  to  be  inqiiired  o£  Candidates  for  free- 
dom at  Yarmouth:  Mr.  Madrick  Matthews,  Mr.  Ant 
Thacher,  Mr.  John  Crowe,  Mr.  Thos.  Howes,  Philip  Tabor, 
Wm.  Palmer,  Saml.  Eider,  Wm.  Lumpkin,  Thos.  Hatch." 

for  their  daily  bread,  m  would,  have  led  many  a  poor  curate  to  look 
upon  a  tailor's  bencli  as  a  seat  of  honor,"  There  la,  at  least,  preoump- 
liye  evidence  that  Mr.  Thacher  had  been  a  curate.  The  result  of  in- 
vestigations by  Mr.  Savage  ia  proof  (o  tliis  effect ;  and  the  presumption 
is  strengthened  by  the  practice  of  Mr.  Thacher  and  his  more  itnmu- 
diate  descendants,  of  bringing  their  children  early  to  the  baptismal 
font.  It  has  been  stated  that  such  was  the  veneration  for  some  relics 
preserved  from  the  wreeli  near  Thacher's  Island,  in  1635,  that  in  cer- 
tain of  those  arlicles  of  clothing  (a  scarlet  broadcloth  blanket,  a  cap, 
and  dress)  every  child  of  the  Thacher  families  in  Tarmouth  lias  been 
enwrapped,  through  successive  generations,  when  carried  to  baptism. 
Indeed,  we  are  constrained  to  say  the  evidence  is  more  than  presump- 
tive—  it  seems  incontrovertible;  for  the  records  of  Salisbury  show 
that  the  brother  of  Anthony  Thacher  (the  Eev.  Peter  Thacher)  was 
instituted  Rector  of  St.  Edmonds  in  1622  ;  and  that  Antoniua  Thacher 
was  curate  in  1633.  In  1634  was  recorfed  the  death  of  the  wife  of 
each,  both  rector  and  curate.  The  latter  contracted  a  second  mar- 
riage just  before  leaving  England.  It  is  said,  "  The  Eev.  Peter 
Thacher,  minister  of  the  gospel,  residing  at  Sarum,  a  dissenter  from 
the  Established  Church,  had  resolved  to  emigrate  to  New  England," 
accompanying  his  brother;  "but  the  death  of  his  wife  changed  his 
purpose."  His  son  Thomas,  born  May  1,  1620,  came,  however,  with 
his  uncle,  being  fifteen  years  old  when  he  embarked.  Swling  from 
Southampton,  they  arrived  at  Newbury,  June  4,  1635.  In  the  month 
of  August  of  the  same  year,  (we  have  already  referred  to  the  inci- 
dent, p.  119,)  Mr.  Thacher  smled  from  Ipswich,  with  his  family  and 
other  connections,  in  a  bark  bound  to  Marblehead.  Wrecked  on  a 
rock  near  Salem  harljor,  '■  all  his  children  were  drowned.  He  and 
his  wife  were  the  only  persons  saved  out  of  twenty-three."  His 
nephew  Thomas  fortunately  took  another  route.  Of  this  young 
man.  Dr.  Cotton  Mather,  says, "  He  had  such  a  strong  and  sad  impres- 
sion about  the  issue  of  the  voyage,"  short  as  it  was,  "  that  he,  with 
another,  would  needs  go  the  journey  by  land,  and  so  escaped."  The 
land  route  was,  at  that  time,  hazardous,  being  throujih  a  iiildemess 
thickly  swarming  with  Indians.     It  may  be  pertinent  h"re  also  to 


yGoogk' 


144  TliE   mSTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

March  5,  is  the  foUowlng :  "  It  is  ordered  by  the 
courtj'that  Mr.  Nicholas  Sympkins,  Wm,  Palmer,  Phihp 
Tabor,  and  Joshua  Barnes,  of  the  town  of  Yarmouth, 
shall  pe  added  to  Mr.  Anty.  Thacher,  Mr.  Thos.  Howes, 

remark,  that  the  nephew  was  siibseqaently  educated  under  tLe  direc- 
tion of  President  Chauncey,  and,  prepared  for  the  duties  of  the 
ministry  as  also  for  the  practice  of  medicine,  he  settled  at  Weymouth. 
He  afterwards  became  pastor  of  the  Old  South  Church,  in  Boston,  in 
which  position  he  died,  October  15,  1678.  President  Stiles  speaks  of 
him  as  the  best  Arabic  scholar  iu  the  countiy,  and  states  that  he  com- 
posed a  Hebrew  lexicon.  Dr.  Mather  says  further,  that  he  was  a 
great  logician.  Uniting  the  profession  of  medicine  with  the  ecclesias- 
tical, he  put  forth  the  first  medical  work  that  was  published  in 
America,  He  left  two  sons;  Peter,  bom  July  18,  1651,  gi'aduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  1671,  and  settled  at  Milton,  where  he  was 
ordained  in  1681,  and  died  in  1727 ;  and  Ralph,  who  settled  in  the 
ministry  at  Martha's  Vineyard.  From  these  two  descended  a  numer- 
ous progeny,  not  a  few  of  whom  have  been  honored  in  the  ministry  in 
successive  generations.  Of  this  branch  of  the  Thacher  family  was 
Oxenbridge,  who  died  in  1773,  aged  94;  and  Oxenbridge,  the  com- 
peer of  Adam?,  Quincy,  Otis,  and  others,  in  revolutionaiy  times. 
The  Thachei-s  who  first  came  over  were  of  the  Sussex  branch. 
Anthony  had  left  England  before  1610 'and  was  then  resident  in 
Holland.  His  brother  Thomas's  will,  1611,  names  him  as  being  "  in 
the  separation,"  and  directs  that  "  if  he  shall  join  in  the  pi-ofession  of 
true  religion  with  any  true  church  there,"  —  that  is,  in  Holland, — 
then  his  executora,  "  within  one  year  aftei-  he  shall  have  so  joined 
himself,  either  with  the  Keforraed  Dutch  in  the  country  where  he 
dwells,  or  shall  return  to  England,  shall  pay  him,  the  said  brother, 
five  pounds,  in  token  of  brotherly  affection."  His  brother  Clement, 
of  Somerset,  yeoman,  in  his  will,  January  13,  1G39,  represents  his 
brother  Anthony  as  "  now  beyond  the  seas,"  and  leaves  him  a  legacy. 
The  death  of  his  brother,  "  Rev.  Peter  Thacher,  rector,  St.  Edmonds, 
Salisbury,"  was  recorded  February  19, 1640,  and  on  an  old  tombstone 
may  te  still  seen  insci-ibed,  "  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Mr.  Peter 
Thacher,  who  was  a  laborious  minister  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
to  the  people  of  St.  Edmonds,  by  the  space  of  six.  years,  —  who 
departed  this  life  on  the  Lord's-day  night,  being  the  21st  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 164-0."     He   gave,  in  his  will,  to  his  "two   sons,  Pefer  and 


yGoogle 


AKKALS   OF   BAEM8TABLE   COCNTT.  145 

and  Mr.  John  Crowe,  committees  of  the  said  place,  to 
make  an  equal  division  of  the  planting  land  now  to  be 
divided  at  the  first  division  there,  to  each  man  accord- 
ing to  his  estate  and  quality,  and  according  to  their 
instructions  ;  and  that  Joshua  Pratt,  of  Plymouth,  and 


Thomas,  thirty-five  pounds,  which  was  sent  over  to  Mew  England  to 
buy  goats,"  and  which  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  his  brother  An- 
thony ;  he  also  gave  to  them  "  twenty  pounds  due  for  the  keeping  of 
the  said  brother's  child ;  "  and  forty-five  pouDds,  in  the  liandi}  of  his 
brother-in-law  Christopher  Batts  who  married  a  sister,  Anne. 
Further,  he.  gave  to  his  son  Thomas  a  large  library  of  theological 
works,  a  long  list  of  which  was  appended  to  the  will.  In  the  account 
which  Anthony  himself  gave  of  his  terrible  shipwreck  is  the  inci- 
dental mention  of  four  children  only ;  "  My  daughter  Mary,'  the 
eldest,  severed  from  me  on  the  rock,  sitting  at  my  feet ;  in  the  pin- 
nace, my  little  babe  —  ah,  poor  Peter !  —  sitting  in  his  sister  Edith's 
arms,  who  to  the  uttermost  of  her  power  sheltered  him  from  the 
waters ;  my  poor  William  standing  close  unto  them,  —  all  three  of 
them  looking  ruefully  on  me  —  poor,  silent  lambs!  —  their  counte- 
nances pleading  pity  and  help  at  my  hands."  But  tlie  record  in 
England  shows  that  there  were  nine  by  his  first  marriage.  The 
re^ster,  however,  contains  the  mention  of  deaths  of  numerous 
children  of  the  Thacher  family,  and  it  may  be  presumed  that  the 
other  five  died  in  England.  Mr.  Thacher  was,  for  a  short  period  after 
this  disaster,  in  Marshfleld  ;  and  "  the  court,  in  consideration  of  his 
losses,  granted  him  twenty-six  pounds,  thirteen  shillings,  and  four- 
pence."  Divers  good  people  also  "administered  to  his  necessities." 
In  1639,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  one  of  the  three  grantees  at  Yar- 
mouth; and  from  16i3  was  eleven  years  a  deputy.  Pious  and 
exemplary,  useful  and  honored,  he  went  down  to  his  grave  in  1667,  at 
the  age  of  fourscore  years.  All  that  we  know  of  the  names  of  his 
children  is,  that  Mary,  Edith,  William,  and  Peter  were  of  the  first 
marriage,  and  were  lost  at  Thachei's  Island.  By  his  second  mai-- 
riage,with  Elizabeth  Jones,  about  six  months  before  leaving  England, 
he  had  John,  born  at  Marblehead,  Msa\ih  17,  1639  ;  Judah,  born  in 
Tarmouth ;  and  Bethia,  who  married  Jabez  Howland,  and  removed 
to  Bristol,  Rhode  Island.  The  numerous  posterity  of  these  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  notice  in  the  further  progress  of  our  work. 
VOL.  I.  19 


vGooglc 


146  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE    COD. 

Mr.  John  Vincent,  of  Sandwich,  shall  view  the  land 
there,  and  make  report  to  the  court" 

May  6,  "  It  is  ordered  that,  if  Mr.  Callecutt  do  come 
in  his  own  person  to  inhabit  at  Mattacheese  before  the 
General  Court  in  June  next,  the  grant  shall  remain 
firm  unto  them ;  but  if  he  fail  to  come  within  the  time 
fixed,  that  then  their  grant  be  made  void,  and  tlie  land  be 
otherwise  disposed  of."  Also, "  that  the  portion  of  land 
granted  to  Mr.  Andrew  Hellot,^  at  Mattacheesett,  shall 
be  and  remain  unto  him,  and  that  those  that  are  ap- 
pointed to  set  forth  the  bounds  between  Mattacheese 
and  Mattacheesett  shall  laj  forth  the  said  portion  nnto 
him  in  a  convenient  place  there."  Subsequently,  Mr. 
Hallett's  grant  of  land  {lot  of  two  hundred  acres)  was 
confirmed  and  bounded ;  and  it  was  then  ordered 
that  "it  shall  not  bo  lawful  for  any  man  dwelling 
in  Yarmouth  to  purchase  two  house  lots  or  more 
lying  together,  and  maintain  but  one  house  upon 
them." 

The  committees  of  Sandwich  "  were  complained  of," 
September  3,  for  receiving  into  the  town  "  persons  unfit 
for  church  society;"  were  summoned  to  answer,  and 
"  forbidden  to  dispose  of  any  more  land ; "  and  at  a 
meeting  at  Sandwich,  October  3,  Mr.  Thomas  Prince 
and  Captain  Standish  having  been  appointed  by  the 
government "  to  hear  and  determine  all  differences  and 
controversies  amongst  the  committees  and  the  inhab- 
itants," Joseph  Winsor  was  Reeled.  The  neck  of  land 
called  Moonuscanlton,  being  fit  for  the  young  cattle, 
was  reserved,  by  general  consent,  for  that  purpose. 
"  Shaume  Neck,  lying  betwixt  the  Rivers  Shaume  and 


vGooglc 


ANSALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  147 

Manuscussett,  was  also  reserved  for  a  common,  the 
wood  thereon  to  be  free  to  all,  without  waste  or  spoil," 
And,  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  the  admission  of 
such  as  are  "  not  fit  for  ch\irch  society,"  it  was  ordered, 
that  "  none  shall  be  received  without  the  consent  of 
Mr,  Leverich  and  the  church." 

Under  the  same  date,  the  following  also  appears: 
'■'  Whereas,  by  complaint,  it  is  very  probable  that  divers 
of  the  committees  of  Sandwich  have  not  faithfully 
discharged  that  trust  reposed  in  them,  by  receiving 
into  the  said  town  divers  persons  unfit  for  church 
society,  which  should  have  been  their  chief  care  in 
the  first  place,  and  have  disposed  the  greatest  part 
of  the  lands  there  already,  and  to  very  few  that  are 
in  church  society  or  fit  for  the  same,  so  that  without 
speedy  remedy  our  chiefest  end  will  be  utterly  frus- 
trate,—  these  are  to  require  such  of  the  ■committees 
as  are  herein  faulty,  to  appear  at  the  next  Court  of 
Assistants,  to  answer  tlie  complaint,  and  in  the  mean 
time  not  to  dispose  of  any  more  lands  there  without 
further  order  from  the  court,  nor  make  sale  nor  convey 
any  of  their  lands  they  have  assumed  to  themselves  to 
any  person." 

Again,  we  find  the  proceedings  just  narrated  recorded 
more  in  extemo:  "At  a  meeting  at  Sandwich,  the  3d 
of  October,  1639,  wherein  Mr.  Thos.  Prince  and  Captain 
Standish  were  appointed  by  the  government  to  hear 
and  determine  all  differences  and  controversies  amongst 
the  committees  and  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  of 
Sandwich,"  Joseph  Winsor's  purchase  (made  of  Thomas 
ShiUingsworth,  and  which  was  Thomas  Hampton's,  de- 
ceased) was  made  void,  the  town  being  required  to 
take  the  land,  and  pay  Winsor  its  worth.  The  fol- 
lowing   additional    record    is   made:    "Forasmuch   as. 


vGooglc 


148  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

the    neck   of    land    called    Moonuscaulton   is  by    all 
or  most  pai't  of  tlie  inhabitants  adjudged  to   be    fit 
for  breeding    up    young   cattle,  it   is   concluded  and 
agreed  upon,  by  the  general  consent  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Sandwich,  that  the  said  neck  of  land  called  Moonus- 
caulton shall  be  reserved  to  the  town  as  a  common,  for 
the  breeding  of  their  young  cattle,  and   not  to   be 
appropriated  to  any  man's  particular,  without  consent 
of  the  whole  town  and  approbation  of  the  government ; 
save  that  the  wood  thereupon  shah  be  free  for  all  to 
take  of,  provided  it  be  without  wa^te  and  spoil  thereof. 
The  like  is  concluded  and  agreed  upon  for  the  other 
neck  of  land  called  Shaume  Neck  lying  betwixt  the 
Rivets  of  Shaume  and  Mannscn^ett,  to  be  reserved  for 
a  common  for  the  town,  and  not  to  be  appropriated  to 
any  man's  particular  without  consent  of  the  whole 
town  and  approbation  of  the  government;  save  tliat 
the  wood  thereupon  shall  be  free  for  all  to  take  thereof, 
provided  it  be  without  waste  and  spoil  thereof.     It  is 
also  concluded  and  agreed  upon,  both  by  the  commit- 
tees and  other  the  irjiabitantg  of  Sandwich,  that  for 
the  redressing  of  ttie  negligence  of  the  committees  in 
receiving  into  the  town  many  inhabitants  that  are  not 
fit  for  church  society,  and  for  preventing  of  like  evil 
for  ensuing  time,  it  is  ordered,  that  none  hereafter  shall 
be  admitted  into  the  town,  or  have  lands  assigned  them 
by  the  committees,  without  consent  and  approbation  of 
Mr.  Leverich  and  the  church  first  had  and  obtained. 
And  likewise  that  such  of  the  now  inhabitants  as  are 
disposed  to  sell  their  estate  and  depart  the  town,  they 
shall  not  sell  their  labors  to  any  person  except  he  be 
generally  approved  of  by  the  whole  town.     And  lastly, 
for  the  preventing  of  dangera,  evils,  and  discords,  that 
may  happen  in  the  disposal  of  lands,  or  other  occafiions, 


vGooglc 


ASNAL8   OF   BAEKSTABLE   COUNTY.  149 

within  the  town,  it  is  concluded  and  agreed  upon,  that 
the  town  shall  from  time  to  time  make  choice  of  some 
one  of  the  assistants,  and  at  present  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Prince,  to  he  joined  with  the  committees^  to  whom 
from  time  to  time  they  shall  have  recourse  to  advise 
with  and  receive  directions  from,  in  aU  such  occasions 
as  hereafter  shall  be  needful." 

The  same  year,  October  7, "  a  pair  of  stocks  and  a 
pound  "  were  ordered  by  the  court,  to  be  erected  in  the 
town  of  Yarmouth.  Under  the  same  date,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Matthews,  the  minister  at  Yarmouth,  appears  to  be 
involved  ia  some  trouble,  as  is  inferred  from  the  follow- 
ing :  "  Edward  Morrcll,  being  sworn,  deposeth  and  saith, 
that  William  Chase  (at  his  return  home  from  the  court, 
when  Mr.  Matthews  and  he  were  here  together)  did 
report  that  Mr.  Matthews  load  nothing  to  say  for  him- 
self, and  that  he  marvelled  how  any  durst  join  with  him 
in  the  fad ;  and  further  said,  that  some  being  then  in 
presence  with  the  magistrates,  did  hold  up  his  hand, 
and  cried, '  Fie,  fie !  for  shame ! ' " 

As  might  be  expected,  complaints  were  occasionally 
heard  of  the  alleged  unequal  or  partial  divisions  of 
lands  in  the  several  towns.  The  fact  is,  the  new 
comers  and  old  settlers  were  not  always  perfectly 
homogeneous.  In  those  settlements  where  the  strictest 
regard  was  had  to  the  rigid  rules  of  government,  in 
respect  to  the  discouragement  of  such  as  were  not 
deemed  "  fit  for  church  society,"  the  action  of  the  com- 
mittees was  generally  s^isfactwy  to  the  dominant 
power ;  but  tliis  power,  ever  watchful  and  jealous  of 
any  apparent  dereliction  in  this  matter,  sometimes  felt 
that  there  was  occasion  to  find  fault  with  the  laxity 


vGooglc 


150  THE   HISTORY    Of   CAPE   COD. 

of  some  of  the  committees  in  other  settlements.  Even 
where  the  greatest  caution  was  observed,  difficulties 
would  arise.  Mr.  Thacher,  Mr.  Crow,  and  Mr.  Howes, 
the  committee  for  Yarmouth,  being  complained  of  to 
the  court,  in  1640,  for  unequal  divisions  of  lands,  their 
adherence  to  the  views  of  government  being  more 
rigid  their  doings  were  approved  by  the  court ;  and  to 
guard  the  more  effectually  against  such  cmnpMnts  in 
future,  it  was  ordered,  that  "  no  more  inhabitants  shall 
be  received  without  a  certificate  from  the  places  whence 
they  come,  signed  by  approved  men."  Cases  occurred 
in  some  of  the  towns,  where  it  was  judged  expedient 
to  void  the  allotment  of  lands  to  individuals,  refund 
the  payments  made  by  them,  and  order  them  to  depart 
out  of  the  colony.  In  1638,  Henry  Ewer  and  wife 
were  ordered  by  the  court  to  depart  from  Sandwich, 
and  Mr.  Ski^  who  had  encouraged  their  coming,  was 
required  to  send  them  back  to  the  place  from  whence 
they  were  brought,  or  by  neglect  to  incur  tlie  dis- 
pleasure of  the  government.  Ewer  seems  to  have 
contrived,  however,  in  some  way,  to  become  an  inhab- 
itant notwithstanding ;  and  his  descendants  have  been 
numerous  and  respectable.' 

'  How  far  the  doings  in  the  early  limes  of  the  settlement  of  tiie 
colonies  have  furnished  a  precedent  for  the  course  of  "Judge  Lynch," 
in  the  later  setllements  upon  the  frontiers,  may  be  a  question.  It  is 
as  certaio  that,  without  legal  authority  from  the  parent  government, 
severe  regulations,  deemed  wholesome  and  necessary,  were  made  and 
enforced  then,  as  that  similar  regulations  have  been  made  and  en- 
forced, under  like  circumstances,  of  late  years,  in  many  settlements  of 
our  new  states  and  territories. 


yGoogle 


^ 


MORlllIEKTS  OT  THE   SEAR3   FAMILY 
GKAVKYARnS  01'  YARJ[(niTR  MMLI   CHATbliM 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   DAKNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


CHAPTEE    IX. 

Patent  surrendered  and  Chartera  granted.  —  Court  tt  t  1  — L  vs,  Vin- 
dication of  the  Clergy,  and  Lands  granted.  —  Nir  -a  tt.  —  Tl  e  Minis- 
try. — An  Abandonment  of  Plymoutli  and  Remo  1  to  Na  t  templat- 
ed.  —  Lands  bounded.  —  Differences  adjusted.  —  Cent  d  rat  —  Nauset 
settled.  —  Laws  enforced. 

In  1640,  Mr.  "William  Bradford  was  again  governor, 
and  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  Sen.,  of  Sandwich,  was  elect- 
ed an  assistant. 

The  patent  which  had  been  taken  in  the  name 
of  William  Bradford  having  been  surrendered  to 
the  body  of  freemen,  and  charters  having  in  conse- 
quence been  issued  to  the  several  towns,  "  the  pur- 
chasers and  old  comers "  obtained,  March  2,  the  grant 
of  "  a  tract  extending  from  the  bounds  of  Yannouth 
three  miles  eastward  of  Namskeket,  and  across  the 
neck  from  sea  to  sea."  *'The  purchasers  and  old 
comers,"  it  may  here  be  noted,  were  distinguished  from 
other  freemen  and  inhabitants.  The  Leyden  Company, 
before  they  left  Holland,  had  formed  a  partnership  in 
trade  with  certain  London  merchants,  commonly  called 
"  merchant  adverdurers"  The  connection  was  to  last 
seven  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  all  the  common 
property  was  to  be  divided.  In  1626,  the  Plymouth 
Colony  having  bought  out  the  interest  of  the  adven- 
turers, by  an  agreement  to  pay  eighteen  hundred 
pounds,  soon  after  hired  to  Governor  Bradford  and  his 
associates  the  trade  of  the  colony  for  six  years,  Brad- 
ford and  associates  undertaking  to  pay  the  eighteen 


vGooglc 


152  THE   IIISTOEY   OF   CAfE   COD. 

hundred  pounds  to  the  adventurers,  and  in  addition, 
the  other  debts  of  the  colony,  amounting  to  twenty-six 
hundred  pounds  more ;  also  becoming  obligated  to  the 
colony  to  import  yearly  to  the  value  of  Ilfty  pounds  in 
hoes  and  shoes,  and  to  sell  Indian  corn  at  sis  shillings 
per  bushel.  Those  who  took  this  contract  from  the 
colony  were  therefore  called  purchasers.  The  oUl  comers 
were  certain  of  the  colonists  that  came  over  in  the 
three  vessels  first  arriving — the  Mayflower,  the  ^Fortune, 
and  the  Anne/  The  surrender  of  the  patent  to  the 
whole  company,  and  the  issuing  of  charters  to  the 
towns,  gave  a  new  feature  to  society,  and  a  fresh 
impulse.^ 

The  aforesaid  grant  of  land  was  not  confined  to 
the  Cape ;  Governor  Bradford  had  "  reserved  three 
tracts  for"  the  purchasers  or  old  comers,  when  he 
surrendered  the   patent;    that    on    the  Cape  corapre- 


'  Among  the  purchasers  wei^e  Thomas  Prince,  John  Jenny,  Anthony 
Annable,  Samuel  Fuller,  Francis  Cooke,  William  Bassett,  "William 
Palmer,  Edward  Bangs,  "William  Wright,  John  Beauchamp,  and 
others.  The  last  named  was  never  in  this  country,  hut  united  with 
Bradford  and  others  in  the  purchase,  and  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman  of 
Sandwich  acted  as  his  agent.  Indeed,  the  first  purchasera  were  in 
number  only  eight.  The  others  who  became  interested  were  dd 
comers,  and  hence  the  expression  "  purchasers  and  old  comers." 

^  "  1640,  December  1.  AVTiereas,  by  the  act  of  the  Genei-al  Court, 
March  3,  it  was  agreed  that  the  purohasei-s  or  old  comei-s  should  make 
choice  of  two  or  three  plantations  for  themselves,  uow  the  said  pur- 
chasers or  old  comers,  to  signify  to  the  court  that  accordingly  they 
have  chosen,  (as  one,)  '  Fi-om  the  hounds  of  Yarmouth,  three  miles 
to  the  eastward  of  Kaemskeckett,  aad  from  sea  to  sea  across  the  neck 
of  land,' — the  which  choice  {with  two  other  parcels)  being  made  as 
aforesaid,  and  allowed  in  court, — Mr.  William  Bradford,  for  himself 
and  associates,  doth  tender  a  surrender  to  the  body  of  freemen  of  all 
the  rest  of  the  lands  within  the  patent,  which  are  not  granted  to 
n  general  or  persona  in  particular." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OP   BARNSTABLE   COUKTY.  15?> 

hended  the  ancient  Eastham,  with  what  was  afterwards 
Orleans  and  Brewster ;  and  the  grantees  were  increased 
to  fifty  in  niimber. 

Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  of  Sandwich,  assistant,  witli 
Mr.  Thomas  Dimoc,  of  Barnstable,  and  Mr.  John  Crow, 
of  Yarmouth,  as  associates,  were  appointed  by  the 
Colony  Court  to  hear  and  determine  all  causes  and 
controversies  within  the  three  townships  now  existing 
on  the  Cape,  not  exceeding  twenty  shillings. 

It  was  this  year  ordered  by  the  court,  "  that  profane 
swearing  should  be  punished  by  setting  in  the  stocks 
three  hours,  or  by  imprisonment ; "  also,  "  that  for 
telling  lies,  a  fine  of  ten  shillings  should  be  imposed  for 
each  and  every  offence,  or  setting  in  the  stocks  two 
hours."  An  act  was  passed  to  "  prevent  idleness  and 
other  evils."  The  grand  jurors  in  each  town  were 
authorized  "  to  take  special  view  and  notice  all  persons, 
married  or  single,  that  have  small  means  to  maintain 
themselves,  and  are  supposed  to  live  idly  and  loosely, 
and  require  an  account  of  them  how  they  live ;  and 
finding  any  delinquent,  were  to  order  a  constable  to 
carry  them  before  a  magistrate,  or  the  selectmen,  to 
deal  with  them  as  they  see  fit."  Such  a  law  appears 
to  us  at  the  present  day  both  inquisitorial  and  dictato- 
rial, and  calculated  to  convulse  society,  and  lead  to 
resistance.  The  military  companies  were  to  be  trained 
sis  times  a  year.  Stealing  or  attempting  to  steal  ships' 
boats,  ammunition,  &c.,  was  made  felony,  and  so  to  be 
punished.  Laws  for  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath 
were  to  be  enforced  on  the  Indians,  who  certainly  could 
not  be  expected  to  have  much  veneration  for  the  day. 
The  policy  may  well  be  questioned. 

The  immunities  of  the  regular  ministry  were  pre- 
voL.  I.  20 


vGooglc 


154  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE    COD. 

served  with  great  care.  Disaffections  towards  the 
persons  or  teachings  of  the  clergy  were  eometiiues  ex- 
hibited, but  .were  as  often  dealt  with  in  a  -^'ery  sum- 
mary manner.  William  Chase,  of  Yarmouth,  charged 
with  "miscarriages  against  Mr.  Matthews,  tending 
to  the  disturbance  of  the  proceedings  of  the  church, 
court,  and  country,"  was  severely  censured,  and  laid 
under  bonds,  he  "  promising  to  leave  the  place  in  sis 
months." 

At  the  Court  of  Assistants  held  the  3d  of  -Tune, 
the  following  entry  was  ordered :  "  Memorand.     That 
John  Kerman,  of  Sandwich,  is  granted  one  messuage, 
or  dwelling  honse,  in  Sandwich  aforesaid,  and  fifteen 
acres  of  upland,  be  it  more  or  less,  adjoining  therennto, 
abutting  upon  the  meadows  of  Moonuscnssett ;  sixteen 
acres  of  marsh  meadow  ground,  he  it  more  or  less,  with 
two  little  islands  of  upland  therein,  (except  tlie  said 
island  of  upland,)  lying  before  the  said  town  of  Sand- 
wich eastward,  and  facing  the  river  that  comes  to  the 
said  town,  the  said  John  Kerman  allowing  a  way  for 
carriages  by  water  only ;  eight  acres  of  marsh  meadow, 
be  it  more  or  less,  lying  at  the  upper  end  of  the  back- 
side of  the  said  town's  neck  from  the  swamp  towards 
the  beach  at  the  east  end,  and  towards  Richard  Chad- 
well's  meadow  at  the  west  end ;  ten  acres  of  upland, 
be  it  more  or  less,  lying  at  Moonuscaulton,  and  adjoin- 
ing to  the  lands  of  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman ;  and  four- 
score and  ten  acres  lying  at  the  plains  and  abxitting 
upon  the  lands  of  Mr.  Thomas  Dexter  and  Mr.  Edward 
Dillingham,  southerly  from  them,  with  all  and  singular 
the  appurtenances  to  the  said  premises  belonging  and  in 
any  wise  appertaining  and  part  or  parcel  thereof;  to 
have  and  to  hold  'the  said  messuage,  or  dwelling  house, 
fifteen  acres  of  upland,  fifteen  acres  of  marsh  meadow, 


vGooglc 


AKSALS   OF  BAKKSTABLE   COUNTY.  iOO 

(except  the  two  islands  of  Tapland  therein  before  ex- 
cepted,) and  eight  acres  of  marsh  meadow,  ten  acres  of 
upland  at  Moonuscaulton,  and  the  said  fourscore  and 
ten  acres  of  upland  lying  at  the  plains,  with  all  and 
singula!'  their  appurtenances  and  every  part  and  parcel 
thereof,  except  before  excepted,  imto  the  said  John 
Kerman,  his  heirs  and  assignees  forever,  to  the  only 
proper  use  and  behoof  of  him,  the  said  John  Kerman, 
his  heira  and  assignceB  forever." 

In  1G41,  Mr.  Bradford  was  reelected  governor,  and 
Mr.  Edmund  Freeman  assistant. 

Some  progress  in  maritime  affairs  is  noticed  at  this 
time:  a  bai'k  of  about  fifty  tons  was  built  in  PIjtu- 
outh,  costing  two  himdred  pounds,  contributed  in  shares 
by  thirteen  persons ;  and  it  has  been  claimed  that  this 
was  the  "■first  vessel  of  magnUude"  built  in  the  colony. 
Having  no  data  by  which  we  can  judge  in  this  matter, 
we  give  the  fact  as  it  has  been  stated  of  late  years, 
without  being  able  to  endorse  fully  the  "dotcUkss" 
which  accompanies  the  issue  of  the  conjecture.  The 
vessel  built  at  Manomet  in  1627  was  probably  smaller.' 

As  the  Cape  has  been  much  interested  in  the  manu- 
facture of  saU,  and  has  generally  been  supposed,  not 
without  good  reason,  to  have  taken  the  precedence  in 
this  manufacture,  (certainly  so  far  as  the  maldng  of  it 
by  solar  evaporation  is  the  agent,)  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that  "this  year  Mr.  John  Jenny  was  allowed 
certain  privileges  at  Clark's  Island,  to  make  salt ; "  but 
by  what  process,  or  with  what  success,  is  not  stated. 

There  were  about  this  time  "  some  apprehensions  of 

'  AccoriJing  to  Hakliiyt,  a  pinnace  of  fifty  tons  was  built  on  tlie 
Kennebec  as  early  as  1606. 


vGooglc 


156  THE   mSTO&Y    OF   CAPE   COD. 

hostile  movements  on  tlie  part  of  tlie  Narragansetts ; 
and  in  Plymouth  twelve  persons  were  enjoined  to  bring 
their  muskets,  with  shot  and  powder,  every  Lord's  day, 
to  the  meeting,  with  their  sword,  and  furniture  to  every 
piece,  ready  for  service  if  need  should  require." ' 

Mr.  Secretary  Morton  has  said,  in  reference  to  the 
three  years  last  past,  that "  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
accomphsh  and  adorn  the  colony  with  numbers  of 
godly  and  able  gospel  preachers,  who,  being  dispersed 
and  disposed  of  to  the  several  churches  and  congregar 
tions,  gave  light  in  a  glorious  and  resplendent  manner, 
as  bunding  and  shining  lights."  He  mentions,  among 
others,  Mr.  John  Layturope,^  Mr.  Joira  Mayo,  Mr.  William 

'  "We  may  sometimes  be  disposed  to  smile  at  tlie  warlike  prepara- 
tions of  those  days ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  crossbows  ha|i 
scarcely  gone  out  of  use  in  war  even  in  Old  England,  and  the  fire- 
arms were  generally  matchlocks. 

3  "We  would  here  say,  that  we  have  thought  proper  to  adopt  the 
orthography  of  surnames  as  practised  genei'ally  at  the  time.  The 
changes  which  occuiTed  subsequently  in  writing  the  same  names  Lave 
also  been  followed.  In  some  instances,  tliese  changes  have  eventuated 
in  names  somewhat  dissimilar  from  the  ori^nal,  and  in  other  instances, 
families,  whose  surname  was  of  the  same  common  origin,  have  come 
to  be  called  by  names  quite  diverse.  Witness  Burge,  Borgis,  Bor- 
ges  and  Burgess ;  Ney,  Noye,  Nie,  Nye  and  Noyes ;  Black,  Black- 
man,  Elackwell,  &e. ;  Dimoe,  Dymoke,  Dimmacfe  and  Dimmick ; 
Sayre,  Sayer  and  Sears  ;  Gates  and  Otis;  Hawkseye,  Hoxie,  &o.,  &c. 
It  would  be  intereeting  to  know  the  actual  original  of  all  suniames,  for 
very  important  reasons  connected  with  family  genealogy.  Surnames, 
at  first,  Mons.  Boileau  is  of  opinion,  "  were  the  epithets  of  gi-eat  men 
only,  and  repeated  as  such."  Sbakspeaie  intimates  the  same; — 
"WitneHB  may 

My  swntame  Coriolanus  :  the  painful  service, 

ThB  exlrerae  dangers,  and  the  drops  of  blood 

Shed  for  my  thankless  country,  are  requited 

But  with  that  sxa-name," 

Sui'naraes  were  not  permanent  in  English  families  as  hereditary  titles 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  157 

Levehich,  Mv.  John  MnxER,  and  Mi\  MAimADUEE  Mat- 
thews, all  of  whom  were  for  some  time  on  the  Cape.^ 

The  fii«t  general  assessment  mentioned  is  that  for 
the  payment  to  the  clerk  and  messenger  of  the  Gen- 

uiitil  about  the  time  of  the  conquest,  in  1066,  and  were  not  in  tmiyer- 
ssit  use  until  nearly  a  century  after.     Their  origin  was  fourfold ;  First, 
by  adding  the  word  son  to  the  name  of  the  father ;  as,  for  instance, 
John,  Richard's  son,  which  came  at  length  to  be  written  Ejchardson. 
Second,  they  were  taken  from  a  msm's  trade  or  occupation ;  and  hence 
the  name  of  Smith,  Baker,  Tdlor,  Fuller,  &c.,  furnishing  innumer- 
able hereditary  titles.     Tliird,  the  name  wa8  taken  from  some  peculiar 
trait,  quality,  &c.,  of  the  individual ;  as,  for  instance,  Edmund,  one  of 
the  Saxon  kings,  was  called  Ironsides,  for  his  bravery  and  impunity 
from  the  penetrating  arrow  s  so  John,  whose  complexion  was  dark, 
came  to  be  called  John  Black,  and  Henry,  the  strong,  Heniy  Strong. 
Fourth,  from  localities ;  as  John,  on  the  hill,  John  Hill ;  John,  who 
lived  near  the  brook,  John  Broolis,  &c.     These  names,  in  their  on- 
ward course,  undei^  various  changes.     In  these  remarks  touching 
the  origin  of  names,  and  in  the  suggestion  that  it  would  be  interesting 
to  know  the  actual  origin  of  all  surnames,  we  are  influenced  by  no 
ridiculous  veneration  for  heraldic  pretensions,  or  the  titles  of  nobility. 
It  is  sufficient  for  us  that  the  fact  is  well  established,  that  the  early 
settlers   of  these  parts  were   generally  descended  from  the  landed 
gentry  or  yeomanry  of  England.     Says  Burke,  in  his  elaborate  Dic- 
tionary, vol.  i.,  preface,    "  These    comprise    that    class    in    society 
which  holds  the  next  place  to  the  privileged  order — the  untitled 
country  gentlemen ;  a  class,  be  it  remembered,  not  a  degree  below 
the  other  in   antiquity  of  descent,   personal   accomplishments,  and 
rational  usefulness.     Nay,  the  chiefs  of  the  houses  from  which  the 
nobility  spring  are  generally  to  be  found  in  this  division  of  the  aris- 
tocracy; and  for  the  simple  reason  that,  the  eldest  son  and  heir  being 
already  provided  for,  the  field  of  adventure  belongs  exclusively  to  the 
junior  members  of  the  family,  who,  being  thus  forced  upon  the  arena, 
achieve,  by  their  prowess  or  their  talents,  fame,  wealth,  and  eminence." 
'  Mr.  Lathrop,  as  has  been  seen,  was  early  at  Barnstable.     Mr. 
Mayo  was  associated  with  Mr,  Lathrop  in  his  labors  in  1644,  as  a 
teacher,  and  was  afterwards   in    Eastham,  and  died  in   Yarmouth. 
Mr.  Leveridge  was    early  in   Sandwich  —  the  first  minister.     And 
Mr.  Miller  and    Mr.  Maithews  wore  both  ministora  of  Tarmomh. 


vGooglc 


158  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

envl  Court  tliia  year,  June  1,  twenty-five  pounds,  wliicli, 
as  it  may  be  supposed  to  exhibit  the  comparative 
ability  of  the  several  townships,  niay  be  presented,  as 
follows :  — 

Plymouth £5.  Taunton £2  10. 

Duxbury 3  10.  Barnstable 2  10. 

Seituate 4.  Yarmouth 2  10. 

Sandwich 3.  Rexhame(Marshiield)  2. 

At  a  court  held  at  Yarmouth,  June  17,  before  Mr. 
Edward  Winslow,  Captain  Miles  Standish,  and  Mr.  Ed- 
mund Freeman,  three  assistants,  by  virtue  of  an  order 
of  the  General  Court  appointed  to  settle  the  bounds  of 
Yarmoutli  and  Barnstable  and  to  hear  and  determine 
all  catises  and  controversies  amongst  the  inhabitants 
of  Yarmouth,  Barnstable,  and  Sandwich,  which  might 
come  before  them;  in  addition  to  the  adjustment  of 
many  other  differences,  it  was  "  ordered  by  them,  that 
Mr.  Andrew  Hellott  shall  pay  Massatumpaine  one 
fathom  of  beads  within  two  moons,  besides  the  net  he 
allegeth  the  said  Massatumpaine  sold  him,  for  the  deer 
that  Mr.  Hellott's  son  bought  of  Massatumpaine  about 
two  years  since."  It  was  also  "  ordered,  that  Walter 
Devile  shall  pay  two  shillings  to  Massatumpaine  for 
mending  the  hole  in  his  kettle  which  the  said  Devile 
shot  with  his  gun  —  to  be  paid  within  one  moon  next 
ensuing."  It  was  further  "  ordered,  that  all  lands  here- 
after laid  out  and  assigned  in  the  town  of  Yarmouth 
shall  bo  designated  by  lot,  and  that  Captain  Standish 
shall  be  joined  to  the  committee  of  the  town,  and  no 

It  ha'i  been  sfud  Ihit  neirly  all  the  ministera  in  the  two  colonies 
had  b**en  connected  with  the  '  Fstihlished  Church"  of  England, 
were  griduitus  of  the  Fur!  ah  univi  rsitiea  and  numbevs  of  them 
were  fin    das  aal  ■,Lhuhr   — =oms      unmillpd 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTY.  109 

lands  be  granted  without  his  consent."     Also,  that  "  the 
bounds  of  Yarmouth  on  the  easterly  side  are  from  the 
town  to  a  certain  brook  called  by  the  Indians  Shuck- 
quam,  but  by  the  English  Bound  Brook,  and  all  that 
neck  of  land  northward  called  by  the  Indians  Atqniod, 
alias  Aquiatt,  with  aU  the  upland  and  marsh  meadow 
which  lie  on  the  westerly  side  of  said  brook,  to  the 
townwardg  unto  the  mouth  of  said  brook ;  and  from  a 
marked  tree  at  the  path  on  the  said  brook  by  a  straight 
line  south  and  by  east  to  the  South  Sea,  so  it  extend 
not  in  length  above  eight  miles,  excepting  and  reserv- 
ing unto  Massatumpaine,  the  sachem,  the  lands  -from 
Nobscusset  pan  westerly,  from  a  marked   tree  there 
nnto   another   marked    tree    at   a   swamp    extending 
westerly ;  and  from  thence  to  another  marked   tree 
northerly  by  a  straight  line  to  the  sea ;  and  from  the 
northerly  end  of  the  said  Nobscusset  pan  to  the  sea  by 
a  lino  from  the  westerly  side  of  said  pan."     Fm'ther, 
"  The  bounds  betwixt  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable  are  as 
followeth,  Tiz. :   the  Eiver  of  Stony  Cove  shall  be  the 
bounds  from  the  sea  as  far  as  it  runneth  to  the  land- 
wards, and  from  thence  from  the  upward  part  thereof 
to  begin  at  the  easterly  side  of  the  lot  of  Andrew 
Hellott,  at  a  known  marked  tree,  by  the  highway  lead- 
ing betwixt  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth  aforesaid,  and 
from  the  easterly  side  of  the  upward  part  of  the  said 
lot  to  run  upon  the  south-south-west  point  of  the  com- 
pass   to   the   South   Sea ;    provided    always   that   the 
meadow  land  that  was  allotted  and  appointed  to  the 
said  Mr.  Hellott's  farm  be  still  reserved  unto  tlie  said 
farm,  according  to  the  former  intent  and  grant  thereof; 
excepting  and  reserving  unto  Nepaiton  and  Twacom- 
macus,  and  their  heirs  and  assignees,  if  they  shall  dwell 
upon  it,  all  that  parcel  of  plain  land  bordering  to  the 


vGooglc 


100 


'IHE   HISTORY   OF   CAI'E    COD, 


seawards  from  a  pond  to  a  tree  by  the  wood  side, 
marked  by  Mr.  Winslow,  Captain  Standish,  and  Mr. 
Freeman,  and  from  thence  easterly  by  the  wood  side 
to  another  marked  tree,  and  from  thence  northerly  to 
the  sea,  provided  that  if  the  said  Nepaiton  shall  at  any 
time  sell  the  same,  he  shall  sell  it  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Barnstable  before  any  other." 

"  The  agreement  between  Nepaiton^  and  Twacomma- 
cu8°  and  their  heirs  and  the  inhabitants  of  Barnstable," 
also  appears,  as  follows :  — 

"In  consideration  besides  what  tlie  said  Nepaiton 
hath*  had  already  of  the  said  inhabitants  of  Barnstable, 
that  they  .shall  build  the  said  Nepaiton  one  dwelling 
house,  with  a  chamber  floored  with  boards,  with  a 
chimney  and  an  oven  therein,  the  said  Nepaiton  hath 
given  and  granted  imto  tlie  said  inhabitants  of  Barn- 
stable all  the  rest  of  his  lands  lying  about  Barnstable 
aforesaid,  which  were  his  and  his  own  proper  inher- 
itance, excepting  and  reserving  unto  the 'said  Nepaiton 
and  Twacommacus,  and  their  heirs  and  assignees  for- 
ever, if  they  shall  dwell  upon  it,  all  that  parcel  of  plain 
lands  bordering  upon  the  sea,  from  a  pond  to  a  tree  by 
the  wood  side  marked  by  Mr.  "Winslow,  Captam  Stan- 
dish,  and  Mr.  Freeman,  and  from  thence  easterly,  by 
the  wood  side,  to  another  marked  tree,  and  from  thence 
northerly  to  the  sea ;  provided  always  that,  if  the  said 
Nepaiton  shall  at  any  time  sell  the  said  lands,  he  shall 
sell  them  to  the  inhabitants  of  Barnstable  before  any 
other,  and  shall  from  time  to  time  give  leave  for  a 
draught  to  come  through  his  ground  when  they  shall 
desire  it ;  and  lastly,  that  they  shall  have  liberty  to  get 

^  In  the  Earnstatile  records,  It  is  written  I>Jepoyetnm.     Vfa  follow 
tlie  colonial  records. 

^  In  other  places,  Tanonius. 


yGoogle 


AKHAL3  OP  BAEN8TABLE  COUNTY.  161 

wood  for  fencing  and  fire  out  of  the  woods  there,  and 
enjoy  and  reap  the  corn  this  year  which  they  have  set 
out  of  the  foresaid  bounds,  —  and  in  winter  to  live 
where  he  pleaseth." 

September  7,  it  was  ordered  by  the  General  Court, 
"  that  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  one  of  the  assistants,  shall, 
at  the  next  court  holden  towards  Yarmouth  and  Barn- 
stable, inflict  such  punishment  upon  Mr.  Crow's  maid 
servant  for  pilfering  goods  in  his  house,  as  according 
to  her  fault  shall  be  just  and  equal," 
The  following  also  appears :  — 

"  Division  of  meadows  in  Sandwich.  At  a  general 
meeting  of  the  townsmen  of  Sandwich,  held  the  16th 
day  of  April,  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  our 
sovereign  lord,  Charles,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of 
England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Ireland,  defender  of  the 
faith,  &;c.,  Thomas  Prince,  gentleman,  one  of  the  assist- 
ants of  the  government  of  New  Plymouth,  by  virtue 
of  a  commission  to  him  and  John  Alden,  gentleman,  or 
either  of  them,  directed,  for  the  calling  before  them,  or 
either  of  them,  the  said  inhabitants  of  Sandwich,  to 
hear  and  determine  all  causes  of  difference  and  con- 
troversy now  depending  amongst  them,  in  general,  or 
betwixt  particular  persons  in  division  of  uplands  and 
meadow ;  or  betwixt  them  and  the  Indians ;  and  to  set 
down  some  orders  concerning  the  division  of  said 
meadow  lands,  that  the  premises  which  are  agreed 
upon  may  be  committed  to  public  record,  and  so 
remain  inviolable,  which  is  as  followeth:  — 

''Imprimis,  for  deciding  the  differences  about  the 
meadow  grounds,  and  to  make  an  equal  division  thereof, 
is  agreed  upon,  by  the  consent  both  of  the  committees 
and  the  townsmen  of  Sandwich,  that,  together  with  Mr. 
Prince,  there  shall  be  five  of  the  committees,  viz.,  Mr. 
VOL.  I.  21 


vGooglc 


162  THE   HISTORY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

Edmund  Freeman,  Mr,  Henry  Feake,  Mr.  Edward  Dil- 
lingham, Richard  Chadwell,  and  John  Carman,  and  five 
of  the  townsmen  be  joined  with  them,  viz.,  Mr.  John 
Vincent,  Richard  Bourne,  George  Allen,  Robert  Bodfish, 
and  Joseph  Holway,  to  view  and  appoint  the  said 
meadow  lands,  and  to  consider  well  the  estate  and 
quality  of  every  person,  as  also  the  quality  and  con- 
dition of  the  meadows,  and  to  appoint  to  every  man 
such  a  portion  as  shall  be  esteemed  equal  and  suitable 
to  his  necessity  and  ability ;  and  that  in  the  division 
of  the  said  meadow  lands  these  rules  and  orders  shall 
be  observed  -.  — 

"First,  That  those  that  have  meadow  allotted  to 
them  in  the  meadow  between  Moonoonnenuscusset 
and  Shaume  shall  only  have  such  portions  there  as- 
signed them  as  in  the  judgment  of  the  foresaid  ten 
men  appointed  shall  be  thought  meet,  and  that  further 
accommodation  be  added  elsewhere  as  there  shall  be 
cause  and  their  necessity  and  condition  shall  require. 
"  2.  That  for  the  rest  of  the  meadows,  which  shall 
be  laid  forth  by  the  aforesaid  ten  men  appointed,  to 
every  man  according  to  each  man's  estate  and  condi- 
tion, reserving  such  a  portion  as  in  the  judgment  of 
the  said  ten  men  shall  be  thought  fit. 

"  3.  That  the  said  ten  men  having  appointed  the 
persons  and  places,  then  Joshua  Pratt,  of  Plymouth, 
shall  measure  forth  to  every  man  the  portion  he  shall 
be  appointed, 

"  4.  That  such  a  portion  of  meadow  lands  as  shall 
be  thought  fit  by  the  ten  men  abovesaid  to  be  left  and 
reserved  be  not  disposed  of  until  the  committees  be 
satisfied  their  charges  disbursed  for  the  town,  which,  if 
it  shall  be  done  before  the  next  mowing  time,  that  then 
the  said  portion  of  meadow  so  reserved  shall  be  to  the 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  163 

town,  to  be  decided  according  to  eacli  man's  condition 
and  quality ;  but  if  tbe  committees  be  not  satisfied 
tbeir  said  charges  before  that  time,  that  then  the  com- 
mittees have  the  use  of  said  meadow  lands  to  cut  the 
grass  thereof. 

"  5.  That  there  be  sixty  or  eighty  acres  of  meadow 
lands  reserved  according  to  the  former  order,  on  this 
side  Moonenoonuscaulton'  River  or  thereabout. 

"  6.  That  if  any  man  desire  to  hold  the  meadow 
lands  assigned  him,  (being  not  in  the  meadows  between 
•Moonoonnenuscusset  and  Shaume,}  he  may. 

"  7.  That  all  such  portions  of  meadow  lands  as  shall 
be  assigned  to  every  person  in  particular  shall  be  to 
have  and  to  hold  to  them,  their  heirs  and  assignees, 
forever. 

"  It  is  also  agreed  upon,  lastly,  that  those  that  had 
meadow  lands  formerly  assigned  them  in  the  meadow 
lands  between  Moonoonnenuscusset  and  Shaume  shall 
only  have  the  one  half  of  those  portions  which  tliey 
had  there,  and  the  rest  of  their  portions  to  be  laid 
forth  elsewhere,  save  that  they  shall  have  the  whole 
odd  acre  there,  if  it  fall  so  to  be  in  such  said  division. 
"  That  sixpence  an  acre  be  allowed  for  the  surveying, 
measuring,  and  laying  forth  the  said  meadow  lands,  to 
them  that  are  appointed  to  survey,  measure,  and  lay 
forth  the  same,  they  paying  Joshua's  charges. 

"The  names  of  persons  to  whom  the  division  of 
meadow  lands  is  made :  — 

Richard  Chadwell Acres,  15 

John  Carman 28 

Peter  Gaunt 04 

William  Hurst 03 

Richard  Kerby 04 

John  Dingley OSs 


vGooglc 


164:  THE   mSTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


Thomas  Burgess 07? 

John  Eriggs 07i 

Benjamin  Noy ^ 

Jilr.  Henry  Feake 20 

Thomas  Tupper 06J 

Thomas  Armitage 06^ 

Mr.  John  Vincent 07 

Robert  Bodfish 05 

Mr.  Leverich,     "I  ,,  ,,1,1  r,r^ 

rr^     r,    '     f  the  Same  he  had 05 

The  Pastor,  J 

Mr.  Edmund  Freeman 42 

Mr.  Almey OSi 

Mr.  "Wood 08 

Joseph  Winsor 01 

Mr.  WiHis 04 

Anthony  Bessy 01 

Micheal  Turner 03 

Mr.  Edge 14 

George  Knott 04 

Mr.  Potter 10 

John  Frend , 

George  Alien 06i 

Joseph  Halloway 15 

"William  Newland,  to  be  added  to 06 

Andrew  Hellot 07^ 

George  Slawson 02 

"William  Braybrooke 01 

George  Bliss Oli 

George  Buitt 01 

George  Cole,  i,  e,,  to  be  considered  fiirtl^icr 

"when  he  brings  his  estate 01 

Henry  Eue 01 

Johnathan  Pish 02 

Edmond  Clarke 02 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY,  Ibi 

Thomaa  Shillingsworth 02^ 

WiUiam  Harlow 04 

James  Skiffe 04 

Mr.  DiUingham 08 

John  Winge 06 

Mr.  Thomas  Dexter,  if  he  come  to  Hve  here   .  26 

For  his  mill 06 

Mr.  "WoUeston,  if  he  reside  here  and  bring  his 

estate 13 

Thomas  Butler 02 

Nicholas  Wright 02^ 

John  Miller 01 

Thomas  Launder 01 

John  Ksh Oli 

Nathaniel  Fish OIJ 

Thomas  Boardman 03 

Peter  Wright 02i 

Anthony  Wright 02 

Richard  Bourne 07 

Richard  Wade 03 

John  Joyce 02i 

Mr.  Blakemorc 03 

To  Mr.  Feak's  house 01 

Subscribed  by  Tho.  Prince, 
Ed.  Freeman, 
Edw.  Dillinghamj 
John  Carman, 
Richard  Chadwell, 
John  Vincent, 
George  Allen, 
Richard  Bourne, 
Joseph  Halloway, 
Robert  Bodiish, 
Henry  Feake." 


vGooglc 


166  THE   HISTORt   OF    CAPE   COD. 

"  It  is  also  ordered  and  concluded,"  in  General  Court, 
"  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Yarmouth  shall 
presently  meet  together,  and  make  a  rate  for  defraying 
the  public  charges  which  have  been  laid  forth  by  any 
person  or  persons  for  the  good  of  the  whole ;  and  that 
in  the  committee-charges  which  Wm.  Chase,  Thos. 
Howes,  and  Joshua  Barnes  were  sent  as  a  committee  of 
the  town,  they  are  to  be  exempted  out  of  the  rates, 
viz.,  Mr.  Matthews,  "Wm.  Palmer,  Jas.  Payne,  Ant. 
Thacher,  Thos.  Holland,  Crannett  White,  and  Thos. 
Starr."  We  cannot  assume  the  responsibility  of  undei> 
taking  to  malie  this  record  more  intelligible,  and  there- 
fore present  it  verbatim. 

In  1642,  Governor  Bradford  was  again  reelected,  and 
Mr.  Freeman  assistant  for  the  third  tiuie,^ 

The  settlers  at  Plymouth  having  now  become  dissatis- 
fied with  their  present  situation,  a  removal  of  the  whole 
body  to  Nauset  (afterwards  Eastham)  was  seriously  con- 
templated. It  may  seem  to  us,  at  this  day,  a  singular 
conceit,  that^  when  the  first  settlers  at  Plymouth  found 
they  "  had  pitched  upon  a  spot  whose  soil  was  poor  and 
barren^'  they  should  have  directed  their  attention  to 
this  part  of  the  country  to  find  better  situations ;  but 
on  different  parts  of  the  Cape  were  intervals  of  rich 
alluvial  deposits  that  were  highly  productive.  These 
were    to   be    seen   by  the  traveller,  in  passing  down 

'  Mr.  William  Thomas  was  also  elected  an  assistant  tliis  year,  but 
ceased  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  Cape.  The  year  previous,  1641,  he 
was  a  deputy  from  Barnstable.  Marshfield  now  became  his  residence. 
He  was  a  prominent  English  merchant,  and  one  of  the  adventHrcK. 
His  son  Nathaniel  served  iu  Philip's  war  in  prominent  position ;  and 
and  from  him  descended  General  John  Thomas,  who  commanded  the 
American  forces  at  Hoxbury,  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  afterwai'ds 


yGoogle 


AHNALS  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.  167 

the  Cape,  on  its  northern  shore,  in  Sandwich,  Barn- 
stable, Yarmouth,  and  in  what  are  afterwards  Dennis, 
Brewster,  and  Orleans ;  and  for  Indian  corn  and  wheat, 
Eastham  was  noted  as  the  land  of  plenty.  These  fer- 
tile spots  were,  indeed,  like  oases  in  the  desert,  but 
constituted  some  of  the  best  soil  in  the  colony. 

Hostile  intentions  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  being 
thought  to  exist,  thirty  men  were  raised  by  the  colony 
for  an  expedition  against  them;  Sandwich  and  Barn- 
stable were  required  to  furnish  three  each,  and  Yar- 
mouth two.  The  laws  designed  to  prevent  the  Indians 
being  used  to  firearms  were  judged  highly  prudential, 
and  numbers  of  persons  were  complained  of  about  this 
time  for  a  constructive  violation  of  the  same.  Among 
these  were  the  assistant,  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  for 
lending  a  gun  to  an  Indian ;  also  Nicholas  Simpltins,  of 
Yarmouth,  and  John  Wing,  of  Sandwich, 

The  early  settlers  were  certainly  a  very  moral  people 
in  general ;  and  yet,  so  exact  were  the  laws,  and  the 
interpretation  and  enforcement  of  them,  that  cases 
sometimes  occurred  that  excite  surprise.  These  cases, 
originating  in  all  parts  of  the  colony,  are  set  forth  in 
the  court  record  on  this  wise  :  A.  E., "  for  having  a  chUd 
born  six  weeks  before  the  ordinary  time  of  women  after 
marriage,  fined  for  uncleanness,  and  whipt,  and  his 
wife  set  in  the  stocks."  C.  E.,  '*for  abusing  himself 
with  his  wife  before  maiTiage,  sentenced  to  be  whipt 
publicly  at  the  post,  she  to  stand  by  whilst  the  execu- 
tion is  performed.  Done,  and  he  fined  five  pounds  for 
the  trouble."  D.  B.,  "  to  be  whipt,  and  his  wife  set  in 
the  stocks,  for  imcleanness  before  marriage."  Some 
quite  prominent  citizens  were  thus  involved,  and  for 


vGooglc 


168  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE    COD. 

years  a  very  strict  surveillance  was  kept  over  such 
offences ;  nor  does  there  appear  to  have  been  any  par- 
tiality exercised  on  account  of  character  or  position. 
We  regret  being  obliged  to  add  that  some  instances  of 
a  more  aggravated  nature  are  found,  generally  denom- 
inated "  lascivious  and  unclean  carriages,"  which  were 
dealt  with  more  severely  —  by  heavy  fines  and  whip- 
ping, tlie  female  being  obliged  to  wear  for  months  a 
badge  marked  with  letters  indicating  the  offence,  with 
a  provision  of  court  that  if,  before  the  expiration  of 
the  time,  she  should  lay  aside  the  badge,  she  should  be 
again  arrested,  and  the  letters  "  burned  in  her  face."  ^ 

June  7,  Mr.  Hatherly,  Mr.  Freeman,  and  Captain 
Standish,  were  "requested  to  view  the  land  which 
Barnstable  men  desire,  and  to  set  it  forth  for  them,  so 
that  they  do  not  intrench  on  either  plantations,  &c., 
and  to  see  that  there  be  a  convenient  farm  and  meadow- 
ing  to  it  reserved  for  public  use."  The  General  Court, 
it  must  be  confessed,  were  very  prompt  in  providing 
all  necessary  laws  and  regulations,  and  in  sustaining 
the  same,  whether  general  or  municipal.  The  town  of 
Yarmouth  was  thus  early  presented  "  for  not  having  a 
pound." 

^  The  legislation  of  i  country  i  g°ne  II3  a  f  [  01  1 1  d  i  1  ate  tl 
evils  that  prevail  in  its  borlprs  and  at  the  aame  time  the  stindaid  of 
public  sentiment.  So  of  convictions  fines,  and  other  punishments. 
The  minutest  events  ore  often  interesting  a  criteria  of  the  de\el 
opment  of  mind  and  morals  and  ai  disco%erang  the  jiogies  of  com 
munities  in  freedom  and  improvement.  If  the  )iiiiapriilpnte  of  the 
colony  is  an  index  to  the  pnnciples  and  policy  of  its  lei(!eis  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  religion  was  intended  to  be  the  basi=  of  loth 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  government  A  ngid  morality  wia  the  end 
desired.  The  roaler  m^y  leprehenl  the  means  som  times  employed 
to  effect  this,  but  will  we  doul  t  not  be  cliantably  cand  d  in  re^iid  to 
the  motive. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OF  BABHSTABLE  COUNTY.  169 

September  2Y,  the  General  Court  having  adjudged  it 
necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  colony  "  to  provide 
forces,  on  account  of  the  Indians,  for  offensive  and  de- 
fensive war,"  and  the  court  having  been  "  hastily  called 
together  in  consequence  of  intelligence  of  a  con- 
spiracy," Mr.  Edward  Dillingham  and  Richard  Chadwell 
were  present  from  Sandwich,  Anthony  Annable  and 
John  Cooper  from  Barnstable,  and  "William  Palmer 
from  Yarmouth,  Miles  Standish  was  appointed  captain, 
William  Palmer  lieutenant,  Peregrine  White  ensign; 
and  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  Mr.  Antliony  Thacher, 
and  Mr.  Thomas  Dimoc,  were  appointed  of  the  council 
of  war. 

Agahi,  in  1643  Mr.  Bradford  and  Mr.  Freeman  were 
reelected  to  their  respective  offices.  Mr.  William 
Brewster,  the  ruling  elder  in  the  church  at  Plymouth, 
in  honor  to  the  memory  of  whom  a  town  in  this  county 
was  named  in  1801,  died  this  year,  April  16,  about  four- 
score and  four  years  of  age.  He  was  father-in-law  to 
Governor  Prince. 

Articles  of  confederation  between  New  England  col- 
onics at  this  time  mark  a  memorable  epoch  in  our  his- 
tory. This  confederacy  was  designed  to  promote  union 
and  to  secure  concert  of  action,  offensive  and  defensive, 
in  all  difficulties,  whether  with  the  Indians,  Dutch, 
Swiss,  or  French.  The  compact  did  not  embrace  all  of 
New  England,  however.  Massachusetts,  which  was 
begun  at  Naumkeag  (Salem)  in  1628 -by  adventurers 
under  Endicott,  and  at  Shawraut  (Boston)  in  1630 
under  Winthrop ;  Connecticut,  settlements  in  which 
were  begun  in  1635  at  Windsor  and  Wethersfield  by 
a  company  of  about  sixty  persons  from  Massachusetts ; 
and  the  colony  of  New  Haven  begun  by  Davenport, 
VOL.  L  22 


vGooglc 


170  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

Eaton  and  others  in  1638,  were  included  with  the 
Plymouth  Colony  in  this  league.  But  New  Hamp- 
shire begun  at  Dover  and  Portsmouth  in  1623  by 
Mason  and  Gorges;  and  Rhode  Island  begun  in  1636 
by  Roger  Williams  at  Providence,  were  not  included. 
The  views  of  these  latter  colonies  did  not,  in  many 
things,  coincide  with  those  of  the  other  settlements.' 

The  title  of  this  confederation  was,  "  The  United 
Colonies  of  New  England."  The  measure  had  been  in 
agitation  several  years  before  it  was  accomplished  ;  and 
subsisted,  with  some  changes,  untU  1686,  when  the 
charters  of  all  the  colonies  were,  in  efTeet,  vacated  by 
a  commission  from  King  James  II.  Some  have  sup- 
posed that  in  this  confederacy  we  find  the  germ  of  our 
present  national  system.  This,  at  least,  is  certain  — 
that  the  spirit  of  the  confederation  remained  long  after 
the  league  was  dissolved.  The  colonies  learned  to  act 
together ;  and  when  common  injuries  and  common 
dangers  required  united  action,  modes  and  precedents 
were  at  hand.  The  surrender  of  criminals  escaped 
from  justice,  and  also  of  other  fugitives  including  ser- 
vants, from  one  jurisdiction  into  another,  was  one  of 
the  stipulations  of  the  treaty.  We  suppose  that  some 
will  contend  that  this  was  also  the  first  fugitive 
slave  law. 

Orders  were  given  to  all  the  towns  to  provide  ammu- 
nition and  arms,  and  to  be  ready  for  prompt  action  in 
case  of  any  alarm,  nearly  the  same  regulations  being 
adopted   that  have  existed  twice  since,  in  troublous 

'  The  fact  is  not  to  be  concealed  that  the  confederacy  was  a  league 
for  religion  as  well  as  protection ;  nor  could  any,  according  to  the  pre- 
amble to  the  articles,  become  members  of  it  unless  of  the  same  reli- 
gious faith.  The  settlers  at  Dover  and  Portsmouth  had  grievously 
offended,  and  tbosc  at  Providence  were  heretical. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OP   BAENSTABIE   COUNTY.  171 

times  (we  refer  not  to  troubles  with  the  Indians,  but 
to  the  war  of  the  revolution  and  to  the  war  of  1812) 
in  reference  to  anticipated  attaeks  from  a  people  of 
kindred  origin. 

Laws  were  enacted  forbidding  Indians  to  sell,  give, 
or  lease  their  property  without  the  consent  of  govern- 
ment; also  forbidding  arms,  ammunition,  canoes,  or 
horses  to  be  sold  to  Indians;  and  thirty  men  were 
ordered  by  the  General  Court  to  be  raised  witli  a  view 
to  an  expedition  against  the  natives.  The  number  of 
men  to  be  raised  by  each  town  was,  Plymouth  seven, 
Duxbury  five,  Scituate  five,  Taunton  three,  Sandwich 
three,  Barnstable  three,  Yarmouth  two,  and  Marshfield 
two.  This  requisition  was  made  on  the  basis  of  the 
proportion  of  relative  strength. 

Wolves  making  great  depredations  upon  herds  and 
flocks,  wolf-traps  were  ordered  by  the  colony  court  to 
be  made.  It  was  ordered,  that  mowers  who  have  taken 
excessive  wages,  i.  e.,  three  shillings  per  day,  shall  be 
presented.  Regulations  were  also  made  "for  the  estab- 
lishment of  military  discipline."  It  was  "  ordered,  that 
the  exercise  shall  always  be  begun  and  ended  with 
prayer ;  that  none  shall  be  admitted  but  such  as  are 
honest  and  of  good  report,  freemen  approved  by  a 
major  part  of  the  company  ;  and  that  all  elected  offi- 
cers shall  be  titled  and  forever  after  retain  the  title 
except  as  promoted.  Liberty  was  granted  to  Sand- 
wich, Barnstable,  and  Yarmouth,  to  erect  military  com- 
panies under  these  rules."  The  thirty  men  ordered  to 
be  raised  "  were  each  to  be  provided  with  a  musket, 
firelock  or  matchlock,  a  pair  of  bandoliers,  or  pouches 
for  powder  and  bullets,  a  sword  and  belt,  a  worm  and 
scourer,  a  rest  and  knapsack."  When  in  service,  each 
soldier  was  to  receive  eighteen    shillings  per  mouth. 


vGooglc 


172  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

except  "  the  leader,"  ■who  was  to  receive  forty  shillings. 
"  Provision  was  also  made  for  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable 
appointing  a  place  for  the  defence  of  themselves,  their 
wives,  and  children,  in  case  of  sudden  assault." 

We  are  left  somewhat  in  the  dark  in  regard  to  the 
reasons  for  much  of  the  ecclesiastical  polity  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  times,  and  can  therefore  only  give  facts 
as  found  on  the  record.  Mr.  Joseph  Hull,  who  was 
very  early  at  Barnstable,  seems  to  have  soon  fallen 
into  disfavor  with  the  government,  for  (besides  some 
incidents  mentioned  in  our  annals  of  Barnstable,)  the 
following  appears  in  the  court  record, May  7,1643  :  "It 
is  ordered,  that  a  warrant  shall  be  directed  to  the  con- 
stable at  Yarmouth,  to  apprehend  Mr.  Joseph  Hull,  (if 
he  do  either  exercise  the  ministry  amongst  them,  or 
administer  the  seals,)  to  bring  him  before  the  next 
magistrate  to  find  sufficient  sureties  for  his  appearance 
at  the  next  General  Court,  to  answer  for  his  doings, 
being  an  excommunicant," 

In  1644,  Mr.  Edward  Winslow  was  elected  governor, 
and  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman  was  continued  as  assistant. 
The  project  of  removing  the  Plymouth  settlement  to 
Eastham  was  revived,  and  Governor  Bradford  and  oth- 
ers were  sent  to  reconnoitre  the  premises.  They  having 
purchased  lands  of  the  sachems  of  Nauset  and  Mona- 
moyick,  a  grant  was  made  to  the  Plymouth  church  for 
the  purpose  of  a  new  location.  It  was  finally  con- 
cluded, however,  that  a  part  only,  and  not  the  whole 
church,  should  remove,  and  in  April,  the  new  settlement 
was  commenced  by  the  name  of  Nauset.  Secretary 
Morton  says  that  "  divers  of  the  considerablest  of  the 
church  and  town  removed,"  and  "  the  town  of  Plymouth 
was  almost  deserted."    The  Cape,  therefore,  now  fur- 


vGooglc 


ANNAIS   of   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  173 

nished  two  of  the  assistants  in  the  colonial  government ; 
Thomas  Prince,  who,  before  his  removal  to  Nausetj  had 
twice  been  governor,  being  this  year  assistant,  an  of&ce 
which,  when  not  governor,  he  had  held  for  many  years.' 

The  retailing  of  spirituous  liquors  was  early  subject 
to  the  supervision  of  the  court ;  and  the  appointment  of 
suitable  men  to  engage  in  this  business  was  generally 
recorded  on  th^  wise  ;  "  June  5,  Mr.  Anthony  Thacher 
is  licensed  to  draw  wine  in  Yarmouth,  Henry  Cobb  in 
Barnstable,  and  William  Newland  in  Sandwich,." 

In  August,  "Mr.  Antliony  Thacher,  Mr.  Thomas 
Howes,  and  Mr.  William  Lumpkin,  of  Yarmouth,  were 
appointed'  to  lay  out  the  farm  land  granted  to  Nathaniel 
Sowther,  near  Billingsgate." 

In  1645,  Governor  Bradford  was  again  in  office ;  also 
Mr.  Freeman  and  Mr.  Thomas  Prince.  On  account  of 
difficulties  between  the  French  and  the  government  of 
Massachusetts,  and  also  on  account  of  the  Indians  being 
charged  with  breaking  their  engagements,  the  com- 
missioners of  the  United  Colonies  of  New  England 
were  called  together  July  25,  before  their  usual 
time  of  meeting.  So  far  as  related  to  the  French 
difficulty,  there  appeared  no  cause  for  other  than 
conciliatory  action.  In  reference  to  the  Indians,  a 
different  course  seemed  to  be  called  for.  The  state 
of  the  case  was  this :  Miantonimo,  sachem  of  the  Nar- 
ragansetts,  had,  in  1637,  made  an  agreement  with  the 
government  of  Massachusetts-  not  to  fight  with  any 

■■  Among  the  other  prominent  men  who  removed  from  Plymouth  to 
Nauset,  were  John  Doane,  one  of  the  deacons  of  the  church,  Nicholas 
Snow,  J<»iaJi  Cook,  Eiehard  Higgins,  John  Smalley,  and  Edward 


vGooglc 


174  THE   mSTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

Indians  without  the  consent  of  the  colonies,  and  partic- 
ularly not  to  invade  Uncas,the  Moheagan  sachem.     Sub- 
secLuently,  in  1635,  there  was  a  tripartite  agreement  made 
atHartford,betweenMiantonimo,Uncas,and  the  Englisli, 
in  which  it  was  stipuUited  that  those  sachems  should 
not  make  war  on  each  other  for  any  alleged  injuries, 
without  an  appeal  to  the  English.     In  the  spring  of 
1643,  Uncas  conceited  that  an  attempt  had  been  made 
upon  his  life  by  a  Pequot,  one  of  his  subjects,  through 
the  instigation  of  Miantonimo.     In  consequence,  the 
two  sachems  came  to  open  war ;  and  though  Mianton- 
imo brought  nearly  a  thousand  men  into  tlie  field,  he 
was  defeated  by  Uncas,  and  taken  prisoner.     Uncas 
then  took  advice  of  the  commissioners,  at  their  meeting 
in  Boston,  in  September,  1643,  and  pm-suant  to  their 
recommendation,  put  the  royal  prisoner  to  death,  or, 
as  Rev.  Dr.  Increase  Mather  says,  "  very  fairly  cut  off 
Ms  head."    The  Nsu-ragansetts  were  exasperated,  and 
charged  upon  both  Uncas  and  the  commissioners  want 
of  good  faith.    These  animosities  were  partially  com- 
posed by  the  action  of  the  commissioners  at  Hartford, 
September,  1644,  the  Narragansett  sachems    agreeing 
that  no  war   should   be   begun  with   the    Moheagan 
sachem  or  his  men,  untU  after  the  next  planting  time, 
and  that  before  they  commenced  hostilities  they  would 
give  thirty  days'  notice  to  the  governments  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut.    Hostile  movements  were 
alleged  to  be  in  preparation,  and  now  caused  the  meet> 
ing  of  the  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  in  Bos- 
ton.   It  is  said  that  the  Narragansetta  had  declared  they 
would  have  the  head  of  Uncas ;  and  the  commissioners 
therefore  resolved  to  engage  in  his  defence.     It  was 
determined  to  raise  three  hundred  men,  Massachusetts 
to  fiirniah  one  hundred  and  ninety,  Plymouth  Colony 


vGooglc 


AMSAIS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTS".  175 

forty,  Connecticut  forty,  and  New  Haven,  thirty.  The 
Plymouth  quota  of  forty  men,  under  Captain  Standish, 
■were  immediately  despatched  as  far  as  Rehoboth ;  but, 
in  the  miean  time,  the  Narragansett  sachems  arrived  in 
Boston,  to  sue  for  peace,  ■whilst  the  whole  English  force 
were  about  advancing.  A  treaty  was  signed  August  27, 
between  the  commissioners  on  the  one  part^  and  Pes- 
sacus  and  Mexanno  the  eldest  sons  of  Oanonicus,  Jan- 
nemo,  Wippetmock  and  others,  sagamores  of  the  Nar- 
ragansetts  and  Niantics ;  the  Indians  being  required  to 
pay  two  thousand  fathoms  of  wampum,  by  instalments, 
—  a  tremendous  burden  and  sacrifice  for  them ;  —  re- 
store to  Tineas  his  captives  and  canoes ;  make  satisfac- 
tion for  having  destroyed  his  corn,  &c. ;  and  give  hos- 
tages for  perpetual  performance  of  their  engagements.' 

"■  Judge  Davis  says, "  The  cotnmiasionera  commence  their  dedaration 
of  proeeedinga  with  a  consideration  '  that  tlie  Ivord  and  Master  is  King 
of  righteousness  and  peace ;  that  he  gives  answerable  laws,  and  casts 
his  subjects  into  such  a  mould  and  frame,  that  (in  their  weak  measure) 
they  may  hold  forth  their  virtues  in  their  cause  and  carriage,  not  only 
with  the  nations  of  Europe,  but  with  the  barbarous  natives  of  the 
wilderness.'  They  proceed  to  affirm  that,  accordingly,  'both  in  their 
treaties  and  converse,  they  have  had  an  awful  respect  to  divine  rulca, 
endeavoriag  to  walk  uprightly  and  inoffensively  in  the  midst  of  many 
injuries  and  insoleneies,  to  exercise  much  patience  and  long-suffering 
towards  them.'  The  execution  of  Miantonimo,  while  a  prisoner,"  lie 
adds,  "  excites  our  sympatliy.  Hia  character  was  bold  and  lofVy,  and, 
when  compared  with  that  of  Uneas,  may  be  said  to  be  prepossessing. 
If  sad  necessity  requ  red  the  sacnfice  there  seems  a  revoltmg  oUi 
quity  in  the  manner  of  iL  accomplishment  But  with  the  solemn 
views  before  n*!  which  we  haie  lecited  we  mist  not  indulge  in  cen 
sure."  We  with  we  could  be  •»  chaiitable  m  -x  revie  v  of  tl  cse  pro 
ceedings.  The  Plj  mouth  Colony  had  b  it  1  ttle  mtere  t  at  stake  in 
this  matter,  as  the  Iiarragansetta  were  remote  but,  b^r  ll  e  terms  of 
the  union,  thpy  m  i  t  act  when  called  upon  by  the  confedeiatc  colonies 
and  hence  then  share  in  these  proceedings  the  issue  of  win  h  11  not 
yet,  as  any  oie  who  followi  tlie  history  of  that  w  ai  and  tie  fate  of 
Ihe  Indians,  may  see. 


yGoogle 


176  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  the  month  of  August  (the  14th)  appears  a  record 
of  "  soldiers  sent  out  against  the  Narragansetts  in  the 
late  expedition.  From  Sandwich  were  Thomas  Burges, 
Thomas  Greenfield,  Lawrence  Willis,  Thomas  Johnson, 
and  Robert  Allen,  out  thirteen  days.  From  Barnstable 
were  John  Foxwell,  John  Russell,  Jonathan  Hatch,  and 
Francis  Crocker,  fourteen  days.  And  from  Yarmouth 
were  WUham  Northcoate,  William  Twining,  Teague 
Jones,  Henry  Wheldon,  and  William  Chase,  fourteen 
days.  All  returned  September  2,  and  were  discharged. 
g^-  Tliere  was  deliYered  to  each  soldier,  on  going  forth, 
one  pound  of  powder,  three  pounds  of  bullets,  and  one 
pound  of  tobacco."  "It  was  ordered  by  the  court, 
that  each  sachem  shall  hereafter  keep  within  his  o\\ti 
bounds." 

Ttie  court  granted  to  Mr.  Thomas  Starr  "  fifty  acres 
of  upland  in  Yarmouth,  next  to  Elder  Hoar's  or  Mr. 
Howe's  lands  at  Seshewit,  on  which  side  he  will  so  that 
it  adjoin  to  one  of  them,  and  six  acres  of  meadow  lying 
in  Nobscusset  meadows,  late  William  Nicholson's,  and 
four  acres  more  of  meadow  on  the  south  side  of  the 
plantation  towards  the  South  Sea."  Mr.  Richard  Cal- 
licutt's  right  of  lands  at  Mattacheese  was  voided  by 
order  of  court,  for  the  use  of  the  colony. 

At  this  time,  strange  to  say,  practices  existed  in  some 
parts  of  the  colony  which  made  it  necessary,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  magistrates,  to  provide  a  law  against 
"  masquerades." 

From  all  the  information  that  can  be  gathered  from 
the  early  records  of  the  Cape  towns  first  settled,  re- 
specting the  previous  occupations  of  the  settlers,  it  is 
evident  that  they  were  generally,  nay,  almost  without 
exception,  agricultmists.  Their  subsequent  avocar 
tions  upon  the  seas  were  the  result  of  the  advantages 


vGooglc 


ASNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  177 

of  their  location  for  fishing  and  for  na'vigation.  These 
advantages  perceived,  and  no  exuberance  of  soil  allur- 
ing to  their  original  pursuits  in  preference,  they  nat- 
urally turned  their  attention  chiefly  to  those  employ- 
ments that  would  yield  the  best  reward.  Their  energy 
of  character,  would  have  enabled  them  to  excel  in 
whatever  they  might  undertake ;  and  once  engaging  in 
maritime  pursuits,  they  rapidly  progressed  to  the  com- 
manding eminence  that  they  and  their  successors  have 
so  long  held. 

VOL.  I.  23 


vGooglc 


178  TUE   HISTOaY   OF    CAPE   COD. 


CHAPTER    X. 


Customs,  Dresa,  Mode  of  Living  in  tlie  early  Days  of  the  Colony.  —  General 
Simplicity,  ladustr)-,  and  Economy. 

Before  proceeding  farther  in  our  recital  of  events, 
it  may  be  interesting  to  glance  at  some  of  the  peculiari- 
ties of  the  early  days  of  the  colony,  as  respects  the 
habits  and  customs  of  the  people,  their  manner  of 
dress,  their  mode  of  living,  and  the  hke. 

The  common  address  of  men  and  women  was  Good- 
man and  Goodwife.  None  but  those  who  belonged  to 
some  more  than  ordinarily  distinguished  family,  or  held 
some  office  of  dignity,  were  ever  complimented  .with 
the  title  of  Mr.  or  Mrs.  In  this  matter,  the  etiquette 
was  strictly  guarded  and  observed.  The  distinction 
between  the  Eoman  patricians  and  plebeians  was  not 
of  greater  importance. 

The  first  settlers  wore  their  beards  long ;  and  it  has 
been  said  that  in  winter,  when  exposed,  their  beards 
would  sometimes  be  covered  with  the  frosts  of  a  con- 
gealed breath,  and  even  freeze  so  that  expectoration, 
for  the  time  being,  was  inconvenient,  and  to  drink  vi'as 
difficult.  This  we  can  readily  conceive.  But  at  a  very 
early  period  in  the  history  of  New  England,  the  habit 
of  long  beards  declined.  Governor  Leverett  (1673)  is 
the  first  of  any  of  the  governors  of  New  England 
whose  portrait  has  been  handed  do^vn  to  us  without  a 
beard.     He  laid  it  aside  in  Cromwell's  court. 

The  wearing  of  long  hair  was  early  prohibited.  The 
sentiment  against  the  practice  was  very  strong  in  1649, 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  179 

and  probably  then  at  its  height,  insomuch  that,  as  the 
practice  was  beginning  to  prevail,  an  association  of  dis- 
tinguished men  was  thought  expedient  to  annihilate 
the  new  custom  in  ioto :  "  Forasmuch  as  the  wearing 
long  hair,  after  the  manner  of  the  Russians  and  barba- 
rous Indians,  has  begun  to  invade  New  England,  con- 
trary to  the  rule  of  God's  word,  and  the  commendable 
custom  of  all  the  godly,  until  within  this  few  years,  we, 
the  magistrates,  who  have  subscribed  ihis  paper,  (for 
the  showing  of  our  own  innocency  in  this  behalf,)  do 
declare  and  manifest  our  dislike  and  detestation  against 
the  wearing  of  such  long  hair,  as  against  a  thing  uncivil 
and  unmanly,  whereby  men  do  defonn  themselves,  and 
offend  sober  and  modest  men,  and  do  corrupt  good 
manners."  Subsequently,  grand  jurors  were  in  duty 
bound,  under  the  laws,  to  present,  and  the  court  to 
punish,  all  such  offenders. 

The  passage  in  Corinthians  censuring  a  practice  be- 
coming prevalent  in  the  apostle's  days,  had  much 
weight;  that  in  Leviticus  —  "Te  shall  not  round  the 
corners  of  your  heads  "  —  was  out  of  sight  The  rule 
was,  that  none  must  wear  their  hair  below  their  ears. 
Thus  "  have  indifferent  things,"  says  Hutchinson, "  been 
in  every  age  condemned  as  sinful,  and  placed  amongst 
the  greatest  immoralities."  ^ 

^  We  are  apt  to  look  upon  a  new  fashion  as  an  innovation  —  some- 
thing that  never  before  existed.  Hence,  when  it  had  long  been  fash- 
ionable to  shave  off  the  beard,  one  argued,  "  Adam  had  no  beard  until 
after  the  fall,  the  pain  of  shaving  having  been  inflicted  as  an  hereditary 
penalty  on  his  posterity,  which,  in  the  course  of  a  man's  life,  shall 
make  up,  by  daily  instalments,  the  same  aggregate  quantity  of  suffer- 
ing which  women  undergo  in  childbirth."  Iti  Don  Juan  is  the  same 
sentiment. 

"Thus,  erer  since  the  fall,  man,  for  his  sin. 
Has  liad  a  beard  entailed  upon  his  chin." 


yGoogle 


180  TOE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

Tobacco  was  early  prohibited  under  a  penalty,  and 
the  smoke  of  it  compared  by  learned  divines  to  "  the 
smoke  of  the  bottomless  pit."  But  at  last  some  of 
the  clergy  and  other  magnates  "fell  into  the  prac- 
tice of  smoking,"  and  by  and  by  "  tobacco  was  set  at 
liberty," 

Periwigs  came  into  use  after  the  restoration  in  Eng- 
land, but  in  New  England  they  were  "  an  eyesore  for 
thirty  years,"  and  the  wearing  of  them  did  not  gen- 
erally prevail  until  about  the  time  of  the  revolution. 

The  style  of  dress,  as  well  as  the  manner  of  living, 
was  much  more  favorable  to  health  than  in  modem 
times,  and  pulmonary  affections  were  much  less  fre- 
quent than  now.  A  young  person  was  rarely  visited 
with  consumption.  Milliners,  mantuarmakers,  fashion- 
able tailors,  &c.,  were  not  much  in  deinand.  The 
females  generally,  whether  old  or  young,  it  has  been 
said,  were  content  witli  a  homemade  flannel  gown  for 

The  reasons  that  have  decided  the  fashion  from  time  to  time  are  as 
various  as  the  result  of  the  investigation  would  be  curious.  Ixiuh 
Xm.  and  Louis  XIV.  of  Finance  hoth  carae  to  the  throne  as  minors, 
and  the  whole  court  at  once  began  to  shave  in  compliment  to  the 
young  princes.  The  fashion  was  thus  decreed,  and  in  other  countries 
even,  the  s^es,  as  well  as  tie  frivolous,  acknowledged  the  force  of  the 
example.  If  we  go  farther  back,  we  find  that  during  the  early  ages 
of  the  commonwealth,  the  Eomans  allowed  their  beards  to  grow,  ajid 
that  the  custom  of  shaving  was  Dot  introdiicpd  uotil  the  middle  of  the 
fifth  century,  when,  we  aie  told  by  Livy,  biihers  weie  first  btonght 
from  Sicily.  Again  long  beards  became  fashionable  durmg  the  Imie 
of  Hadrian,  who,  to  hide  <iome  escic^i-encei  on  his  chm,  found  hn 
beard  convenient.  It  is  -^aid  the  ancient  philosophers  allowed  then 
beards  to  grow,  leas  at  fiist  thiough  affectation  than  indifEeience,  but 
in  time  preserved  them  as  a  maik  of  gravity  lud  wisdom  Lucian 
mentions  one  of  them,  who,  being  a  candidate  toi  a  profeasoiS  cliaii, 
was  considered  incompetent  to  fill  it  on  account  of  the  scantiness  of 
the  honors  of  his  chin. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BABNSTABLE   COUHTT.  181 

winter,  and  wrappers,  or  sheplierdesses,  for  summer.' 
The  latter  was  without  a  waist,  and  gathered  at  the 
top.  For  occasional  "dress,"  a  calico,  or  calamanco, 
(camlet,)  or  poplin,  was  enjoyed,  the  sleeves  short, 
reaching  only  to  the  elbow,  with  perhaps  ruffles,  some- 
times ten  inches  wide.  Long  gloves  were  worn,  secured 
by  "tightens"  (not  gutta  percha)  above  the  elbow. 
These  tightens  were  usually  made  of  horse-hair. 
Aprons  were  worn  in  ordinary  dress,  made  of  cheeked 
linen,  or  cotton  checked.  On  special  occasions,  white 
aprons  of  cotton,  ln,wn,  or  cambric.  Caps  were  seldom 
worn,  except  in  full  dress,  the  "  strap  cap  "  being  worn 
chiefly  by  elderly  women,  and  tied  under  the  chin. 
The  "  round  cord  cap,"  leaving  the  ears  exposed,  was  a, 
feshionable  article  of  dress.  Both  leather  and  broad- 
cloth shoes,  with  high  wooden  heels  covered,  and 
peaked  toes  turning  up,  were  worn  by  females.     Muffs, 

'  This  style  of  dress  was  not  simply  promotive  of  hesllli  and  com- 
fort, but  was  more  becoming  than  many  at  the  present  day  would  find 
it  easy  to  conceive.  The  healthftil  appearance  and  native  beauty  of 
the  wearers  was  not  the  less  apparent  hecaHse  of  the  opposite  of  that 
expressed  in  the  lines  quoted  by  Seneca  from  an  tmcient  poet  thus 
Anglicized : 


nor  because  of  the  absence  of  the  mysterious  arts  of  personal  embel- 
lishment which  Ovid  so  feelingly  and  concisely  espresses : 

"  Women  with  juice  of  herbs  gray  locks  disguise. 
And  art  gives  cx>lor  which  with  nature  vies ; 
The  wsll-wove  toweia  (hey  wear  their  own  are  fhought, 
But  only  ore  their  own  as  whnt  they're  hought. 
They  linow  the  use  of  white  ta  make  them  fair, 
And  how  with  red  lost  colors  to  repair : 
Imperfect  ejebrows  they  by  art  can  mend. 
And  sldn,  when  wanting,  o'er  a  soar  extend. 
Nor  need  the  fdr  one  be  ashamed  who  tries 
By  Bit  to  add  new  lustre  to  her  eyes."  —  Congreve. 


yGoogle 


182  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

of  very  small  dimensions,  were  also  in  use. 
■were  sometimes  used  in  cold  weather,  in  travelling 
abroad.  Prunellas  and  brocades  were  a  luxury  not 
much  indulged  for  a  long  time;  and  when  these 
were  once  obtained,  they  lasted  long,  being  transmit- 
ted from  mother  to  daughter  through  successive  gen- 
erations. Very  early  the  wardrobe  of  females  was 
the  subject  of  legislation,  and  "excess  of  apparel, 
strange  new  fashions,  naked  breasts  and  arms,  and  pin- 
ioned, superfluous  ribbons  on  hair  or  apparel,"  were 
sufficient  to  subject  the  offender  to  prosecution  and 
penalties. 

The  position  of  the  fair  sex  was  clearly  defined, 
well  understood,  and  readily  acquiesced  in.  Woman,  it 
may  well  be  supposed,  had  no  voice  in  the  enactment 
of  the  laws ;  at  the  same  time,  we  have  no  evidence 
of  any  complaint  being  made,  or  dissatisfaction  ex- 
pressed. It  may  naturally  he  supposed  that  good  "wives 
and  daughtera  readily  partook  of  the  husbands'  and 
fathers'  cares,  and  were  from  stern  principle,  if  not 
necessity,  restrained  to  great  simplicity  of  dress  and 
manners.  Those,  indeed,  of  the  first  distinction,  were 
faithfully  occupied  in  household  duties  and  the  super- 
intendence of  their  families,  and  the  matrons  were, 
doubtless,  generally  hlie  the  celebrated  Cornelia,  the 
daughter  of  the  great  Scipio,  and  the  mother  of  the 
Gracchi,  who,  when  asked  to  show  her  jewels,  presented 
her  children  —  domestic  affections  triumphing  over  the 
love  of  parade  and  dress.  The  first  instance  that  we 
find  of  woman's  assuming  to  herself  any  other  position, 
was  that  of  the  case  of  tlie  celebrated  Mrs.  Hutchinson.^ 

'  How  far  it  should  be  permilterl  to  woman   to  have  an  active  pai't 
in  the  administration  of  church  and  state  affairSj  is  a  question  mooted 


yGoogle 


AHHAL8    OF   BAIiuNSTABLE   COUNTY.  183 

The  men,  old  and  young,liad  one  good  coat  and  vest, 
small-clothes,  and  fur  hat.  Old  men  had  also  a  great 
coat  and  pair  of  boots.  The  latter,  being  well  made 
of  well-tanned  leather,  lasted  for  life,  and  were  long, 
reaching  to  the  knees.  For  every-day  wear  in  winter, 
a  jacket  that  reached  to  the  thigh,  a  striped  vest,  and 
smail-clothes  of  the  same  material  with  the  jacket,  were 
in  use.     These  were  made  of  homespun  flannel,  colored 

at  the  present  day,  which  we  are  not  disposed,  if  we  dare,  here  to  dis- 
cuss. Woman's  infiuence  has  always  been  acknowledged.  The 
Roman  commonwealth  itself  was  not  indiflerent  to  her  rights.  On 
one  occasion,  it  is  said,  an  unfounded  report  was  circulated  that  a  de- 
cree was  ahout  to  be  passed  permftting  men  to  have  two  wives;  and 
a  deputation  of  matrons  instantly  waited  on  the  Senate,  to  claim  an 
equal  privilege  of  having  two  husbands.  "Woman,  it  must  be  con- 
ceded, has  been  found  in  every  enlightened  community  possessed  of  a 
proper  spirit  to  assert  her  just  and  equal  righto  ,  and,  moving  in  her 
accustomed  sphere,  her  native  loveliness  has  usually  been  sufficient  to 
command  the  profound  deference  of  the  lotds  of  creation.  Whether 
her  appropriate  sphere  should  be  consideied  as  embracing  the  laigest 
freedom  claimed  by  some,  we  are  anchned  to  think  the  sex,  if  the 
question  were  referred  to  them,  would,  by  an  oveiwhelming  majority, 
decide  coiTCctly.  The  sage  of  Stagira  telites  what  is  certainly  an 
interesting  case  for  physiological  consideration — that  "the  common 
hen,  if  she  has  fought  with  and  vanquished  a  cod,  will  immediately 
commence  crowing,  and  that  even  her  cimb  will  enhtge,  ind  hei 
plumage  alter  to  such  a  degree  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  determine  to 
which  sex  she  really  belongs.  Even  -.purs  will  grow,  and  hei  whole 
character  soon  be  changed."  Some  it  i^  ti-ue,  htie  contended  that 
the  successful  fighting,  and  cock-like  airs  and  torm,  in  the  case  cited, 
are  only  the  result  of  an  imperfect  development  and  that  the  principle 
involved,  as  applied  to  the  higher  oider  oi  -mimah  especially  to  that 
class  which  Plato  has  pronounced  "  a  featheiless  fowl,"  therefore  fails. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  we  confess  we  should  have  some  fear  of  the  results 
of  diversity  of  Yiews  between  husband  and  wife  in  a  heated  political 
canvass ;  for  the  sentiment  of  Tacitus,  we  suppose,  is  the  result  of  sage 
observation  —  "acernme  proxiTtWum  odia"  —  the  quarrels  of  near 
friends  are  most  violent 


vGooglc 


184  THE   HISTORY   OF    GAFE    COD. 

in   the   thread,  and   fulled   at   the   mill,  not   sheared. 
Flannel  shirts,  knit  woollen  stockings,  and  thick  leather 
shoes,  made  up  the  complement.    A  silk  handkerchief 
was  sported  on  holidays.     For  summer,  wide  trousers, 
reaching  half  way  from  the  knee  to  the  ankle,  were 
common ;  but  in  warm  weather,  shoes  and  stockings 
were  not  needed  on  the  farm.     Boys  were  put  into 
small-clothes  as  soon  as  they  left  their  petticoats,  and 
the  material  for  their  dresses  was,  for  common  attire, 
of  home-manufactured    cloth;    for  meeting    dress,   of 
everlasting.    The  eldest  son  would  be  served  with  a  suit 
of  the  latter  cloth,  and,  when  he  had  outgrown  them, 
the  next  succeeded  to  the  suit,  and  so  down  to  the 
youngest  —  and  of  boys  in  a  family  there  was  a  good 
supply.     When  trousers  were  introduced,  they  were, 
for  ordinary,  made  either  of  tow  cloth,  linen,  or  cotton 
for  summer  use,  and  woollen  for  winter.     Young  men. 
would  have  been  thought  effeminate,  had  they  worn 
overcoats.     A  writer  familiar  with  later  times  says,  "  I 
remember  that  a  neighbor  of  my  father  provided  his 
four  sons,  between  nineteen  and  thirty  years  of  age, 
one  with  a  pair  of  boots,  the  second  with  a  surtout,  the 
third  with  a  watch,  and  the  fourth  with  a  pair  of  silver 
shoe-buckles.     It  created  a  neighborhood  talk,  and  the 
family  were  considered  in  the  high  road  to  insolvency." 
WiUis,  in  his  History  of  Portland,  in  referring  to  a  fam- 
ily of  note  that  removed  early  to  Maine  from  the  Cape, 
says, "  It  may  be  something  to  show  the  style  of  an 
early  day,  to  describe  the  dress  of  Joshua  when  he 
went '  a  courting,'  in  1750,  as  given  by  himself  and  Mr. 
Isaac  Hsley.     Joshua  wore    a   full-bottomed  wig    and 
•cocked  hat,  scarlet  coat  and  small-clothes,  white  vest 
and  stockings,  shoes  and  buckles,  and  two  watches,  one 
on  each  side.     That  surpasses  any  foppery  of  the  pres- 


vGooglc 


AHRALS   OF   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY.  185 

ent  day.     The  wearer  of  that  dress  was  then  twenty 
years  of  age."^ 

The  meals,  in  those  days,  were  frugal,  the  course  at 
dinner  being,  in  winter,  ordinarily,  first,  "  porridge,"  — 
a  broth,  with  a  few  beans  thrown  in,  and  seasoned ; 
second,  an  Indian  pudding,  with  sauce ;  and  third,  boiled 
pork  and  beef,  with  potatoes  and  pumpkin.  Suppers 
and  breakfasts  were  usually  alike  —  milk  with  toasted 
bread  in  it,  or  sweetened  cider,  hot  in  winter,  with 
bread  and  cheese.  On  "Sabbatli  mornings,"  they  in- 
dulged in  chocolate  or  tea,  the  first  sweetened  with 
molasses,  the  tea  with  brown  sugar,  and  the  concomi- 
tants were  pancakes,  doughnuts,  brown  toast,  or  pie. 
They  bad  no  Sunday  dinners  until  "both  meetings" 
were  over — but  then  the  intermission  was  short;  after 
meetings,  a  spare-rib,  a  stew-pie  or  roast  beef,  goose, 
chicken  or  turkey,  made  up  the  repast,  with  a  few  d 
cetera^.  In  spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  bread  and  milk 
constituted  the  principal  breakfast  and  supper.  The 
chief  exception  to  the  above  bill  of  fare  was  fish,  which 
in  its  -varieties  was  abundant 

The  new  ploughed  ground  was  always,  some  part  of  it, 
sown  with  wheat,  which  was  used  in  various  ways  ;  and 

^  All  this  was  a  wide  departure  from  the  simplicity  of  the  early 
days  of  the  colony.  The  eighteenth  century  showed  great  progress 
in  the  style  of  dress,  as  in  many  other  thinga.  Before  the  time  of  the 
revolutionary  war  most  of  the  customs  of  the  old  world  were  here  iu 
vogue.  Even  dancing  began  to  be  praclised;  the  etiquette  of  the 
toilet  became  extended  and  expensive,  and  even  jeweliy  was  in  de- 
mand. The  thvee-eornered  hat,  the  white-topped  boots,  the  silver  or 
gold  knee-buekles,  the  bosom  and  wrist  ruffles,  the  fine  silk  stockings, 
&c.,  marked  the  gentleman;  the  superb  head-dress,  the  silks  and 
satins  with  long  waists,  the  long  white  kid  gloves,  the  circumambient 
hoop,  the  gold  beads,  the  high-heeied  shoes,  &c.,  were  the  outward 
adornments  of  iho  lady. 
VOL.  I.  24 


vGooglc 


186  TllE   ItlSTOKY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

■when  broken,  or,  in  later  times,  grounLl,  the  meal  was 
not  bolted,  but  simply  passed  through  the  sieve.  But 
■we  are  told, "  the  chiefest  com  they  planted  at  first  was 
Indian  grain,  before  they  had  ploughs  ;  and  let  no  man 
make  a  jest  at  pumpkins,  for  with  this  food  tlie  Lord 
was  pleased  to  feed  his  people  to  their  good  content 
till  com  and  cattle  were  increased."  The  corn,  before 
mills  were  provided,  was  pounded  in  a  mortar,  usually 
with  a  wooden  or  stone  pestle.  The  mortar  used  was 
generally  a  large  log,  hollowed  at  one  end.  Barley 
supplied  malt  for  beer. 

The  first  houses  had  steep  roofs,  generally  thatched. 
The  fireplaces  were  so  large  that  children  might  sit 
within  the  corners,  and  look  out  in  the  evening  at  the 
stars,  through  the  cliimney,  if  they  would.  The  fuel, 
being  abundant,  was  used  in  large  quantities ;  logs  four 
feet  long  and  several  feet  in  circumference,  which  re- 
quired all  the  strength  of  a  strong  man  to  roll  them  in, 
were  placed  back,  a  forestick  of  corresponding  dimen- 
sions was  laid  in  front,  and  smaller  wood  was  then 
filled  in  and  heaped  up,  a  plenty  of  light  wood  or  "  fat 
pine,"  being  at  hand  to  revive  the  fire  and  in  the  even- 
ing to  keep  up  a  bright  and  pleasant  light.  Oil  or 
candles  were  'used  only  occasionally.  The  hearth  was 
of  large  flat  stones  similar  to  those  used  for  sidewalks 
now.  The  fireplaces  were  constructed  of  stone,  and 
sometimes  the  chimneys  of  layers  of  wood,  notched  at 
the  crossings,  the  interstices  filled  in  with  clay  and  the 
whole  interior  plastered  with  the  same. 

The  floors  were  always  cleanly  white  from  frequent 
washing,  and  were  nicely  protected  by  a  fine,  washed, 
white  sand.  The  immense  andirons,  with  hooks  to 
receive  the  spit  holding  over  the  dripping  pan  the 
roast,  enabled  the  housewife  to  furnish,  with  the  aid  of 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABUl   COUNTY.  187 

frequent  turning  and  basting,  a  dish  that  the  epicure 
now  covets  in  vain,     Eoasts  zsere  then  roasts. 

In  a  few  years,  houses  of  better  construction  began 
to  appear  —  two  stories  in  front,  the  roof  in  the  rear 
sloped  down  to  within  sis  feet  of  the  ground.  The 
windows  were  supplied  with  hinges,  opening  outwards, 
and  were  quite  smalL  The  glass  was  in  the  diamond 
shape,  and  set  in  sashes  of  lead.  The  dwelling  houses 
were  always  so  placed  as  to  front  to  the  south,  without 
regard  to  the  street  or  road,  and  the  house  thus  uni- 
formly served  for  a  dial. 

Like  Tanaquil,  —  sometimes  designated  as  Caia, — 
the  wife  of  one  of  the  ancient  kings,  so  remarkable  for 
her  devotion  to  domestic  duties  that  her  distaff  was 
preserved  in  Rome  for  ages  as  a  sacred  relic,  and  her 
example  handed  down  to  posterity  as  a  pattern  of 
housewifery,  the  matrons  of  those  days  exhibited,  and 
taught  their  daughters  to  practise  that  which  is  so 
highly  commended  by  the  wise  man :  "  She  seeketh 
wool  and  flax,  and  worketh  willingly  with  her  hands. 
She  layeth  her  hand  to  the  spindle,  and  her  hands  hold 
the  distaff"  Home  was  the  scene  of  domestic  mdustry, 
quiet,  peace,  and  happiness.  "  Her  husband  is  known 
in  the  gates,  when  he  sitteth  among  the  elders  of  the 
land,"  or  " Dmnum  mandt,  lanam  fecit" '  might  well  have 
been  the  encomium  uttered  in  respect  to  many  —  ay, 
in  reference  to  females  generally,  whose  industry  and 
skill  provided  ample  comfort  for  all  aro\md  them. 

Every  body  went  to  "meeting  "  in  those  days,  however 
distant  they  resided  from  the  place  for  public  worship. 
Those  who  owned  horses  held  them  as  justly  liable  to 

'  Thus  not  unaptly  translated: 

"  Sho  keepit  close  the  hous,  and  birkt  at  tlie  wheel."  —  Gav>ain  Samilton. 


yGoogle 


loo  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

do  service  for  any  of  the  neighbors  on  "meeting  days," 
and  it  was  no  unusual  thing  for  the  owner  and  his  wife, 
the  one  on  a  saddle  and  the  other  on  a  pillion,  with 
perhaps  a  little  boy  or  girl  before  the  man  and  an  in- 
fant in  the  woman's  lap,  to  ride  half  way  to  the  place 
of  worship,  and  then  to  dismount,  on  arriving  at  "  the 
half-way  block,"  and  hitch  the  horse  for  the  neighbors 
who  set  out  on  foot,  walking  themselves  the  rest  of  the 
way.^  Young  men  and  maidens  rarely  thought  of  rid- 
ing to  meeting,  even  though  the  distance  might  be  six 
or  ten  miles.  *'  Horse  blocks  "  were  always  placed  near 
the  "  meeting  house,"  as  well  he  near  their  dwellings, 
and  at  convenient  stations,  and  were  as  indispensable 
as  the  well-pole  and  the  oaken-bucket  Horses  were 
all  accustomed  to  pace,  that  they  might  carry  the  rider 
gently.  The  almost  universal  mode  of  travelling  was 
on  horseback,  and  long  journeys  were  thus  made. 

The  duty  of  the  sexton  then  required  that  he  should 
attend  to  the  turning  of  the  hour-glass.  It  was  to  be 
turned  at  the  commencement  of  the  sermon,  and  the 
minister  was  expected  to  close  his  sermon  at  the  end 
of  the  hour.  If  he  either  exceeded  or  fell  short  of  that 
time,  it  was  alike  regarded  as  furnishing  just  cause  of 
complaint. 

By  order  of  the  General  Court,  corns  and  beans  were 
used  in  voting,  the  corns  representing  the  ayes,  and  the 
beans  the  nays.  A  heavy  penalty  was  imposed  if  any 
individual  put  into  the  box  more  than  one.     The  can- 

'■  Chaises,  or  sacli  like  vehicles,  were  then  vmknowa.  Travelling 
in  stage-coachea  was  haiiJly  dreamed  of.  The  rapid  rounding  of  tt 
corner  hy  ft  driver  with  "four  in  hand,"  his  Jiorn  announcing  in  ad- 
vance the  "  arrival  of  the  mail,"  was  an  exploit  reserved  for  a  iar 
distant  day.  The  i-oads,  as  may  ^¥ell  be  supposed,  were  sijil  suscep- 
tible of  some  improvement. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY.  189 

didates  nominated  were,  of  course,  "voted  for  separately 
until  one  was  elected. 

In  illustration  of  the  unsophisticated  frankness  and 
simplicity  of  the  times,  an  anecdote  which  is  doubtless 
familiar  to  all,  has  been  related  of  the  adventures  of 
two  notables  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  —  the  result  of 
their  occasional  business  excursions  to  the  Cape.     Both 
gentlemen  were  frequently  here,  dispensing  their  good 
offices  in  the  settlement  of  boundaries  and  the  com- 
posing of  difficulties  of  one  kind  or  another ;  but,  we 
confess,  there  are  circumstances  that  quite  incline  us  to 
the  belief  that  the  anecdote  may  be  apocryphal :  nev- 
ertheless, as  we  do  not  feel  that  it  is  any  part  of  our 
mission  to   question   too  minutely  long-received  and 
universally-admitted  data  of  this  Idnd  involving  noth- 
ing absolutely  essential  to  Cape  Cod  history,  we  give 
the  facts  as  they  have  been  handed  down    When  John 
Alden  (a  magistrate  of  Plymouth  Colony,  and  one  of 
the  first  company  settled  at  Plymoutli)  was  commis- 
sioned by  his  friend.  Captain  Miles  Standish,  for  an 
errand  which  Standish  had  not  the  courage  to  under- 
take in  person,  viz.,  to  make  proposals  of  marriage  to 
Miss  PriscUla  Mullens  of  Barnstable,  —  it  is  said,  the 
young  woman    replied   with   perfect  imivde,   perhaps 
simplicity, "  Prithee,  John,  why  dost  thou  not  ask  for 
thyself?"     It  may  have  been  leap  year;  but,  be  that 
as  it  may,  however  much  Alden  may  have  been  taken 
by  surprise,  the  depths  of  his  very  soul  seem  to  have 
been  stirred  by  what  he  concluded  was  an  intimation 
from  the  lips  of  the  beautiful  girl  of  a  decided  pref- 
erence for  himself     At  all  events,  he  married  her,  to 
the  chagrin  of  Standish;  and  from  that  union  have 
descended  iUiisirksimi  tin,  of  whom  were    two    presi- 
dents of  the  United  States. 


vGooglc 


1  Itistrue,  tJi 
to  different  tow 

E 

D 

tl 

B 

statement;  nev 

tl 

1        a. 

tl     test  w 
k            t 

y 

a  little  defectiv 

th 

have  been,  in  r 

f 

to 

th 

f  M 

accurate,   and 
to  insert  it.     I 

J 

t 

thy 
1     t 

i 
th 

pi 

comes  to  be  a 

1 

1 

tl    k 

t 

11  t 

190  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

And  here,  speaking  of  the  fair  Priscillaj  we  may  as 
well  say  (for  the  fact  is  too  important  to  be  omitted, 
and  must  be  said  somewhere  in  our  annals  of  the  Cape) 
the  girls  of  Cape  Cod  have  not  deteriorated  in  their 
sprightliness  and  personal  charms  since  the  time  of 
Miss  Mullens.* 


y  th  t  h        it  I  !i    gl 

!  [h  t  t    I     Id 

P       11  IS  4,         lly 

1  h  U         tu 

d  ly  b  ca  1        t 

I    p  d  h   h  p 

though  indirectly,  of  the  gentler  sex ;  for  to  commend  the  children  is 
to  eomraead  tlie  mothere.  We  hope  the  reader  will  be  strongly  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  that  it  is  this  consideration  alone  tliat  induces 
the  reference  to  the  reverend  doctor's  testimony,  and  that  the  credit 
will  be  charitably  awarded  us  of  being  in  no  degree  influenced  by  the 
paltry  feeling  of  vanity.  Should  any,  however,  enviously  refuse  so 
charitable  a  construction,  and  think,  in  the  language  of  Swift,  who 
was  too  apt  to  he  severe,  — 


we  may  then  be  obliged  to  retort,  in  continuation  of  the  dean's  satii-e,  - 


But,  really,  we  are  a  long  time  in  eoming  to  the  remarks  of  that 
accnrate  observer  of  men  and  things,  the  reverend  doctor.  It  is, 
reader,  because — we  feel  somewhat  embarrassed  by  their- over- 
whelming truthfulness.  And  now,  making  one  bold  p«sh,  we  clip 
from  his  "editorial  correspondence  in  the  New  York  Christian 
Inquirer"  the  valuable  morceau;  here  it  is:  "The  audience  on  tliis 
occasion  was  a  large,  attentive,  and  good-looking  one.  The  Cape 
people  are  in  person  a  fine  race ;  the  children  are  peculiarly  hand- 
some, with  well-cut,  regidar  features.  "We  will  not  pi-ofess  to  have 
aeea  much  female  beauty,  (it  is  rare  every  where,)  hut  tlie  men,  in 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF    BARNSTABLE    COUKTY.  191 

Tradition  says,  that  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Aldcn's  mar- 
riage excursion,  there  was  a  destitution  of  horses  and 
travelling  equipage  in  the  colony,  and  that  it  waa  not 
uncommon  for  oxen  or  bulls  to  supply  the  place,  Mr. 
Alden  went  from  Plymouth  to  BarnBtable,  riding  on 
the  back  of  a  bull,  with  a  piece  of  handsome  broadcloth 
for  a  saddle,  and,  on  his  return,  his  bride  was  seated  on 
the  same,  the  happy  bridegroom  leading  the  bull  care- 
fully by  a  cord  fastened  to  the  nose-ring. 

frame  and  featu  e  re  a  h  d  on  e  e  —  till  &trT  glit  full  a  1 
with  the  gro  nil  of  1  o  Id  b  11  1  a  anslocrat  c  appea  a  ce 
We  see  whe  p  the  O  e  tl  e  Q  n  j  Ihe  U  tcle-s  g  t  tie 
noble  look  Whetl  er  t  s  tl  it  tl  p  E  ^1  h  race  has  nte  n  ngk  i 
less  w  til  others  h  e  t!  i  u  otl  er  parts  of  Mas  wihusetts  o  o 
account  of  tl  e  cS  n  ate  or  bee  e  the  all  ng  ot  tl  e  men  n  Aes  then 
acqua  nted  v  tl  tl  orld  a  d  so  fasl  ons  them  we  w  11  i  ut  gi  e 
but  ne  th  I  Caj  e  Cod  I  „  ven  some  of  tl  finest  f  ces  i  d  to  n  s 
to  New  England."  The  "  audience,"  candor  requires  us  to  say,  was 
in  Barnstable. 


yGoogle 


192  THE   HlSTOllY    OF   CAPE    COD. 


CHAPTER     XI 


of  the  Colony. — Toleration.  — Municipal  Eegiilations  — Evteiisjon 
of  Settlements  on  the  Qipe.  —  "Witchcraft  — Long  Hiir  and  BLOids  — 
Society  in  England  for  jiropagatiug  the  Gospel  imong  tho  liidi-ins  — 
Watch  over  the  Churches.  —  Fisheries.  —  K*il  and  Moral  Delmqiitiicies 
— Preparationa  for  War.  —  Seveiidea  towards  the  Quakers — Remark- 
able Events. 

In  1646  Governor  Bra-dford  was  reelected,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Prince  as  assistant,  as  was  also  Mr.  Edmund 
Freeman  of  Sandwich  for  the  seventh  time.  Nauset 
was  now  incorporated  as  a  township.  And  it  was 
ordered  by  the  Colony  Court  that  every  town  within 
the  government  shall  have  a  clerk  to  keep  a  register 
of  marriages,  births,  and  burials. 

A  movement  on  the  part  of  certain  persons  dis- 
affected on  account  of  the  want  of  toleration,  was 
supported  by  numbers  of  the  deputies,  but  was  over- 
ruled by  the  governor.  To  their  honor  it  is  re- 
corded, that  they  asked  the  court  "to  allow  and 
maintain  full  and  fi'ce  tolerance  of  religion  to  all 
men  that  would  preserve  the  civil  peace  and  sub- 
mit to  government."  Mr.  Edward  "Winslow  wrote  to 
Governor  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts,  "How  sweet 
this  carrion  relished  to  the  palate  of  most  of  the 
deputies ! "  A  similar  effort  was  made  simtiltaneously 
in  the  Massachusetts  Colony.  It  is  pleasant,  at  this 
day,  to  look  back  and  see  the  spirit  of  true  Chris- 
tian liberty  thns  early  exhibited,  even  though  it 
was    destined    to    be    for    a    time    diseoiu'aged    and 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   EAKWSTABLE   COUKTY.  193 

crushed.^  Who  will  now  say  that  the  prayer  of  the 
discontented  was  not  most  reasonable  ?  They  asserted 
most  truly,  that  the  fundamental  laws  of  England  were 
not  acknowledged  by  the  colony  as  the  basis  of  gOYem- 
ment,  according  to  patent ;  that  the  exclusion  from  civil 
privileges  of  those  of  good  life  and  principles,  because 
they  might  not  coincide  in  their  religions  views  with  the 
dominant  sect,  and  the  denial  to  them  of  religious  privi- 
leges, even  to  those  who  were  members  of  the  Church 
of  England,  was  a  violation  of  their  rights  as  good  citi- 
zens. They  asked  for  civil  liberty  and  religious  free- 
dom for  all  not  scanda]o^^s  in  their  lives  and  conversor 
tion ;  or  that,  if  this  was  refused,  they  might  be  freed 
from  the  heavy  taxes  imposed  upon  them  and  from 
impressment.  The  time,  however,  had  not  yet  come 
when  they  might  he  disenthralled.  Still,  we  say,  it 
speaks  well  foe  the  colony  that  there  were  some,  and 
even  a  majority,  of  the  deputies,  who  did  '■^reUsh"  tlie 
proposition  which  the  governor  found  it  necessary,  by 
an  arbitrary  act,  to  suppress.     It  is  a  gleam  of  light, 

^  Judge  Davis  says,  "Upon  examination  of  the  views  of  t!ie  'dis- 
contented persons,'  they  do  not  appear  so  malignant  or  unreasonable 
as  they  were  esteemed  when  they  were  in  agitation."  The  "  heresy" 
which  Eoger  Williams  had  been  charged  with  in  Salem,  in  1634,  and 
ivhich,  it  was  averred,  was  as  seditious  as  heretical,  "  tending  equally 
to  sap  the  foundations  of  the  establishment  in  church  amd  state,"  and 
for  which  he  was  banished  to  seek  the  hospitality  of  savages  in  (he 
wilderness,  was,  says  Bancroft,  asserting  "that  the  civil  magistrate 
should  restrain  crime,  but  never  control  opinion ;  should  punish  guilt, 
but  never  violate  the  freedom  of  the  soul."  Mr.  "Williams  was  settled 
in  Salem,  April  12,  1631,  as  teaching  elder,  in  connection  with  Mr. 
Shelton ;  on  which  occasion  "  a  letter  of  reproof  was  written  fi-om  the 
court  in  Boston,  to  Mr.  Endicott.  Tlie  court  marvelled  that  the  peo- 
ple would  choose  Mr.  Williams  without  advising  with  the  council." 
FinfArop.— -"The  persecution  was  then  already  commenced." 
Benlley. 

VOL.  I.  25 


vGooglc 


194  THE   illSTOKY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

radiating  through,  the  darliness  of  those  early  times, 
that  augured  well  for  the  future,  and  its  redeeming 
influence  is  grateful  to  the  heart  of  the  descendants  of 
men  who  supported  the  measure.  The  strength  which 
so  just  a  measure  had  already  acquired  may  he  judged 
froih  the  fact  that  intolerance  -vvas  made  to  tremble  for 
the  result.^  Mr.  Winslow,  as  if  anticipating  its  ultimate 
triumph,  says, "  If  God  have  such  a  judgment  for  this 
place,  [colony,]  I  trxist  we  shall  find  a  resting  place 
amongst  you,  [the  Massachusetts  Colony,]  for  the  soles 
of  our  feet."  It  is  truly  painful  to  contemplate  the 
intolerance  that  reigned  supreme  at  that  time,  especially 
in  Massachusetts,  interdicting,  if  not  persecuting,  all 
who  dissented  in  the  least  from  the  popular  faith  and 
church  polity.  If  some  now  retired  fronx  office,  or 
were  superseded,  particularly  in  the  magistracy,  it 
may  be  presumed  they  were  not  sufficiently  jo;-acf?c(?5&. 
Jealousy  and  mistrust  prevailed.  The  "factious  and 
turbulent"  must  be  subdued  ;  and  greater  caution  must 
be  exercised  in  regard  to  the  views  of  such  as  are  to 
be  placed  in  authority ;  for,  notwithstanding  every 
precaution  hitherto,  there  had  from  the  first  been  an 
infusion  of  settlers  whose  views  were  not  strictly  in 
sympathy  with  the  exclusiveness  that  now  prevailed. 
How  far  any  portion  of  the  Cape  partook  of  a  spirit  of 

'  This  movement  was  made  first  in  the  Plymouth  Colony,  in  the 
montli  of  October  of  the  previous  year.  How  it  was  opposed  in  the 
IVIassachusetta  Colony,  the  histories  of  that  day  sufficiently  attest.  It 
were  a  long  story  to  tell  —  how  the  petitioners  were  summoned  fo 
court,  put  under  honds,  fined  for  "seditious  proceedings,"  watched  and 
even  imprisoned  lest  they  should  leave  for  England  to  advocate  the 
cause  of  the  petition,  their  trunks  searched  for  documents  designed  to 
be  sent  in  support  of  their  complaints,  papers  seized,  &c.  The  move- 
ment has  been  charged  with  being  "  a  formidable  league  for  the 
advancement  of  religious  freedom." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  195 

liberality  inconsistent  with  the  age,  the  succession  of 
events  may  enable  the  reader  to  determine. 

The  court  record  this  year  contains  a  memorandum, 
that  "  something  be  done  to  maintain  the  liberty  of 
the  churches  without  intermeddling  or  wronging  each 
other." 

It  was  also  ordered, "  that  when  the  inhabitants  of 
Sandwich  have  paid  a  debt  of  seventeen  or  eighteen 
pounds  owing  to  the  old  company,  and  paid  the  charge 
and  purchase  of  their  township,  or  such  a  sum  as  Mr. 
Thomas  Priuce  and  Captain  Miles  Standiah  shall  agree 
upon,  then  the  committees  or  undertakers  shall  yield 
up  the  land  undisposed  of,  to  the  town,  to  be  given 
forth  and  disposed  by  such  persons  as  the  town  shall  ap- 
point ;  and  that  every  inhabitant  having  lands  granted 
him  shall  contribute  proportionably  to  the  said  pay- 
ment." It  was  further  "  ordered,  that  the  committees 
of  every  town  shall  send  the  names  of  all  their 
males  from  sixteen  years  of  age  to  sixty,  to  the 
governor." 

The  following  table  of  excise  shows  the  rates  agreed 
upon  by  the  court :  — 
"  Liberty  to  strangers  to  iish  at  the  Cape,  5s.  per  share. 

Spanish  wine,  drawn  by  retail,  Sd.  per  gallon. 

Erench  wine,       "        "        "       id.  per  gallon. 

Beer,  "        "        "       2s.  per  hogshead. 

Strong  water,      "        "        "     IBd.  per  gallon. 

Oil,  "        "        "       ^d.  per  gallon. 

Tobiicco,  1(7.  per  pound." 

The  year  1647  furnishes  no  very  notable  event  as 
connected  with  the  Cape.  Mr.  Prince,  who  was  again 
assistant,  was  associated  with  Mr.  Anthony  Thacher,  by 


vGooglc 


19G  THE   HISTORY    OP   CAPE    COD. 

appointment  of  the  General  Court,  to  try  the  case  of 
"Nepoytam,  Sachamus,  and  Felix"  —  Indians  against 
whom  complaint  had  been  made  by  Mr.  Richard  Sears, 
of  Yarmouth ;  and  the  town  of  Sandwich  was  "  pre- 
sented for  not  training  the  year  past." 

An  epidemic  is  represented  to  have  passed  through 
the  entire  continentj  prostrating  Enghsh,  French,  Dutch, 
and  Indians  before  it.  To  what  extent  its  influence 
was  felt  on  the  Cape,  we  have  no  means  of  determin- 
ing :  hut  from  a  remark  made  in  connection  with  this 
event  in  regard  to  St  Christopher's  and  Barbadoes, 
where  there  was  great  drought  and  the  prevailing 
sickness  was  very  fatal,  we  learn  that  "  New  England 
produce  was  in  great  demand ; "  from  which  it  would 
appear  that  exports  from  the  colonies  were  already  a 
matter  of  consequence. 

Some  progress  had  now  already  been  made  in  ex- 
tending the  Nauset  and  other  settlements,  both  in  the 
direction  of  the  Cape  Cod  harbor  and  over  the  tract 
lying  between  Eastham  and  Yarmouth.  Previous  to 
the  emigration  to  Nauset,  all  the  territory  below  that 
part  of  Yarmouth  since  called  Dennis  was  in  the 
sole  possession  of  the  natives.  Now,  instances  were 
becoming  very  frequent  of  those  previously  settlers  in 
the  several  towns  in  the  neighborhood  planting  them- 
selves on  this  tract,  and  others  were  beginning  to  come 
in  from  Plymouth  and  towns  more  remote. 

In  1648,  the  government  continuing  in  the  same 
hands,  we  find  Captain  Standish  authorized  by  the 
court  "  to  hear  and  end  all  differences  remaining  in  the 
town  of  Yarmouth ; "  and,  he  attending  to  the  duty 
assigned,  action  was  had  in  relation  to  lands,  in  behalf 
of  "  Thomas  Payne,  Mr.  Hawes,  Mr.  Thacher,  Mr.  Howes, 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY,  197 

Mr.  Crow,  Eobt.  Dennis,  Thos.  Flawne,  Ed.  Templar, 
Goodman  Clai-ke,  And.  Hallott,  .Mr.  Nickerson,  John 
Darby,  and  Kd,  Hoar."  Mention  is  made  also,  incident- 
ally, in  this  connection,  of  "  Goodman  Chase,  Wm. 
Chase,  Peter  Worden,  Mr.  Gray,  Edwd.  Sturgis,  Gabriel 
Wlieildin,  Mr.  Matthews,  the  late  Thos.  Hatch,  Mr. 
Lpmkins,  Goodman  Prichards,  Thos.  Burman,  and  Mr. 
Simkins."  It  was  also  *  ordered  by  the  court,  that  Mr. 
Miller  be  sufficiently  accommodated."  And  "it  was 
agreed.  May  15,  by  Captain  Standish,  Mr.  Crow,  Mr. 
Thacher,  and  Mr.  Howes,  the  committees  of  this  plan- 
tation of  Yarmouth,  and  Ed.  Hoar,  Mr.  Hawes,  Wm. 
Nicorsone,  Wm.  Palmer,  and  Et.  Dennis,  in  the  behalf 
of  the  town,  that  Mr."  Staare,  Wm.  Nichorsone,  and  Et. 
Dennis  shall  he  joined  to  the  committees  for  the  present 
year,  and  thence  after  by  the  town ;  they  have  liberty 
to  choose  other  three  to  the  committees  aforesaid,  so 
that  the  committees  shall  not  hereafter  dispose  of  any 
lands  without  the  consent  of  those  three,  or  two  of 
them ;  and  if  any  difference  arise  which  they  cannot 
compose  themselves,  they  shall  repair  to  Captain  Stan- 
dish  for  direction."  It  was  further  "  agreed,  that  the 
town  shall  enjoy  and  possess  the  neck  called  Nobscusset, 
als.  Sasuit  Neck." 

Mr,  Thomas  Dexter,  Jr.,  miller  at  Sandwich,  was 
"  presented  for  not  having  a  toll-dish  sealed  according 
to  order,"  but  "  was  cleared."  It  would  seem,  fi'om 
this  incident,  that  mills  were  already  in  existence  in 
other  places  than  Plymouth  for  the  grinding  of  com, 
although  the  first  mention  made  of  any  mill  in  the 
colony  was  in  1633,  when  Stephen  Deane  was  allowed 
to  erect  a  water  mill  in  Plymouth  "  for  beating  com," 
and  it  was  provided  that, "  in  case  the  said  Stephen  can 
beat  all  the  corn  that  is  or  shall  be  used  hi  the  colony, 


vGooglc 


198  THE   fflSTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  other  to  set  up  a  work  of 
that  kind  except  it  be  for  liia  own  use,  or  freely  with- 
out toll  or  any  other  consideration  whatsoever  to  give 
leave  to  others  to  make  use  of  tlie  same." 

The  present  year  also  records  the. first  instance  of  a 
public  execution  for  witchcraft  in  New  England.  It 
was  that  of  a  woman  hi  Charlestown.  The  husband  of 
the  woman,  after  the  execution,  having  taken  passage 
for  Barbadoes  in  a  vessel  well  ballasted  but  with  eighty 
horses  on  hoard,  the  vessel  was  observed  to  roll,  and 
the  man  was  apprehended  and  committed  to  prison ; 
after  which  the  ship  ceased  rolling.  Such  was  the 
credulity  and  infatuation  of  the  times.  Happy  would 
it  have  been  if  this  were  the  only  instance  of  it !  But 
the  delusion  was  not  confined  to  New  England,  as  the 
history  of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Hale  and  other  distin- 
guished jurists  in  England,  shows.  We  know  of  no 
instance  of  it  on  the  Cape,  we  are  happy  to  say, 
although  the  contagion  seems  to  have  been  endem- 
ical  many  years  in  some  other  parts  of  the  country. 
In  one  case,  where  a  woman  was  condemned  and 
executed,  the  infatuation  of  the  populace  was  so  great 
that  "  search  was  made  on  her  body  for  teats,  and  in 
her  chests  and  boxes  for  puppets  and  images." '    But  as 

^  A  treatise  oa  the  nature  of  witchcraft  (published  by  Eov.  Jolin 
Hale,  pastor  ia  Beverly,  with  ct  preface  by  Eev.  John,  Higginson, 
pastor  in  Salem,  who  represeuts  himself  as  then,  1697,  eighty-two 
years  of  age,  and  daily  waiting  for  his  change)  discusses  the  subject 
with  much  candor,  after  the  subside  e  of  fl  e  delusion,  and  says, 
"  There  was  a  searching  of  the  bod  es  of  the  s  pected  for  snch  like 
teats,  or  spots,  which  writers  speak  of  called  the  devits  maris ;  and, 
if  found,  these  were  accounted  a  j  n  pt  o  at  least,  of  guilt  in 
those  who  had  them."  Even  the  goo  1  Te  tuO  an  vas  quoted  to  prove 
the  reality  of  the  devil's  mark,  he  hav  g  oa  d  fo  rieen  hundred  years 
before,  (quite  innocent  of  any  design  to  furnish  testimony  for  such  use 


yGoogle 


ANNALS  OF  BAKNSTABLE  COUNTY.  199 

this  shocking  delusion  did  not  at  any  time  extend  to 
tlie  people  of  this  county,  we  "will  not  annoy  the  reader 
by  any  further  mention  of  its  disgusting  details  and 
sad  results.  To  say  that  it  did  not  extend  to  the 
Plymouth  Colony  at  all,  ■would  not  be  consistent  with 
the  facts  in  the  case.  But  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  to 
the  honor  of  the  common  sense  of  the  people  of  the 
colony,  that  the  course  pursued  in  regard  to  it  was 
governed  by  the  evidence,  and  not  by  superstitious 
prejudice.  There  were  at  least  two  cases,  and  the 
record  does  credit  to  the  men  by  whom  justice  was 
administered.  The  first  occurred  in  1660,  when  Dinah 
Sylvester,  of  Scituate,  accused  the  wife  of  William 
Holmes.  An  examination  was  held,  and  Dinah,  being 
present  as  a  witness,  was  asked  by  the  court, "  "What 
evidence  have  you  of  the  fact  that  William  Holmes's 
wife  is  a  witch  ? "  She  replied,  "  She  appeared  to  me 
as  such."     On  being  asked,  "In  what  shape  did  she 

in  after  times,)  "  It's  the  devil's  custom  to  mark  his."  Tlie  impression 
■was,  that  these  maiks  were  "teats  sucked  by  imps."  These  marks, 
says  Mr  Hale,  were  "sometimes  hut  a  bluish  spot,  sometimes  a  red 
one.  and  sometmies  the  flesh  sunk."  He  says,  sometimes  i-aw  sores 
weie  ohown,  wheie  it  was  said  the  imps  sucked.  The  mark  of  one 
wai  found  upon  the  head ;  and  Mr.  Hale  says,  "  I  saw  the  soi-e  place, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  make  it  differ  from  another  sore  coming  by 
nafuial  causes  Another  had  the  devil's  mark  upon  her  leg,  which 
was  a  blue  spot  as  broad  as  a  shilling  ;  her  husband  testified  that  be 
saw  the  spot,  but  little  suspected  it  to  be  the  devil's  mark."  Mr.  Hale 
also  testifies,  "  The  quality  of  several  of  the  accused  was  such  as  did 
bespeak  better  things,  and  'things  that  accompany  salvation'  —  per- 
sons whose  blameless  and  holy  lives  before  did  testify  for  them."  Mr. 
Hale  aeknowledges  he  had  favored  this  delusion,  and  remarks,  "It  is 
an  approved  saying,  Hihil  eerttus,  guam  quod  ex  daUoJit  cerium :  No 
truth  more  certain  to  a  man  than  that  which  he  hath  formerly  doubted 
or  denied  and  is  recovered  from  his  error  by  tbe  convincing  evidence 
of  Scripture  and  reason."    Male's  Modest  JEnguiry, 


vGooglc 


200  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD, 

appear  ? "  the  answer  was,  "  In  the  shape  of  a  bear." 
To  the  question,  "How  far  off  was  the  bear?"  she 
rephedj  "About  a  stone's  throw  from  the  highway." 
Another  interrogatory  was,  "  What  manner  of  tail  had 
the  bear  ? "  to  which  it  was  replied,  "  I  cannot  tell,  as 
his  head  was  towards  me."  The  court  then  "  ordered, 
that  the  examination  be  recorded  for  the  clearing  of 
the  accused,  and  that  the  accuser  be  publicly  whipped 
or  else  pay  the  sum  of  five  pounds ;  but  in  case  she 
make  a  public  acknowledgment  of  her  crime,  she  shall 
only  pay  William  Holmes  the  charge  he  has  been  at." 
Tlie  acknowledgment  was  made,  that  "  the  accusation 
was  false  and  malicious."  The  other  case  was  that  of 
Mary  Ingraham,  tried  for  witchcraft  in  1676,  and 
promptly  acquitted  by  the  jm"y. 

"The  delusion"  in  regard  to  witchcraft,  it  has  been 
said,  in  palliation  of  the  infirmity  of  the  early  settlers, 
"  they  brought  with  them  from  the  mother  country. 
Laws  making  witchcraft  a  capital  ofTeuce  existed  in 
England." 

In  1649,  Mr.  Prince,  of  Nauset,  was  again  assistant 
to  Governor  'Bradford.  Selectmen  were  first  chosen 
this  year ;  and  this  was  also  the  era  of  the  rule  in  New 
England,  that  none  should  wear  "  the  hair  on  their 
heads  below  the  ears:"  the  mania,  however,  against 
long  hair,  whiskers,  and  beards,  did  not,  so  far  as  we 
can  discover,  extend  itself  in  the  same  degree  in  the 
Plymouth  Colony  as  in  the  Massachusetts ;  nor  did  it, 
as  we  are  aware,  affect  the  Cape  at  all  except  as  a 
matter  of  fashion.  How  it  was  with  tobacco,  which, 
a  few  years  before,  was  prohibited  under  a  heavy 
penalty,  we  are  not  able  to  say. 

The  act  of  Parliament  "for  promoting  and  propa- 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  201 

gating  the  gospel  among  the  Indians  of  New  England  " 
wag  passed  July  27.  Sixteen  good  men  were  consti- 
tuted a  corporation,  with  a  president,  treasurer,  and 
assistants.  By  the  same  Parliament,  the  commission- 
ers for  the  United  Colonies  had  power  and  authority 
given  to  receive  and  dispose  of  all  moneys  collected 
by  the  society  or  appropriated  to  its  use,  for  the 
furtherance  and  advancement  of  the  good  work.^ 

In  1650,  Mr.  Piince,  of  Nauset,  was  again  assistant 
to  Governor  Bradford.  A  strict  watch  was  kept  over 
the  churches  by  the  magistracy.  No  church  could  be 
without  the  permission  of  the  magistrates, 


^  One  great  end  professedly  had  in  View  in  planting  the  colonies, 
and  the  obligations  so  particularly  expressed  in  the  Massachusetts 
charter,  —  viz.,  "  to  incite  the  natives  of  the  country  to  the  knowledge 
and  obedience  of  the  only  true  God  and  Saviour  of  mankind,  and  the 
Christian  fmth," — had,  it  was  felt  by  many,  been  too  much  and  too 
long  neglected.  Such  was  the  feeling  of  not  a  few  in  the  colonies, 
and  of  many  in  England.  Even  the  Indians  asked  how  it  liappened 
that  Christianity  was  so  important,  and  yet  for  six  and  twenty  years 
together  the  English  had  said  nothing  to  them  about  it.  The  personal 
efforts  and  success  of  Eev,  John  EHot,  commencing  in  IGJfi,  had  heen 
reported  in  England,  and  had  excited  much  attention.  An  address 
was  presented  lo  Parliament,  calling  for  "  countenance  and  assistance 
in  propagating  the  gospel  in  America,  that  the  present  generation 
may  he  the  happy  instruments  of  effecting  those  oft-repented  prom- 
ises of  God,  in  making  all  nations  blessed  by  the  coming  of  Christ, 
and  by  sending  his  word  (o  all  lands."  By  authority  of  the  act  passed, 
a  collection  was  made  in  all  the  parishes  of  England,  which  collection, 
being  veiy  large,  yielded  an  interest  of  about  six  hundred  pounds  per 
annum.  The  churches  here  also  contributed.  After  the  restoration, 
a  new  charter  was  obtained  for  this  society  from  King  Charles  II. 
The  exertions  of  the  society  in  England  and  the  efforts  of-  the  benev- 
olent who  luded  their  designs,  seem  to  have  been  ineffectual,  except  in 
some  limited  and  transient  degree.  The  race  appear  to  have  been 
destined  to  extinction. 

VOL.  L  26 


vGooglc 


202  THE   HISTORY   OF   WPE   COD. 

and  any  minister  preaching  witliout  their  approbation 
was  liable  to  a  penalty.  Mr.  Matthews  thus  otFended, 
and  was  fined  ten  po^mds.  In  regard  to  Mr.  Matthews, 
it  may  he  an  act  of  simple  justice  here  to  state  that 
accounts  are  somewhat  conflicting.  Some  will  have  it 
that  he  was  not  simply  through  inadvertence  officiating 
witliout  having  first  secured  the  approbation  of  the 
magistrates,  but  was  suspected  of  unsoundness  in  his 
doctrinal  views,  and,  it  is  even  intimated,  was  not  duly 
qualified  in  other  respects,  A  very  clever  writer,  Rev, 
E.  H.  Sears,  in  an  olden-time  view  of  Yarmouth,  refers 
to  the  congregation  assembled  for  public  worship,  and 
says, "  They  sit  in  their  plain  and  neat  attire,  under 
Marmaduli:e  Matthews,  who  measures  out  his  sermon  to 
them  by  the  hour-glass.  The  sexton  turns  the  glass 
when  the  sermon  begins,  and  the  preacher  must  keep 
on  till  the  sand  runs  out,  whether  his  idea^  have  run 
out  or  not.  It  is  not  a  very  difficult  rule,  however,  for 
Father  Matthews  who  is  said  to  have  used  words  with- 
out much  reference  to  thoughts,  and  to  have  been 
called  to  account  by  his  brethren  for  preaching  heresy 
when  he  was  not  aware  of  it"  ^  Mr.  Matthews,  it  is 
certain,  was  not  the  only  minister  complained  of  for 
daring  to  preach  without  being  sent  by  the  magistrates' 
approbation. 


'■  Mr.  Matthews  has  heen  represented  by  some  of  his  contempora- 
ries as  "  weak  and  eccentric ;"  but  we  are  inclined  to  think  the  weak- 
ness was  mere  artless  simplicity,  and  the  eccentricity  tJie  frankness 
of  a  man  void  of  all  subtlety.  Giovemor  Winthrop  speaks  of  him  as 
"  a  godly  minister."  He  came  over  in  1638,  and  was  early  in  Yar- 
mouth —  the  first  minister  settled  there.  He  probably  left  immedi- 
ately after  the  Imposition  of  the  fine,  since  we  find  liim  the  same  year 
in  Hull,  then  at  Maiden,  and  finally,  in  1692,  at  Cape  May.  He  was 
succeeded  in  Yarmouth  by  Rev.  John  Millar. 


vGooglc 


ANKALS   OP   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  203 

In  the  month  of  October,  the  permission  formerly 
gi-ven  to  John  Stone,  of  Hull,  to  make  use  of  lands  at 
Cape  Cod  for  bass  fishing,  was  withdrawn  by  the  court; 
and  leave  was  granted  "  to  Mr.  Thos.  Prince,  Captain 
Miles  Standish,  and  Mr.  Wm.  Paddy,  with  such  others 
of  Plymouth,  Duxbury,  and  Nawsett,  as  shall  join  with 
them,  —  they  to  make  use  of  any  lands,  creeks,  timber, 
&c.,  upon  the  Cape  land,  in  such  convenient  places  as 
they  shall  choose,"  for  the  said  fishing  purposes. 

In  1651,  Mr.  Prince  was  again  assistant  to  Governor 
William  Bradford ;  and  the  court  ordered  that  the  town 
of  Nauset  be  henceforth  known  and  called  by  the  name 
of  Eastham. 

It  was  also  ordered  by  the  courts  that  "  if  any  lazy, 
slothful,  or  profane  persons,  in  any  of  the  towns,  neg- 
lect to  attend  pubUc  worship,  they  shall  pay  for  each 
offence  ten  shillings  or  be  publicly  whipped."  ^ 

The  town  of  Barnstable  was  presented  for  not  con- 
tributing to  build  Eel  River  Bridge,  that  town,  with 
Sandwich  and  Yarmouth,  being  required  to  aid  in 
building  it.  These  several  towns  seem  to  have  con- 
sidered the  exaction  a^  unreasonable,  and  therefore 
resisted.  They  very  naturally  supposed  that  the  con- 
venience of  the  bridge  in  Plymouth  was  quite  as  much 
a  matter  of  interest  with  the  people  of  Plymouth  as 

'  The  reader  cannot  fail  to  notice  the  peculiarity  of  exjiression  in 
this  enaelment,  intended  by  implieation  to  reach  beyond  fines  and  cor- 
poral punishment.  For  whatever  cause  the  only  tolerated  public 
worship  was  dlsesteemed ;  those  who  desired  a  better  way  were  lo  be 
regai-ded  henceforth  as  the  "  lazy,  slothful,  or  profane,"  f^  consegtien- 
tiam.  It  reminds  one  of  the  proposed  legislation  in  another  colony, 
which  placed  "the  use  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer"  in  the  same 
categoiy  with  atrocious  crimes. 


vGooglc 


204  THE   HIBTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

with  the  people  on  the  Cape,  and  that,  whilst  it  afforded 
daily  facilities  for  the  inhabitants  of  that  town,  and  was 
of  general  public  advantage,  enabling  the  people  of  the 
towns '  above,  as  well  as  those  of  Plymouth,  to  pass 
down  to  the  Cape  without  fording  the  stream,  the  ex- 
pense should  be  borne  at  least  equally  by  the  colonists 
generally,  if  not  entirely  by  the  town  of  Plymouth, 
and  not  imposed  in  unequal  proportion  upon  the  re- 
moter towns  of  Sandwich,  Barnstable,  and  Yarmouth. 
But  Plymouth  influence  was  at  this  time  paramount, 
and  the  Cape  towns  must  submit 

Ralph  Allen,  Sen.  and  Richard  Kerby,  of  Sandwich, 
were  bound  over  "  to  answer  for  deriding  and  vilifying 
speeches  of  and  concemmg  God's  word  and  ordinances" 
—  twenty  pounds  each,  with  two  sureties  each  in  the 
sum  of  ten  pounds.  Presentments  were  also  made  of 
Ralph  Allen,  Sen.  and  wife,  George  Allen  and  wife, 
"William  Allen,  Eichaid  Kerby,  Peter  Gaunt  and  wife, 
Rose  Newland,  Edmund  Preeman,  Sen.  and  wife,  Good- 
wife  Turner,  and  widow  Knott,  aU  of  Sandwich, "  for 
not  frequenting  the  public  worship  of  God,  contrary  to 
order  made  June  6  of  tlie  present  year."  ^ 

Por  the  following  year,  1652,  Mr.  Prince,  of  Eastham, 
was  continued  assistant,  and  the  court  performed  it« 
ordiniry  amount  of  busincsb  in  regulating  the  monls 

^  TliP  key  to  the  '.pecinl  Icgi'.latioii  of  the  jiiccedmti;  Opn  nl  Court. 
In  the  annals  of  '^andwKh  it  miy  he  seen  that  Epv  Me  Leverich 
hail  felt  himself  insecure  of  the  poaition  dup  to  the  dignity  of  his 
office — «o  early  mi  to  tueh  in  e^ttetit  dil  lehgioua  dissensions  begin 
every  where  to  be  exhibited  These  pei-Bons  hid  ill  a  high  respect 
for  dii  ine  oitlinanceB,  hut  also  for  rehgious  freedom  and  unfelteied 
thought  The^  WLie  auppcrteis  of  then  pa^tm  but  nrt  pirtial  to 
the  inspii  ation  md  Qifis  of  llio=c.  «ho  no  lU    ojilintlim 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  205 

and  correctmg  the  municipal  deficiencies  of  the  several 
towns.  The  Cape  received  its  proper  share  of  these 
attentions,  Sandwich  being  presented  "  for  not  having  a 
full  supply  of  powder,"  and  fined ;  Ralph  Allen,  Sen. 
and  Richard  Kerby,  of  Sandwich,  presented  "  for  speali- 
ing  deridingly  against  God's  word  and  ordinances," ' 
sentenced  to  pay  five  pounds  each,  or  be  whipped ;  the 
wife  of  Tristram  Hull,  of  Barnstable, "  for  interfering 
with  the  service  of  a  domestic  in  Mr.  Samuel  Mayo's 
family,"  warned  to  deskt,  and  carry  hereelf  better  for 
the  future ;  and  a  citizen  of  Barnstable  was  presented 
"  for  having  a  child  by  his  wife  five  weeks  and  four 
days  before  the  ordinary  time  of  women  after  mai^- 
riage;"  as  also  a  citizen  of  Sandwich,  for  allowing  a 
larger  margin,  the  birth  occurring  only  "  thirty  weeks 
after  marriage."  Besides  all  this,  "rumors"  having 
reached  the  General  Court,  "  of  a  scandal  that  is 
laid  on  the  govenmient  by  Mr.  Millar  of  Yarmouth, 
publicly  delivered/'  the  jury  was  directed  to  make 
due  inquiry,  "to  vindicate  the  colony.""  Moreover, 
"  Sandwich  and  Mattakeese,  afias  Yarmouth,  were  pre- 
sented for  not  building  the  bridge  over  Eel  River." 
Complaint  also  being  made  "that  the  lower  way 
between  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  was  interrupted," 
Mr.  Prince  and  Captain  Standish  were  ordered  to  im- 
panel a  jury,  "  to  lay  out  as  conveniently  as  they  can 
a  country  road  —  unless  the  town  of  Barnstable  will 
themselves  allow  it  for  a  highway."    The  same  gentle- 

'  These  and  simUar  charges  must,  in  justice  to  the  accused,  he 
received  ivith  much  allowance  for  (he  construction  put  upon  the  least 
dissent  from  the  dt^mas  of  the  day  or  the  prophesyings  of  higotiy 
and  self-conceit. 

^  Rev.  John  Millar,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Matthews  in  Yarmouth, 
had,  says  Dr.  Cotton  Mather,  been  previously  settled  at  Rowley. 


vGooglc 


206  THE   mSTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

men  were  ordered  to  impanel  a  jury  to  lay  out  the 
most  convenient  way  from  Sandwich  to  Plymouth ; 
and  Mr.  Prince  of  Eastham,  Mr.  Howes  of  Yarmouth, 
John  Chipman  of  Barnstable,  and  Richard  Bourne  of 
Sandwich,  were  appointed  to  receive  from  these  several 
towns  "  the  oil  of  the  country." 

The  jurors  appointed  February  24,  to  lay  out  the 
most  convenient  way  from  Sandwich  to  Plymouth,  were 
"Ant.  Thacher,  Thos.  Dexter,  Thos.  Hinckley,  Wm. 
Hedge,  Edward  Bangs,  Joseph  Rogers,  John  Wing, 
John  Ellis,  Henry  Dillingham,  James  Skifi",  John  Fin- 
ney, Jona.  Hatch,  and  Wm.  Bassett"  This  jury,  im- 
panelled -by  Mr.  Prince,  proceeded  to  the  duty  the  27th 
of  February,  and  reported :  "  Beginning  at  Sandwich, 
and  so  leaving  Goodman  Black's  house  on  the  right 
hand,  running  across  tlie  swamp,  over  the  river, 
and  so  on  a  nor-north-west  line  falling  upon  Eel 
River,"  &c. 

Captain  Standish  was  appointed  to  rectify  the  bounds 
between  Sandwich  and  Bamstable ;  and  an  order  was 
passed  by  the  court,  that  "  no  Indians  shall  carry  any 
burdens  on  the  Lord's  day." 

The  court  also,  in  December,  directed  tlie  several 
towns  to  send  deputies  to  meet  the  magistrates,  April 
1, 1653,  "  to  treat  and  conclude  on  such  military  affairs 
as,  through  God's  blessing,  may  probably  tend  to  our 
present  and  future  safety,"  in  conseqiience  of  vari- 
ances between  England  and  Holland.  Sandwich  sent 
James  Skiff;  Yarmouth,  Sergeant  Eider  and  John 
Gorham ;  Bamstable,  Lieutenant  Fuller  and  Sergeant 
Thomas  Hinckley ;  Eastham,  John  Doane  and  Richard 
Sparrow. 

This  was  the  year  of  the  first  coinage  of  money  in 
New  England ;  the  coins  were  issued  in  Massachusetts. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  207 

No  other  colony  ever  attempted  it,  altliougli  the 
Massachusetts  coins  —  shillings,  sixpences,  and  three- 
pennies —  with  the  impress  of  New  Eiu/hncl  on  the 
one  side  and  XII.,  VI.,  or  III.  on  the  other,  as  first 
struck,  and  afterwards  of  Massachuadts  and  a  tree  in 
the  centre  on  one  side  within  a  double  ring,  and 
New  England  and  the  pear  of  our  Lord  1652  on  the  other 
side  —  were  freely  circulated  every  where.  The  same 
date  was  continued  on  all  struck  for  thirty  years 
after.  A  great  amount  was  coined,  and  its  purity 
maintained.  To  the  mint  master  was  allowed  for  his 
services  fifteen  pence  out  of  every  twenty  shillings ; 
and  he  realized  a  large  fortune  from  so  advantageous  a 
contract. 

In  1653,  the  same  government  prevailed  as  in  the 
year  previous. 

The  court  having  passed  an  order  the  December 
previous  for  a  convention  of  military  men,  James 
Skifie  of  Sandwich,  Sergeant  Eider  and  John  Gorum 
of  Yarmouth,  Lieutenant  Fuller  and  Sergeant  Hinckley 
of  Barnstable,  and  John  Doane  and  Richard  Sparrow 
of  Eastham,  met  April  6,  at  Plymouth,  with  delegates 
from  the  other  towns  in  the  colony,  "  to  agree  on  mili- 
tary affairs ; "  and.  May  12,  sixty  men  were  ordered  by 
the  court  to  be  raised,  agreeably  to  a  requisition  from 
the  council  of  war.  Sandwich  was  to  furn^h  six,  Yar- 
mouth six,  Barnstable  six,  and  Eastham  three  of  the 
number.  Another  record  says,  "  Danger  being  appre- 
hended because  of  a  variance  between  England  and 
Holland,"  provision  was  made  for  "  the  raising  of  money, 
the  enlistment  of  soldiers,  the  procuring  of  arms,  pow- 
der and  balls,  and  for  a  military  watch  in  each  town." 
A  certain  portion  of  each  military  company  was  also 


vGooglc 


208  THE   HlSTOllY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

"  required  to  take  their  arais  with  them  to  meeting  on 
all  occasions  of  public  worship."^ 

Mr,  Leverich,  tlie  minister  of  Sandwich,  was  now  to 
come  in  for  a  share  of  the  special  attention  of  the 
court,  and  was  presented  "  for  exchanging  a  gun  with 
an  Indian;"  and  Mr.  Thomas  Tupper,  of  Sandwich, 
was  "  disallowed "  hy  the  court  from  solemnizing  mar- 
riages in  future,  "because  of  his  neglect  to  marry 
Edward  Perry."  Josias  Hallet  and  Thomas  Gage  also, 
living  in  the  toi\Ti3  below,  were  presented  "  for  profaning 
the  Lord's  day  by  putting  forth  to  sea  from  Sandwich 
harbor  on  the  Lord's  day,"  and  were  fined.  Nor  did 
the  difficulty  growing  out  of  the  neglect  of  Mr.  Tupper 
to  perfoim  the  marriage  ceremony  according  to  the 
form  approved,  end  -with  the  cashiering  of  him  as  the 
priest  of  such  solemnities;  for  at  a  subsequent  General 
Court-,  Perry  was  fined  five  pounds  for  refusing  to  have 
his  marriage  ratified  before  Mr.  Prince,  and  it  was  de- 
creed that  the  penalty  should  be  repeated  and  enforced 
at  eveiy  session  of  tlie  General  Court,  mitU  the  mar- 
riage should  be  thus  ratified  and  confirmed. 

The  colony,  and  especially  Barnstable,  now  sustained 
great  loss  in  the  decease  of  the  Rev.  John  Lothrop. 
He  died  this  year,  November  8,  greatly  lamented. 
Thus  early  began  to  fall  some  of  the  main  props  of  the 

^  A  singular  requisition  this  in  anticipation  of  foreign  invasion. 
The  practice  was  common  -whenever  difficulties  with  the  Indians  were 
apprehended,  as  McFingal  satirically  suggests:  — 

"  So  onee,  for  fear  of  Indian  beating. 
Our  grandairea  bore  their  guns  to  meeting ; 
Each  man  equipped  on  Sunday  morn 
With  psnlm-book,  shot,  and  powder-horn, 
And  looked,  in  form,  as  all  must  gFant, 
Like  th'  andent  true  church  miUlant, 
Or  fierce,  like  modern  deep  divines, 
Wlio  fight  witli  quills,  lilie  porcupineE." 


vGooglc 


ANKAI^   OF   BABNSTAELE   COUNTY.  ^09 

colony,  and  the  most  distinguislicii  of  the  pioneers  in 
the  settlement  of  the  towns  on  the  Cape/ 

In  1654,  nearly  the  same  government  existed,  and  in 
the  month  of  August,  new  deputies  were  called  for. 

A  vessel  belonging  to  Samuel  Mayo,  of  Barnstable, 
employed  in  conveying  the  goods  of  Rev.  Mr.  Leverich 
from  Sandwich  to  Oyster  Bay,  Long  Island,  was  seized  at 
Hampstead  harbor,  by  the  authorities  of  Rhode  Island. 
It  being  considered  a  high-handed  oilence  against  the 
dignity  of  Plymouth  Colony,  commissioners  were  sent 
to  Rhode  Island  to  look  into  the  matter.     The  act  was 

^  The  Rev.  JonN  LoTUUor  came  to  Boston,  from  England,  Sep- 
tember 18,  163i  or  1635.  He  had  been  educated  at  the  University 
of  Oxford,  and  settled  first  in  Kent,  in  the  established  church.  After 
leaving  Egerton  in  Kent,  1625,  he  succeeded  Eev,  Henry  Jacob,  as 
pastor  of  the  independent  church,  organized  1616,  in.  London,  and 
which  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  of  tliat  order  formed  in  England, 
and  whicli,  it  may  be  superfinous  to  add,  was  made  up  of  seceders 
from  the  Church  of  England.  It  is  stated  that  about  thirty  of  his  flock 
accompanied  him  to  this  country.  Going  from  Boston  to  Scituate 
soon  after  his  arrival,  he  was  there  chosen  pastor,  and  remained  four 
or  five  years,  until  his  removal  to  Barnstable.  He  was  undoubtedly 
a  man  of  learning,  and,  as  Neal  says  of  him,  "  of  a  meek  and  quiet 
spirit,"  He  brought  four  sons  with  him  from  England,  viz.,  Thomas, 
who  settled  in  Bamitable,  Samuel,  who  settled  at  Norwich,  Joseph, 
who  was  in  Barnstable,  and  Benjamin,  of  Charlestown.  He  had  also 
sons  bom  heie,  mz  ,  Barnabas  and  John,  who  remained  in  Barnstable. 
Prom  Thomas,  the  eldest,  it  is  s^d,  those  of  the  name  of  Lothrop 
in  Plymouth  County  trace  their  descent;  from  Samuel,  the  second 
son,  the  numerous  fimihes  in  Connecticut,  Sew  York,  and  Vermont, 
are  derived,  some  of  whom  write  their  names  Lathrop.  Those  in 
Essex  County  are  supposed  to  be  descendtints  of  Benjamin,  The 
posterity  of  Joseph,  Barnabas,  and  John  has  been  numerous  in  Barn- 
stable County.  Rev.  Dr.  Lothrop,  of  Boston,  published  a  memoir  of 
his  ancestor,  in  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections.  The  name 
ia  variously  written  in  the  old  records, 
VOL.  I.  27 


vGooglc 


210  THE   UlSTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

disclaimed  by  the  government  of  Kiiode  Island,  and  so 
the  affair  happily  terminated. 

A  road  from  Sandwich  to  Plymouth  was  ordered  to 
be  laid  out,  and  commissioners  were  appointed  for  the 
service  by  the  court  at  Plymouth ;  and  additional  men 
were  called  for  by  the  council  of  war,  of  which  four 
were  required  of  Sandwich,  four  of  Yarmouth,  five  of 
Barnstable,  and  three  of  Eastham. 

The  people  of  the  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Col- 
onies, it  is  alleged,  began  about  this  time  "  to  be  indif- 
ferent to  the  ministry,  and  to  exercise  their  own  gifts, 
doubting  the  utility  of  stated  preaching.  The  support 
of  ministers  being  cut  off,  many  left  the  colony.  Mr. 
Leverich,  of  Sandwich,  went  to  Long  Island.^  Tar- 
mouth  was  destitute.  In  Eastham  no  minister  was 
settled.  The  General  Court,  in  consequence  of  this 
state  of  things,  addressed  the  honorable  commissioners 
on  the  subject.  They  also  inveighed  strongly  against 
the  Quakers."  Wo  may  venture  here  to  remark,  that 
the  mere  "want  of  support"  in  a  pecuniary  sense,  was 
probably  not  the  only  reason  of  these  changes  among 
"  the  ministry."     Of  the  combination  of  causes  leading 

^  The  Eev.  William  Lkverich,  it  is  said  by  Farmer  and  otters, 
came  to  Salem,  in  the  ship  James,  October  10,  1633,  and  preached  at 
Dover  until  1635,  that  being  then  the  plantation  of  Lord  Say  and 
Seele.  His  support  being  insufficient,  he  removed  to  Boston,  where, 
August  9,  he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  first  and  only  cliurch 
then  there.  After  this,  he  assisted  Mr.  Partridge,  of  Dnxbury,  a 
short  time,  and  then  removed  to  Sandwich.  He  is  spoken  of  as  "  a 
man  of  great  piety  and  meekness."  He  wrote  his  name  as  above,  aa 
may  he  seen  by  autografiha,  and  as  also  appears  by  the  records  at 
Newtown,  Long  Island,  although,  in  the  books,  it  is  generally  written 
Leveridge.  He  graduated  at  Emanuel  College,  Cambridge,  England, 
A.  B.,  1625,  and  received  the  degree  A.  M.  1629.  Parmer  says,  "he 
graduated  1595  ;"  but  the  former  dates  are  supposed  to  be  correct. 


yGoogle 


ANKALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  211 

to  this,  the  reader  will  judge  for  himself  in  view  of  the 
facts  related. 

In  October  early,  the  3d  of  the  month, "  a  deputa- 
tion "  consisting  of  "  horse  and  foot,"  was  "  sent  with  a 
message  to  Ninigret,the  Niantick  sachem;"  and  to  make 
up  the  complement  of  soldiers  required  to  convey  that 
message,  four  were  exacted  of  Sandwich,  four  of  Yar- 
mouth, five  of  Barnstable,  and  four  of  Eastham. 

The  freemen  of  Sandwich, "  desiring  land  at  Mashpee 
Pond,  including  ten  acres  of  meadow ;  at  Satuit  Pond, 
one  hundred  acres;  a  neck  of  land  by  Cotuit  Eiver,  to 
keep  cattle ;  and  meadow  at  Mannamuch  Bay,"  the 
court  was  pleased  to  grant  their  request. 

In  1655,  the  government  of  the  colony  continued 
the  same.  There  was  now,  we  are  sorry  to  confess, 
already  begun  an  unhappy  course  of  intolerance  against 
the  people  called  Quakers,  The  colonists  were  willing 
that  a  spirit  of  which  they  once  complained,  whether 
justly  or  mijustly,  should  be  construed  into  a  right  of 
conscience,  and  its  exercise  by  themselves  regarded  as 
a  sacred  duty.  Not  the  least  deviation  must  be  allowed 
from  the  course  they  themselves  were  pleased  to  ad- 
judge to  be  orthodox. 

Greatly  is  it  to  be  lamented  that  the  sincerity  of  the 
professions  the  early  settlers  had  made  of  Christian 
liberty  and  charity  should  ever  have  been  tarnished 
by  a  course  of  conduct  so  opposite.  The  persecution 
of  this  people  originated  in,  and  was  chiefly  confined, 
for  a  time,  to  tho  Massachusetts  Colony;  and  there, 
in  fact,  was  ever  the  seat  of  its  chiefest  intensity.  We 
are  happy  in  the  belief  that  Cape  Cod  had  never  any 
share  voluntarily  in  these  proceedings.  All  the  doings 
of  the  Cape  towns,  as  such,  will  show  that  they  were 


vGooglc 


212  THE   HISTORY   01'    CAPE   COD. 

duly  respectful  of  the  rights  of  their  fellow-Christians. 
But  this  year  there  was  an  order  of  the  General  Court- 
that  "  no  Quaker  be  entertained  by  any  person  or  per- 
sons within  this  government,  under  penalty  of  five 
pounds  for  every  such  default,  or  he  whipped."  All  will 
now  concede  that  this  was  an  outrage  upon  humanity.' 
One  of  the  proscribed  was  Nicholas  Davis  of  Barnstar 
ble,  who,  with  others,  was  banished  from  the  Massachu- 
setts Colony  on  pain  of  death. 

Troops  of  horse  were  this  year  required  by  law,  and 
Sandwich  was  to  furnish  three  troopers,  with  horses  and 
equipments,  Plymouth  three,  Duxbury  two,  Scituate 
four,  Taunton  three,  Yarmouth  three,  Barnstable  three, 
Eastham  three,  &c.,  the  proportion  allotted  to  each,  no 
doubt,  showing  the  relative  importance  of  tlic  several 
towns  at  this  time. 

"An  epidemic,  similar  to  that  of  1647-8,  prevailed 
in  the  New  England  plantations  about  this  time,  and 
carried  off  many." 

The  order  of  Court  requiring  the  towns  to  procure  a 

^  The  true  principle  of  religious  toleration  was  not,  at  this  period, 
understood  or  practised  as  it  should  have  beeD.  It  was,  in  some 
measure,  the  dark  spot  of  fLe  age,  and  scarcely  any  people,  of  any 
denomination,  could  claim  to  be  absolutely  faultless  in  this  matter.  If 
the  Puritans  felt  that  they  had  cause  to  complain  of  the  Church  of 
England,  those  who  fell  under  the  proscription  of  the  powera  here 
existing  had  much  more  occasion  for  complaint.  In  Ehode  Island, 
Mainland,  and  Pennsylvania,  more  just  views  of  what  is  due  to  dif- 
ferences of  religious  opinion  seem  to  have  prevailed,  and,  in  truth,  a 
better  regard  also  to  the  rights  of  the  natives  of  the  soil,  than  in  any 
of  the  other  settlements  either  north  or  south.  Mary  Fisher,  who 
was  one  of  the  persecuted  Quakers,  had  proved  this  to  be  true  also  in 
regard  to  other  lands.  She  had  travelled  as  far  as  Adrianople,  where, 
coming  to  the  grand  vizier's  camp,  she  procured  a  man  to  go  and 
inform  the  Great  Turk  that  she  liad  a  message  from  God  to  him.  He 
permitted  her  to  be  introduced,  and  listened  to  her  message. 


vGooglc 


AJ1NAL8    OF   BAESSTABLE   COUNTY.  213 

book  for  record,  therein  to  record  "  every  parcel  or  par- 
cels of  land  any  man  Iiath,  and  is  now  possessed  of,  or 
shall  become  possessed  of,  said  land  to  be  piiblicly 
declared  in  town  meeting,  and  approved,  and  then 
recorded  in  the  town's  book,"  thus  assuring  to  the  pos- 
sessor his  claim,  the  record  to  be  "  a  sufficient  security 
to  claim,  hold,  and  retain  the  fuU  and  lawful  right,  title, 
and  interest  to  them,  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  of 
all  and  every  such  parcel  or  parcels  of  lands,"  led  to  a 
general  movement  in  this  matter  of  laying  out,  divid- 
ing, and  bounding  of  lands. 

Provision  was  made  for  the  erection  of  a  grinding 
mUl  in  Sandwich,  by  a  contract  with  Matthew  Allen,  on 
the  part  of  the  inhabitants ;  the  project  failing,  it  was 
again  renewed  the  same  year,  on  a  proposition  from 
Thomas  Dexter.  Whether  the  former  mill  mentioned 
was  merely  a  mill  for  "the  breaking  of  corn,"  or 
whether  this  was  a  second  mill  for  the  making  of  meal, 
does  not  clearly  appear,  —  probably  both  suppositions 
are  correct. 

This  year,  "  Masshantampaine  was  accused  "  of  sun- 
dry offences,  viz.,  1.  "  of  stealing  a  gim,"  which,  to  the 
honor  of  the  Indian,  we  are  glad  to  find,  proved  on 
inquiry  to  be  an  erroneous  charge  :  the  decision  of  the 
court  was  that  "  the  gun  was  his ; "  2.  that  his  "  dogs 
injure  the  cattle"  of  the  inhabitants  of  Yarmouth; 
and,  3.  that  he  had  "  in  his  possession  a  chest  of  tools : " 
—  on  the  last  two  charges  an  inquiry  was  ordered. 

A  controversy  having  arisen  between  Thomas  Birge 
of  Sandwich  and  the  town,  "about  the  right  to  her- 
rings taken  at  his  grounds  at  Mannomett,"  the  matter 
was  compromised  by  allowing  said  Birge  "  to  take  an- 
nually ten  thousand  herrings  for  his  own  use." 

Sandwich  was  presented  "for  not   being   provided 


vGooglc 


214  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAFE   COD. 

■witli  stocks  and  a  whipping  post ;  also  for  not  having  a 
full  complement  of  arms ; "  and  the  town  of  Eastham 
"was  presented  "  for  not  having  a  pound."  It  appearing 
to  the  court "  that  injury  had  been  done  by  horses  to 
the  Indians'  com  at  Mannomett,"  it  was  decreed,  "  that 
the  damage  said  Indians  received  must  be  paid,"  and 
Mr.  Freeman  was  authorized  to  "  require  the  matter  to 
be  properly  adjusted."  The  claims  for  wolves  destroyed 
this  year  were,  from  Sandwich  four,  Yarmouth  sis, 
Barnstable  nine,  and  Eastham  four. 

Without  referring  further  to  the  indictments  and 
penalties  for  what  was  denominated  "lascivious  con- 
duct," (which  were  confined  to  no  one  part  of  the  col- 
ony more  than  to  another,)  we  may  here  suggest 
whether  there  is  not  some  force  in  the  oft-remark, 
that  the  great  severity  of  laws,  and  the  rigid  construc- 
tion of  the  same,  may  tend  to  the  multiplication  of 
offences  and  to  the  contempt  of  an  espionage  naturally 
distasteful  to  all  possessed  of  a  particle  of  self-respect. 
The  restrictions  imposed  on  the  virtuous  intercourse  of 
the  young,  like  sumptuary  laws  and  extremely  strict 
and  doubtfully  rigid  measures  in  regard  to  total  absti- 
nence from  stimulating  drinks  and  tobacco,  may  pos- 
sibly, in  some  instances,  disparage  and  retard  the  refor- 
mation intended.  We  do  not  here  express  the  opinion 
that  such  is  the  effect,  but  wo  are  involuntarily  led  to 
reflect  upon  the  remark  to  which  we  have  referred. 


vGooglc 


ABNAI^  OP  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Lams  enacted.  —  Religious  Dissenaons  and  Insubordination.  —  Quaker 
Troubles.  —  Lands  at  Yarmouth,  Sandwieb,  Barnstable,  &c.  —  Oath  of  Fi- 
delity.—  Selectmen.  —  Settlement  at  Monamoyick.  —  Saoonnes-sit. — Indian 
Ckurcli  at  Mashpee.  —  Divers  Troubles,  Complaints,  and  Accusations. 

In  1656,  Mr.  Prince,  of  Eastham,  was  once  more 
asaiatant  to  Governor  Bradford.  Every  town  was  re- 
quired, by  order  of  Court,  to  "  cause  a  book  of  record 
to  be  kept  of  all  diviaiona  or  sales  of  land,  and  these 
lands  were  to  be  duly  bounded  to  prevent  disputes." 
It  was  also  "  ordered  that  card  playing  be  punished  by 
a  fine  of  fifty  shillings,  and  that  servants  or  children 
playing  at  cards,  dice,  or  other  unlawful  games,  be  cor- 
rected by  their  parents  or  masters  for  the  first  offence, 
and  for  the  second  be  publicly  whipped."  It  was  fur- 
ther enacted  that  "  vilifying  any  church  or  ordinance 
be  punished  by  a  fine  of  ten  shillings ;  profaning  the 
Lord's  day,  by  a  like  fine  or  public  whipping."  This 
last  order  included  the  neglect  to  attend  public  worship. 
It  was  also  "  ordered  that  no  Indian  shall  fire  a  gun  in 
the  night  nor  on  Lord's  days," 

The  colony  appears  at  this  period  to  be  entering 
upon  a  career  of  comparative  insubordination,  recrim- 
ination, and  trouble.  Unfortunately,  there  does  not 
exist  henceforward,  at  least  for  some  time,  that  general 
unanimity  and  submission  to  law,  that  good  neighbor- 
hood and  deference  to  authority,  which  have  heretofore 
characterized  the  community.  Religious  dissensions 
are   usually  prolific  of  extravagances  of  opinion  and 


vGooglc 


216  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

action ;  and  however  sucli  dissensions  may  at  first  be 
occasioned  by  erroneous  views  and  acts,  the  errors  and 
practices  condemned  are  generally  strengthened  by 
opposition,  especially  if  it  be  strenuously  and  severely 
exhibited.  Mr.  Leveridge,  whose  presentment  for  sell- 
ing a  gun  to  an  Indian,  in  exchange  for  some  commod- 
ity, and  who  had  retired  to  Long  Island,  has  before 
been  mentioned.  lie  was  now  fined  fifteen  pounds  for 
the  offence,  and  seems,  for  some  reason,  to  have  fallen 
in  a  degree  from  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was 
once  held ;  although,  after  leaving  the  colony,  he  evi- 
dently was  greatly  respected  and  valued  in  his  future 
labors.^ 

^  We  may  as  well  remark  here,  (for  we  can  do  it  in  this  place  with- 
out appearing  to  make  invidious  reference  to  any  individual  or  family 
in  particular)  that  as  often  as  is  convenient  we  shall  resume  famOy 
genealogies,  and  in  some  instances  attempt  brief  biographical  notices  ; 
and  that  there  are  a  few  su^estions  which  we  deem  it  not  irrelevant 
to  make  before  we  proceed  farther.  The  suggestions  are  these  :  That 
the  history  of  families  may  not  in  every  particular  instance,  i.  e,,  in 
every  link  of  the  chain,  exhibit  fully  the  mental,  moral,  or  physical 
trails  or  peculiarities,  the  talents,  tastes,  propensities,  tendencies, 
modes  of  thinking  and  acting,  or  forms  of  body  and  face,  of  ancestral 
descent;  indeed,  from  a  combination  of  causes,  it  is  often  far  other- 
wise ;  Btiil,  the  intellectual  and  other  qualities  of  a  parent  often,  nay, 
generally,  ay,  almost  invariably,  will  descend  in  some  measure 
through  an  extended  line  of  progeny,  if  such  there  be  ;  more  distinct- 
ly seen  in  here  and  there  a  link  to  which  is  transferred  the  very  image, 
intellectual,  moral,  and  physical,  of  some  progenitor.  Although  it 
would  be  too  much  to  assert  that  in  such  degree  the  transfer  is  univer- 
sal or  even  general,  marked  throughout  the  entire  line  of  descent  in 
unbroken  or  chiefly  uninterrupted  succession,  still  the  ti-aces  ai-e  re- 
mai-kably  distinct.  To  illustrate  :  where  an  ancestry  is  grovelling  and 
debased,  the  descendants  very  generally,  in  fact  almost  invariably, 
partake  of  the  infirmity  in  some  perceptible  degree  ;  their  minds  and 
persons  being,  as  it  were,  the  transfer  of  the  qualities  of  parentage. 
s  with  better  blood,  however  elevated,  entirely  eradicate 


yGoogle 


ASNALS   OF   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY.  ZU 

William   Nickerson,  of  Yarmouth,  whom  we    shall 
have  occasion  frequently  to  mention  in  connection  with 


the  prevailing  characteristics  for  many  generalions.     With,  indeed, 
perhaps  slight  and  occasional  variations,  the  same  general  chai-acter 
will  be  found  to  remain  enstamped  upon  generation  after  generation. 
The  shades  of  feeling,  the  phases  of  chai-acter,  the  predominant  tastes, 
the  sentimental  peculiarities,  the  passions,  are  reflected  and  peiputu- 
ated.     No  one  can,  with  close  and  tliorough  observation,  give  his  at- 
tention to  the  subject,  and  not  perceive  the  truth  of  this.     This  view 
is,  with  the  writer,  not  the  result  of  any  preconceived  or  prereceived 
theory,  but  the  forced  conviction  from  unavoidable  observation  in  the 
prosecution  of  genealogical  investigations  pursued  for  quite  another 
object.     He  confldeatly  believes  that  he  can  point,  for  example,  to 
families  who  for  nine  generations  were  never  known  to  perform  a 
truly  exalted,  noble,  or  generous  act;   and  liie  blood  to  this  day  for- 
bids the  expectation  or  hope  of  witnessing  such  an  exhibition  from 
such  a  source.     The  poison  has  continued  in  the  blood,  and,  however 
much  diluted,  has  polluted  the  stream.     Thank  God,  such  instances 
on  Cape  Cod  are  rare.     On  the  other  hand,  the  noble  qualities — the 
intellectual  of  high  order,  the  moral,  (to  say  nothing  of  the  physique,) 
although  they  may  not  be   so  prominently  and  almost  universally 
transmitted,  will  be  found  to  be  usually  transmitted  in  some  degree, 
^ving  a  certain  prominence  of  character  —  here  and  there  bui-sting 
out  and  shining  forth   with  the   original  brilliancy.      However  in 
consequence  of  the  crossings  being  unfavorable,  the  otherwise   pre- 
dominant highly  intellectual  and  moral  may  become  nearly  or  quite 
obliterated,  so  that  bi'anches  of  the  descent  may  show  little  or  no  sign 
of  the  origin  from  which  side  the  finer  qualities  might  have  been 
inherited  under  more  favorable  circumstances;   still,  other  branches 
will  have  preserved  those  noble  traits  ia  greater  measure,  and  now 
and  then  may  appear  the  very  features  both  of  face  and  intellect, — 
ay,  also  of  heart,  —  in  all  their  ancestral  grandeur.     Although  the 
development  may  have  overleaped  a  generation,  or  two,  or  more,  it 
breaks  forth — the  same    ennobling  virtues,  the  same   charms   and 
graces,  the  same  intellectual  powers ;  so  that  from  the  qualities  that 
hallow  the  memory  of  the   progenitor  may  be   clearly  traced  the 
present  development,  and  possibly  its  transmission  through  succeeding 
generations.     It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  the  transmission  of 
superiority,  whether  mental,  moral,  or  physical,  through  cliildren  and 

VOL.  I.  28 


/Google 


218  THE   HISTORY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

misunderstandings  between  him  and  the  government, 
was  now,  "  for  buying  lands  of  the  Indians  and  for  sell- 
ing to  them  a  boat,  disfranchised." 

children's  children   to  distant  generations,  is  often,  very  often,  to 
descendants  of  another  name  —  the  descent  being  the  blessing  con- 
ferred by  a  MOTHER.     In  all  this  we  mark  one  of  tliose  laws  of  Na- 
ture worthy  to  be  more  generally  understood  and  regai-ded.     It  is  not 
compatible  with  our  present  duty,  or  we  might  greatly  enlarge  on  this 
subject ;  for  who,  with  ibe  slightest  observation  and  inquiry,  has  not 
been  furnished  with  corroboration  of  much  that  we  might  say  showing 
how  forms  of  body  and  face,  mental  endowments,  moral  symmetry  or 
obliquity,  as  well  as  the  proclivity  to  disease  or  the  tendency  to 
longevity,  descend  from  one  generation  to  another.     Who  has  not  seen 
how  the  portrait  of  a  remote  ancestor  sometimes  appears  a  perfect 
fac-simile  of  some  descendant  of  the  present  generation !    Trace  back 
the  moral  and  intellectual  features  also,  there  is  the  same  counterpart 
—  the  resemblance  being  not  merely  manifest  but  wonderfully  striking. 
A  sensible  writer  has  said,  "  It  is  a  matter  of  curiou*,  and  even  phil- 
osophical, though  sometimes  of  painful  interest,  to  trace  the  vicissi- 
tudes especially  of  American  families.     One  generation  surrounded 
by  splendor,  station,  and  wealth  ;  the  next,  perhaps,  in  mean  employ- 
ments and  poverty-stricken;  the  next  emerging  from  such  position 
and  again  encompassing  the  high  places  of  society  —  sometimes  de- 
pressed without  fault  —  sometimes  elevated  without  worth  or  wisdom." 
Be  it  so  :   who  is  not  desirous  of  knowing  who  his  ancestors  were  ? 
The  interesting  memorials  of  an  age  already  sacred  are  rapidly  disap- 
pearing: whilst  any  traces  remain  flie  author  of  the  present  History 
would  preserve  them.     Said  Daniel  Webster,  "It  is  a  noble  faculty 
of  our  nature  which  enables  us  to  connect  our  thoughts,  our  sympa- 
thies, and  our  happiness,  with  what  is  distant  in  place  or  lime  ;  and, 
looking  before  and  after,  to  hold  communion  at  once  with  our  ances- 
tors and  our  posterity.     There  is  also  a  moral  and  philosophical  re- 
spect for  our  ancestors,  which  elevates  the  character  and  improves  the 
heart.     Next  to  the  sense  of  religions  duty  and  moi-al  feeling,  I  hardly 
know  what  should  bear  with  stronger  obligation  on  a  libera!  and 
enlightened  mind,  than  the  consciousness  of  alliance  with  excellence 
which  is  departed,  —  and  a  consciousness  too,  that  in  its  acts  and  con- 
duct, and  even  its  sentiments  and  thoughts,  it  may  be  actively  operat- 
ing on  the  happiness  of  those  that  come  after  it." 


vGooglc 


ANSAL3   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  Ai^ 

In  1657,  Mr.  Thomas  Prince,  of  Eastham,  was  elected 
Governor  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  —  an  office  which 

The  care  of  itie  ancient  Eomans  to  keep  ia  reraembvance  the  vir- 
tuous departed  lias  been  thus  described  by  Edward  Everett :  "  It  was 
tlie  custom  of  the  primitive  Romans  to  preserve  in  the  halls  of  their 
houses  the  images  of  all  the  illustrious  men  whom  their  families  had 
produced.  These  images  are  supposed  to  have  consisted  of  a  mask 
exactly  representing  the  countenance  of  each  deceased  individual, 
accompanied  with  habiliments  of  like  fashion  with  those  worn  in  his 
time,  and  with  the  armor,  badges,  and  insignia  of  bis  offices  and  ex- 
ploits ;  all  so  disposed  around  the  sides  of  the  hall  as  to  present  in  the 
attitude  of  living  men  the  long  succession  of  the  departed ;  and  thus 
to  set  before  the  Roman  citizen,  whenever  he  entered  or  left  the  hab- 
itation, the  venerable  ai-ray  of  ancestors  revived  ia  this  imposing 
similitude  Whenever,  by  a  deatli  in  the  family,  another  distinguished 
member  of  it  was  gathered  to  his  fathers,  the  ancestral  masks,  in- 
cluding that  of  the  newly  deceased,  were  fitted  upon  persons  selected 
in  size  in  leference  to  those  they  were  to  represent,  and  drawn  up  in 
solemn  aniy  to  follow  the  funeral  train  of  the  living  mourners,  first 
to  the  market-plaee,  where  the  public  eolo^ura  was  pronounced,  and 
then  to  the  tomb.  As  he  thus  moved  along  with  all  the  distinguished 
fathers  of  his  name,  resuscitated  in  the  lineaments  of  life,  and  quick- 
ening, as  it  were,  from  their  urns,  to  enkindle  hi^  emulation,  the  vir- 
tuous Roman  renewed  his  vows  of  pious  respect  to  their  memory  and 
his  resolution  to  imitate  the  fortitude,  the  frugality,  and  the  patrioiism 
of  the  great  heads  of  his  family."  Now,  no  such  strange  and  awful 
processions,  or  imposing  customs,  may  exist  among  ourselres ;  but 
may  it  not  be  well  that  our  progenitors  pass  before  us  in  other  forms? 
and,  though  we  may  not  gaze  with  awe  on  the  artificial  and  tlieatric 
images  of  their  features,  we  may  mark  their  several  names  and  posi- 
tions, contemplate  their  venerated  chai-acters,  call  to  mind  their  virtues, 
and  perpetuate  their  memory?  May  not  the  influence  be  salutary 
upon  children  and  children's  children  ?  If  in  the  long  ancestral  array 
appear  those  whose  services  and  whose  virtues  were  memorable,  is  it 
an  odious  thing  for  their  descendants  to  cherish  a  grateful  and  filial 
pride  in  the  review,  and  to  gather  therefrom  incentives  to  virtuous 
ambition  ?  And  is  there  not  force  in  the  remark  of  the  pious  Lever- 
ich,  the  first  minister  of  Sandwich  —  "He  who  does  not  think  of  his 
ajicestors  will  be  negligent  of  his  posterity?  " 


vGooglc 


220  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

he  had  held  twice  before,  previous  to  hia  removal  from 
Plyirioiith.  The  governor  was,  by  law,  expected  to 
reside  in  Plymouth ;  but  a  dispensation  was  granted 
by  the  Colonial  Court  in  his  favor,  and,  notwithstanding 
his  elevation,  he  continued  to  reside  on  the  Cape.  Gov- 
ernor Bradford  died  March  9.  The  indisposition  to 
accept  of  office  increasingly  pervaded  all  portions  of 
the  community ;  constables  elected  declining  to  serve 
were  ordered  to  be  fined  four  pounds  each.  This  office 
especially  was  one  coveted  by  few. 

The  spirit  of  intolerance  against  the  Quakers  seems 
now  to  have  become  somewhat  rife  in  this  colony,  aa 
well  as  in-Massachusetts.  Noiion  and  Rouse,  two  of  the 
sect,  were  imprisoned  by  the  court  at  Plymouth ;  and 
on  their  refusing  to  be  sworn,  were  publicly  whipped. 
For  this  unchristian  act,  the  officer  required  a  fee  ;  the 
outraged  men,  refusing  to  pay  for  the  lashes  they  had 
endured,  were  remanded  to  prison,  and  there  detained 
until  they  promised  to  leave  the  jurisdiction!  Still 
other  disfranchising  laws  were  passed  against  the  Qua- 
kers ;  and  it  was  ordered  that  "  no  public  meetings  but 
snch  as  the  government  shall  approve  shall  be  set  up." ' 
Such  were  the  proceedings  instituted  against  them  in 
this  colony.  Mr.  Baylies  suggests,  as  a  palliating  cir- 
cumstance, that  "  an  alarming  defect  of  reverence  and 
support  of  the  minlstiy  was  spreading  in  the  tow]i.s, 

1  Even  minisfers  of  the  prevailing  order  were  siibjoct  to  the  ap- 
proval or  disapproval  of  the  magistrates,  and,  thoHgli  (he  choice  of 
the  people,  might  be  silenced  at  the  will  of  the  magistracy.  Mr.  Mat- 
thews of  Yarmouth,  we  have  seen,  in  1650,  was  fined  £10  for  preaching 
without  the  allowance  of  the  magistrates.  Not  even  a  church  could 
be  gathered  without  the  magistrates'  consent ;  and  no  man  could  be 
in  the  full  extent  a  freeman,  unless  be  was  a  member  of  one  of  the 
churches  approbated. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUKTY.  221 

and  that  echisms  in  churches  were  not  imfrequent,  no 
less  than  five  promment  ministers  being  obliged  to 
separate  from  their  flocks  for  the  want  of  support ; 
many  persons  preferring  to  exercise  their  own  spiritual 
gifts." 

Complaint  was  made  to  the  General  Court  against 
divers  persons  in  Sandwich,  "  for  meeting  on  Lord's  days 
a.t  the  house  of  William  Allen,  and  inveighing  against 
ministers  and  magistrates,  to  the  dishonor  of  God  and 
the  contempt  of  government."  Jane,  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Sanndei^,  and  Sarah,  the  daughter  of  William 
Kerby,  complained  of  "  for  disturbance  of  public  wor- 
ship, and  for  abusing  the  minister"  were,  on  being 
summoned  to  court,  sentenced  to  be  "publicly  whipped," 
William  Allen,  William  Kerby,  and  the  wife  of  John 
Newland,  were  also  involved  in  these  difficulties ;  and 
to  Mr.  Newland  the  following  order  was  issued :  "  John 
Newland,  of  Sandwich :  The  court  being  infonaed  of 
a  meeting  that  hath  tended  to  the  disturbance  of  the 
public  worship  of  God,  which  said  meeting  hath  been 
kept  at  a  house  in  which  we  are  informed  you  have  an 
interest  —  these  are  to  require  you  that  you  suffer  no 
such  meeting  at  your  peril.  The  court  order,  per  me, 
Nathaniel   Morton,   Clerk  of    Court!'  ^      It  was  further 

1  We  certainly  Lave  no  wish  to  "inveigh"  against  ministers  or 
magistrates  of  the  early  days  of  our  colonial  history ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  sincerely  sorrowful  that  stem  justice  and  duty  require  us  to 
tell  the  whole  story  —  or  at  least  bo  much  of  it  as  exonerates  the  Cape. 
It  must  be  done.  The  explicit  exhihit  of  the  real  fact  is  neither  "  to 
the  dishonor  of  God,"  nor  prompted  by  any  "  contempt  of  govern- 
ment." Neither  have  we  the  remotest  desire  to  clear  the  Cape  by  the 
discredit  of  other  settlements.  If  the  Cape  has  been  fl-om  the  very 
first  distinguished  by  its  liberal  feeling,  its  sons  may,  and  surely  ought, 
to  claim  for  it  the  credit  Peculiar  circumstances  over  which  the  peo- 
ple at  large  had  no  control,  had  at  this  time  inti-odaced  a  sad  state  of 


vGooglc 


222 


THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


ordered  "  that  Nicholas  tJpsall,"  the  alleged  "  instiga- 
tor," of  all  this  mischief,  "  be  carried  oxit  of  the  gov- 
ernmeiit,  by  Tristum  Hull,  who  brought  him."  ^ 

thia^  and  involved  a  sad  necessity.  The  regular  ministry  at  Sand- 
wich had  been  interrupted  —  for  Mr.  Leverich  was  too  conscientiously 
humane  for  the  times,  and  had  been  virtually  banished.  Those  who 
had  supported  him  now  sought,  as  hest  they  might,  to  worship  quietly, 
if  not  in  the  former  place  of  public  worship,  in  private  houses.  But 
it  was  manifestly  most  difficult  to  do  or  say  any  thing  that  might  not 
be  regai'ded  constructively  "  contempt  of  government,"  a  "  disliii-bance 
of  public  woi-ship,"  or  "  abusing  the  minister  "  who  was  authorized  by 
government.  Evert  re/Vaj'nmj' from  doing  or  saying  —  simply  stay- 
ing aivay  from  the  worship  in  which  a  large  portion,  of  the  people 
could  no  longer  conscientiously  join,  was  visited  with  flues  from  which 
the  most  worthy,  peaceable,  and  influential  citizens  were  not  entirely 
exempt. 

^  This  was  indeed  a  pitiable  case.  Upsall  was  a  member  of  the 
Boston  church,  and  a  very  old  man.  Disapproving  of  the  "  Quaker 
persecution,"  he  had  been  arrested,  flned  £20,  and  banished  on  the 
charge  of  having  "  reproached  the  magistrates  and  spoken  against  the 
law."  Thus  banished  from  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  he  went  to 
Plymouth,  for  he  irtust  go  somewhere ;  but  there,  alas !  the  people 
were  forbidden  to  entertain  him ;  and  now,  his  extremity  having 
moved  the  compassion  of  a  Cape  man  transiently  in  Plymoutli,  the 
poor  wanderer  was  permitted  to  accompany  the  stranger,  at  least  as 
far  as  Sandwich,  on  his  return  home.  Here,  too,  he  seems  destined 
to  find  that  the  same  laws  are  every  where  operative.  However  hos- 
pitably inclined  are  the  people  oa  the  Cape,  the  commands  of*  the 
Plymouth  court  must  behonored,  or  those  disposed  to  pity  his  condi- 
tion must  abide  the  penalty  —  and  that  no  inconsiderable  sum  "for 
every  hour's  entertainment"  given  to  him.  The  hospitality  of  the 
Cape  was  not  denied  him,  for  sincere  compassion  prevailed  in  the  bo- 
soms of  mauy  over  the  fear  of  fines,  imprisonment,  disfranchisement, 
whipping,  or  banishment.  Stiil  there  is  a  law  which  is*  imperative, 
and  that  law  must  be  enforced  to  its  extent  or  Mr.  Hull  becomes  a 
ruined  man :  a  law  exposing  the  master  of  any  vessel  in  which  a 
Qiioker  arrives  (and  Upsall  is  now  technically  a  Quaker)  to  a  large 
fine,  and  requiring  him  to  give  bonds  with  sureties  to  carrj-  tlie  outlawed 
man  away  —  the  outlaw  to  be  committed  to  prison  until  the  vessel 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARKSTABLE   COUNTY.  223 

These  troubles,  as  will  be  seen,  were  not  here  to  end. 
Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  John  Newland,  was  now  sum- 
moned to  court,  Mr.  William  Newland,  a  prominent 
citizen,  was,  '*  for  encouraging  Thomas  Burges  "  to  let 
Christopher,  Holder,  a  Quaker,  occupy  his  house,  sen- 
tenced to  find ,  sureties  for  his  own  good  behavior. 
Ealph  Allen,  "  for  entertaining  such  men,  and  for  un- 
worthy speeches,"  was  also  arrested  and  laid  under 
bonds.  Henry  Saunders  was  arrested  and  committed. 
Edward  Dillingham  and  Ralph  Jones  were  also  arrested; 
Jones  was  fined,  and  Dillingham  was  admonished. 
Burges  expressed  his  sorrow  for  what  he  had  done,  and 
was  released. 

A  controversy  between  the  sachem  Yanno,  or  Janno, 
and  inhabitants  of  Yarmouth  about  lands,  which  the 
said  sachem  averred  he  never  sold,  engaged  the  atten- 

shali  be  ready  to  sail.  (Who  will  say  that  the  law  of  South  Carolina, 
in  force  against  vessels  coming  into  port  with  haniJs  who  are  men  of 
color,  is  without  precedent  ?)  Similar  were  the  requisitions  and  pen- 
aides,  whether  the  forbidden  be  "  brought  in  by  water  or  land  ;  "  and 
the  being  "  a  guide  to  him  or  otherwise,"  was  constructively  "  bringing 
him  in."  That  Upsall,  and  subsequently  Holder,  and  even  Wendlodt 
Christopherson,  or  otbers,  sought  refuge  on  the  Cape,  only  demon- 
strates the  fact  that  here,  more  than  elsewhere,  was  a  tendency  to  the 
exercise  of  humanity  —  the  law  of  kindness  and  a  sense  of  justice 
and  right  prevsuling.  And  if,  as  indeed  proved  the  result,  the  Qua- 
kers began  here  to  prevail,  where  before  was  no  parliality  for  the 
peculiarities  of  the  sect,  and  if,  ultimately,  the  sympathies  of  not  a 
few  of  those  formerly  the  stoutest  (.upporters  of  the  government,  and 
best  pioneers  of  the  colony,  became  enlisted  in  the  Quaker  interest,  it 
but  shows  the  correctness  of  that  axiom,  that  "  this  is  tbe  ordinary 
consequence  of  pity  and  compassion  for  tbe  sufferers."  That  has  in 
every  age  proved  a  misiaken  policy  that  attempts  to  enforce  by  stat- 
ntes  and  penalties  a  uniformity  of  religious  opinion,  and  that  cruelly 
punishes  those  who  appear  to  differ  in  doctrines  or  tenets  —  more 
especially  where  the  proscribed  are  not,  except  by  illiberal  construc- 
tion, disturbers  of  civil  peace  and  order. 


vGooglc 


224  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

tion  of  the  court ;  inquiry  was  ordered  to  be  made  and 
a  settlement  effected,  Mr.  John  Alden  and  Lieutenant 
Southworth  being  delegated  to  go  to  Barnstable  and 
Yarmouth,  for  the  purpose.  William  Nickereon  having 
"  petitioned  that  his  lands  at  Manamoiet  be  confirmed" 
to  him,  it  was  ordered  "  that  the  lands  be  viewed,  and 
that  he  have  a  competency  allowed  him,  the  rest  to  be 
resigned  by  him  to  the  government." 

In  1658,  Mr.  Prince  was  again  elected  governor,  and 
Mr.  Thomas  Hinckley,  of  Barnstable,  an  assistant'  It 
was  ordered  by  the  court  that  "  profaning  the  Lord's 
day  by  travel,  carrying  burdens,  &c.,  be  fined  twenty 
shillings,  or  punished  by  sitting  in  the  stocks  four 
hours."  Colonial  troops  were  established.  None  were 
to  vote  in  any  election,  or  to  fill  any  place  of  trust,  who 
did   not  take  the  oath  of  fidelity.^     Additional  laws 

1  It  falls  not  within  our  plan  to  mfntion  the  election  ol  n-sist  iiitt 
other  fhii  thoie  tlat  helon'el  m  thi^  c  unly  But  we  tike  plea^uie 
in  recording  tlie  fact  to  the  honoi  of  two  men  who  were  this  yeai 
dropped  fiom  the  Bojrd  of  Assistant*,  thit  they  weie  'omitted  he 
cause  of  their  oppoiitun  to  the  sevpre  proceedings  n^iinst  the 
Quakers  they  wetc.  Timothy  Hitheih  and  James  Cud  \oith 
And  jet  the  Plymouth  Ctlonywas  less  intolerant  than  the  Mas 
sachusefts 

^  See  this  oath  elsewhere  It  waf  m  ftet  i  rehgiou  tost  '  Hp 
that  did  not  conform  was  deputed  of  moie  civil  pinile^et,  ilnn  a  non 
conformist  was  deprived  of  in  the  old  country  The  t)  ikei  weie 
few  in  number,  anl  owe  then  increase  to  the  intokran  p  of  thp  lu 
thoritjes.  The  birth  and  quick  growth  of  a  neighboring  colony 
especially,  was  indebted  to  the  spirit  of  persecution  which  drove  those 
of  vai'ious  opinions  to  better  lands,  in  great  numbers.  "  When  a 
cottimonweahh,"  says  Cotton,  "hath  hberty  to  mould  its  own  frame, 
the  scripture  hath  given  full  direction  for  the  otdering  of  the  same, 
and  that  in  such  sort  as  may  best  miintain  the  euexia  of  the  cliurch." 
This  idea  and   that  of  those  doniinint  at  tins  i  criod,  v^'os,  that  "  the 


yGoogle 


ANNALS  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.         225 

against  the  Qualiers  were  enacted.  ^-  The  fanaticism  of 
a  new  sect,"  says  Mr,  Baylies,  "  is  always  an  overmatch 
for  one  that  has  been  cooled  and  tempered  by  time." 

A  great  earthc[iialte  in  New  England  was  noted  this 
year ;  and  the  first  instance  of  death  by  lightning 
within  the  colony  occnrred  at  Marshfield,  July  31. 
Mr.  William  Padoy,  "  sometime  treasurer  of  the  col- 
ony, and  a  deacon  of  the  church  at  Plymouth,  a  man 
of  large  estate,  of  great  influence  and  usefulness,  and 
of  mvich  piety,"  died,  and  was  buried  in  Boston,  whither 
he  had  removed  in  1651.  He  married  Alice,  daughter 
of  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  of  Sandwich,  in  1639,  and 
had  two  sous,  Thomas  and  Samuel. 

The  following  document  at  this  time  appears  on 
record ;  — 

"  A  writing  appointed  to  be  recorded  ;  Whereas  there 
hath  been  some  unhappy  differences  between  the  town 
of  Yarmouth  and  their  committees  concerning  some 
lands  which  they  apprehended  were  formerly  purchased 
of  Janno,  but  through  some  neglect  of  theirs  in  not 
paying  of  the  Indian  for  the  said  lands,  have  been  of 
late  denied  by  him  to  be  sold,  and  the  possessors  mo- 
lested :  Mr.  John  Alden  and  Capt.  Josias  Winslow 
being  ordered  by  the  court  to  hear,  and  if  it  might  be, 
determine  such  differences  as  were  either  between  the 
English  before  mentioned  or  between  the  committees 
and  the  Indian,  the  town  of  Yarmouth  having  made 
choice  of  Mr.  Edmund  Hawes,  Robert  Denis,  Ed. 
Sturgis,  and  Thomas  Boardman,  and  empowered  them 
to  manage  and  issue  their  aforesaid  differences,  there 


hangings  are  to  be  fashioned  to  the  house,  and  not  the  house  to  the 
hangings.  The  state  must  he  fashioned  to  the  setting  forth  of  Gtod's 
house,  which  is  his  church,  rather  than  aceoniinodate  the  church  frame 
to  the  dvil  estate." 

VOL.  L  29 


vGooglc 


226  Tim  IIISTOEY   OF  CAPE  coil. 

being  propositions  made  on  both  sides  tending  to  a 
composure,  yet  tliey  not  fully  closing  their  propositions, 
but  referring  it,  by  mutual  agreement,  to  the  abovesaid 
Mr.  John  Alden  and  Capt.  Josias  Winslow  as  umpires, 
to  determine  between  them  about  the  premises :  "We, 
the  abovesaid  John  Alden  and  Josias  Winalow,  do  de- 
termine as  foUoweth,  viz  :  That  the  charge  of  the  pur- 
chase, as  now  agreed  upon  between  us  and  Jano,  shall 
be  equally  borne  between  the  said  committees  and  the 
town ;  and  further,  that  the  other  six  pounds,  which  is 
charges  that  the  town  have  been  at  about  this  business, 
shall  be  four  pounds  of  it  borne  by  the  town,  and  by 
Mr.  Anthony  Thatcher  and  Mr.  Howes,  twenty  shillings 
apiece,  and  of  this  latter  six  pounds,  old  Mr.  Crow  to 
be  excused ;  and  that  this  be,  a  final  of  all  differences 
about  the  premises.  John  Alden, 

May  the  14th,  1658.  Josias  "Winslow." 

Another  document  is  as  follows: — "May,  Anno  Dom., 
1658.  *'"Witnesseth  tliese  presents,  that  Janno  hath,  the 
day  and  year  above  written,  for  and  in  consideration  of 
six  coats,  six  pairs  of  small  breeches,  ten  hoes,  ten 
hatchets,  two  brass  kettles,  the  one  of  six  spans  and 
the  other  of  seven,  of  Joanno's  aforesaid  spans,  and  one 
iron  kettle  of  six  spans,  to  be  paid  to  him,  Joanno,  or 
his  assignees,  the  one  half  moity,  by  the  first  of  Au- 
gust next  ensuing  the  date  hereof,  and  the  other  half 
moity  by  the  middle  of  May,  which  shall  be  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1659,  bargained,  sold,  and  confirmed 
unto  Mr.  John  Alden  and  Mr.  Josias  Winslow,  in  the 
behalf  of  the  townsmen  of  Yarmouth,  all  that  tract 
and  tracts  of  land,  both  upland  and  meadows,  lying 
and  being  between  the  Bass  Pond  Eiver  and  a  river 
called  by  an  Indian  name  Tamahappasuakou,  by  the 
English  the  Fresh  River,  and  so  along  that  river  to  the 


vGooglc 


ANNAI^  OF  BAEMSTABtE  COUNTY.  227 

great  swamp  at  the  head  thereof,  and  from  the  weat- 
ermost  end  of  the  said  ewamp  on  a  straight  line 
through  the  land  unto  Stoney  Cove  River,  with  all  the 
profits,  perquisites,  and  appertenances  thereunto  or  to 
any  part  or  parcel  thereof  in  any  wise  belonging,  to 
have  and  to  hold  the  said  tracts  of  land  to  the  town  of 
Yarmouth  forever,  and  to  defend  and  save  harmless 
from  time  to  time  the  said  townsmen  of  Yarmouth,  and 
every  of  them,  of  and  from  all  titles,  claims,  and  mol- 
estations which  shall  be  made  by  any  Indian  or  Indians 
to  the  said  tract  of  land,  or  any  part  or  parcel  of  the 
same,  at  any  time  hereafter.  In  testimony  whereof  the 
said  Joanno  hereunto  hath  set  his  marlc 

"  The  mark  +  of  the  said  Joanno. 
"  In  the  presence  of 

Thomas  Dexter, 

The  mark  of  hh  Josias,  an  Indian, 

The  mark  of  Nick,  X,  an  Indian." 

Mr.  Dillingham  and  Mr.  Dexter,  of  Sandwich,  were 
severally  complained  against  by  Peter,  a  Mashpee  In- 
dian, their  horses  having  eaten  his  com.  The  court, 
upon  a  hearing,  directed  that  satisfaction  be  made. 
Sampson,  the  son  of  Mashantampaine,  sachem,  charged 
with  "  falsely  accusing  Mr.  Prince,"  was  summoned  to 
court.  An  agreement  was  had  between  the  town  of 
Barnstable  and  Pampmunnuk  and  other  Indians  about 
certain  lands  purchased  in  1648,  as  will  appear  elsewhere. 
Leave  was  granted  to  Lieutenant  Joseph  Eogers  to 
have  meadows,  purchased  of  the  Potanmiiaqmdi  Indians, 
viz :  of  PoMPO,  the  proprietor,  and  Francis,  the  sachem  : 
one  portion  called  Aquaquesseit,  five  acres  ;  another  por- 
tion at  Matia^iessett,  one  and  a  half  acres. 

Peter   Gaunt,  Daniel  Wing,  Ralph  Allen,  Jr.,  and 


vGooglc 


228  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

William  Allen,  of  Sandwich,  arrested  "  for  tumultiious 
carriage^  at  a  meeting  of  Quakers,"^  were  convicted,  sev- 
erally admonished,  and  fined  twenty  shillings.     Lieut, 
Ellis,  Stephen  Wing,  and  Thomas  Butler,  also  convicted 
and  imprisoned,  were   released   on   paying   the    fees. 
Eohert  Harper,  Ralph  Allen,  Sr.,  John  Allen,  Thomas 
Greenfield,  Edward  Perry,  Eichard  Kerhy,  Jr.,  William 
Allen,  Thoijias  Ewer,  William   Gifford,  George  Allen, 
Matthew  Allen,  Daniel  Wing,  John  Jenkins,  and  George 
Webb,  all  of  Sandwich,  being  summoned  to  court  to 
give  a  reason  "  for  not  -taking  the  oath  of  fidelity  to 
the  government,"  professed  that  they  "  held  it  unlawful 
to  take  the  oath."     Thomas  Johnsqn  and  Mr.  William 
Newland,  also    summoned,  did   not   appear.      George 
Webb  "  engaged   to   depart  the   govenmient."     The 
others  were  all  fined.     William  Bassett,  the  constable, 
now  represented  that  he  was  opposed  in  the  execution 
of  his  office,  and  could  not  collect  tlie  rates  or  fines. 
So  general  had  become  the  disaffection  in  the  town  with 
governmental  affiiirs.     Even  a  very  large  proportion  of 
those   not  directly  implicated,  entirely  disapproved  of 
the  course  taken  with  their  fellow  townsmen.    The 
extraordinary  proceedings  of  the  government  had  al- 
ready enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  Quakers  numbers 
who  had  before  no  Quaker  affinities ;   and,  pursued, 
such  proceedings  seemed  destined  to  prodiTce  an  almost 
entire  revolution  in  the  religious  character  of  the  town. 
In  this  posture  of  affairs,  the  following  action  was  had 

'  "  Tumultuous  carriage ! "  A  vocabulary  suited  to  the  times  of 
wliieh  we  write,  were  necessary  to  appreciate  undei'standingly  the 
comprehensive  character  of  this  and  similar  charges. 

"  "There  is  no  evidence  that  a  single  Quaker  was  present  INone 
of  the  persons  mentioned  in  all  this  paragraph  were  professed  Qua- 
kers at  the  time,  though  several  of  them  afterwards  became  such." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COtFNTY.  229 

by  the  General  Court:  "Whereas,  in  regard  to  the 
more  than  ordinary  occasion  that  frequently  falls  out 
in  the  town  of  Sandwich,  so  that  the  constable  is  not 
able  to  discharge  his  duty,  by  reason  of  many  disturb- 
ent  persons  there  residing :  Therefore  be  it  enacted 
that  a  marshal  be  chosen  for  such  service  in  Sandwich, 
Barnstable,  and  Yarmouth."  ^ 

Under  the  law  now  prohibiting  the  frequenting  of 
Quaker  meetings,  William  Allen  was  fined  forty  shil- 
lings "  for  permitting  a  meeting  at  his  house."  Lieuten- 
ant Fuller  of  Barnstable,  "  for  speaking  reproachfiilly  of 
the  court,  and  saying  the  law  enacted  about  minister's 
maintenance  was  a  wicked  and  devilish  law,  and  that 
the  devil  sat  at  the  stem  when  the  law  was  enacted," 
was  fined  fifty  shillings. 

And  now,  Oct  2,  after  the  following  preamble, 
viz. :  ''  The  court  having  taken  into  serious  consid- 
eration some  signs  of  God's  displeasure  manifested  by 
his  affhcting  hand  on  the  country,  —  partly  by  his  vis- 
itation of  many  families  and  persons  with  sickness  and 
weakness,  and  partly  by  the  unseasonableness  of  the 
weather  for  the  ingathering  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth 
for  our  own  food,  and  stover  for  otir  cattle  ;  as  also  by 
letting  loose  as  a  scourge  upon  us  those /ree^^Vw/  gangrene 
Wee  doctrines,  and  fersom  commonly  called  Quakers,  and 
not  hitherto  so  effectually  blessing  our  endeavors  as 
we  have  desired  for  preventing  their  infection  and  dis- 
turbance ;  as  also  by  the  too  much  prevailing  of  a  spirit 
of  division  and  disunion  both  in  church  and  civil  affairs, 
to  the  great  dishonor  of  God  and  discomfort  one  of 

1  Some  have  it  that  the  office  of  marshal  was  similar  in  dignity  in 
the  colony  to  that  of  United  States  marshal  now ;  but  it  will  he  seen 
this  was  an  office  of  limited  jurisdiction,  and  created  for  an  especial 
occasion.     Lieut.  Samuel  Nash  was  chief  marshal. 


yGoogle 


230  THE   HISTORY    OF   GAPE   COD. 

another," — an  order  was  issued  for  a  fast  to  be  observed 
throughout  the  colony. 

Again,  the  difficulties  existing  at  Sandwich  being  in 
hand,  the  following  orders  appear  :  — 

"  Whereas,  the  Grovernor,  Mr.  Thomas  Prence,  with 
some  other  of  the  magistrates,  were  appointed,  and  with 
full  power  authorized,  by  the  court  held  at  Plymouth 
in  June,  to  make  inquiry  into  and  redress  sundry  griev- 
ances lying  upon  suxidry  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
Sandwich  expressed  in  a  petition  for  that  end  unto  the 
Court,  under  the  hands  of  sundry  of  them ;  the  inhab- 
itants therefore  being  assembled  together  August  2T, 
1658,  and  the  matter  being  inquired  into  by  the  Gov, 
with  the  rest  as  aforesaid,  and  finding  sundry  of  the 
inhabitants  assuming  power  to  act  wherein  they  have 
no  right  so  to  do  by  reason  of  their  non-legal  admit- 
tance as  inhabitants  according  to  order  bearing  date 
the  third  of  October,  1639,  viz. :  Ealph  Allen,  Scni'r, 
Thomas  Ewer,  Thomas  Greenfield,  Eichard  Kerby,  Jun., 
Henry  Saimders,  Matthew  Allen,  John  Jenkins,  Daniel 
Wing,  Stephen  Wing :  therefore  ordered,  that  those 
men  aforesaid,  and  every  of  them,  shall  henceforth 
have  no  power  to  act  in  any  to^^Ti  meeting  till  better 
evidence  appear  of  their  legal  admittance ;  nor  to 
claim  title  or  interest  to  any  town  privileges  as  town's 
men,  according  to  the  court  orders  aforesaid;  this 
order  also  to  take  hold  of  any  others  besides,  who  shall 
appear  to  have  no  legal  admittance  as  aforesaid. 

"And  for  the  better  carrying  on  of  affairs  among 
them  to  the  end  of  the  court's  granting  the  plantation, 
it  is  therefore  ordered  that  no  man  shall  henceforth  be 
admitted  an  inhabitant  of  Sandwich  or  enjoy  the  priv- 
ileges thereof,  without  the  approbation  of  the  church 
and  Mr.  Tho.  Prince,  or  of  tlie  assistants  whom  they 


vGooglc 


ANNALa   OF   BAEMaTAEIZG   COTINTY.  231 

shall  choose ;  according  and  to  the  same  effect  as  is 
expressed  in  the  aforesaid  orders  of  the  court,  bearing 
date  the  third  of  October,  1639." 

Moreover,    at    this    court    Hobert    Harper,    Ralph 
Allen,  Sr.,  John  Allen,  Ed.  Perry,  Richard  Kerby,  Jr., 
William  Allen,  Thomas   Ewer,  WilMam  Gifford,  Math- 
ew  Allen,  Daniel  Wing,  and  John  Jenkins,  of  Sand- 
wich, for  refusing  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity,  were 
fined  each  of  them  five  pounds  to  the  colony's  use. 
And  now,  at  the  December  term,  the  marshal,  George 
Barlow,  of  Sandwich,  is  found  in  trouble  by  opposition 
made  to  his    official  course :    and    the    court    ordered 
Mr.   Willi-am   Newland   to    "bring    or    cause    to    be 
brought  his  two  daughters  to  the  court  to  be  holden  in 
Plymouth  the  1st  Tuesday  of  March  next,  to  answer 
for  their  abusing  the  marshal  in  the  execution  of  his 
office."     The  following  order  was  also  issued  to  the 
marshal :     "  Whereas  it  is   observed,  that  frequently 
divers  of  those  called  Quakers  have  repaired  to  Sand- 
wich from  other  places  by  sea,  coming  in  at  Mannomett 
with  a  boat,  which  practices,  if  continued,  the  court 
conceiveth  may  prove  a  dangerous  consequence,  the 
court  doth  impower  and  authorise  you,  George  Bar- 
low, marshal  of  Sandwich,  &c.,  that  in  case  you  shall 
have  any  intelligence  of  the  a:rrival  of  any  of  those 
called  Quakers  at  Mannomett  or  any  place  adjacent 
upon  the  coast  within  our  jurisdiction,  that  you  forth- 
with repair  to  such  boats,  requiring  competent  aid  to 
go  with  you,  and  arrest  any  such  boat  or  boats,  taking 
their  sails  and  masts  from  them,  and  securing  them 
until  some  of  the  magistrates  be  acquainted  therewith, 
and  further  orders  ■  be  given  you  about  the  same ;  and 
likewise   that  you  apprehend  the  bodies  of  all  such 
Quakers  as  shall  come  in  any  such  boats,  or  any  other 


vGooglc 


232  THE   HISTORY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

Quakers  you  shall  there  and  then  find,  and  proceed 
with  them  as  effectually  as  if  you  found  them  within 
the  bounds  of  Sandwich  or  any  other  town  within  your 
libertiea."  It  was  also  resolved  "  that  a  summons  he 
sent  for  James  Skiff  to  answer  to  such  things  as  shall 
be  objected  against  him  in  regard  to  traducing  the  law 
about  refusing  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity." 

In  1659,  Mr.  Prince  was  again  governor,  and  Mr. 
Hinckley,  of  Barnstable,  assistant 

On  the  8th  of  May,  five  men  and  one  woman,  be- 
longing to  the  sect  of  Friends,  were  sentenced  at  Plym- 
outh under  a  previous  order  of  court  to  depart  out 
of  the  jurisdiction  by  the  8th  of  June  on  pain  of  death ! 
Though,  as  we  have  before  suggested,  they  were  treat- 
ed with  more  consideration  in  the  Plymouth  Colony 
than  in  the  Massachusetts,  we  are  bound  in  faithfulness 
to  record  the  above  and  preceding  facts  in  regard  to 
the  course  pursued  against  this  people.  We  sincerely 
wish  we  had  no  occasion  to  pursue  this  painful  subject 
further,  and  have  been  strongly  tempted  not  to  refer 
again  to  it.  But  the  only  excuse  for  such  omission 
that  we  could  possibly  frame  would  be,  that  the  severe 
enactments  that  were  made  from  time  to  time  do  in  an 
important  sense  form  no  part  of  the  history  of  the 
Cape.  Such  apology,  however,  would  not  avail  us ; 
for,  were  it  not  the  fact  that  several  of  the  most  prom- 
inent men  in  the  government  were  from  the  Cape,  still 
we  are  necessitated  to  refer  to  important  events  as 
they  occurred  —  so  far  at  least  as  to  show  what  laws 
were  extended  over  us.  The  voluntary  action  of  these 
several  towns,  we  may  most  confidently  assert,  will 
speak  for  itself  and  show  that  here  Christian  charity 
and  humanity  generally  prevailed  ;  and  that  the    outr 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


233 


side  influence  tlmt  attempted  tlie  enforcement  of 
certain  laws  not  approved  by  a  great  majority 
of  the  people,  was  not  sustained  by  public  senti- 
ment^ 

Before  we  proceed  farther,  it  may  be  proper  to  say, 
(what,  indeed,  common  justice  requires,)  since  the 
Friends  are  of  necessity  so  particularly  and  often  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  treatment  at  which  the  mind 
now   recoils,  and    since    Mr.  Secretary  Morton,  in  his 

^  Witness  tte  fict  in  the  Aonala  of  the  Towns,  that  the  Fnpnds 
were  ^ener^lly  exempted  from  thp  jiyment  of  rates  for  ministeml 
Buppoit  and  were  often  elected  to  impoitant  oiB  es  The  fact  alw 
that  tl  p  execution  of  oppreiiive  laws  was  with  great  difficulty  en 
forced  11  d  that  ko  many  especially  m  Sandwich  who've  lympathies 
at  the  hr  t  weie  not  paiticukrly  with  the  tenets  of  tl  e  Quaker-  be 
came  mvolvel  m  these  ti'msactions  tells  whit  wia  the  pievailing 
sentiment  and  '■peaks  well  for  the  estimation  in  which  the  Quakers 
resident  heie  were  held  They  were  in  truth  ever  imong  oui  best 
and  most  esteemed  citizens  benevolent  and  kmd  puie  in  morals 
peaceable  in  their  demeaioi   and  most  de  eivedly  hfooied 

We  ought  not  to  omit  the  mention  that  there  were  redeeming  traits 
worthy  of  note  in  regard  to  the  furious  intolerance  displayed  gainst 
the  Quakers  in  other  parts  of  the  colony.  All  were  not  approving 
the  course  pursued,  although  their  remonstrances  and  opposition  made 
themselves  personally  so  unpopular  that  they,  in  turn,  became  virtu- 
ally co-sufferers  with  the  objects  of  their  humanity  —  being  suspected, 
avoided,  omitted  from  positions  of  public  trust,  not  allowed  to  hold 
office,  and,  in  fine,  disfranchised.  Mr.  James  Skifp,  the  deputy  from 
Sandwich,  rejected  by  the  General  Court  on  account  of  his  toleration, 
and  others  in  this  part  of  the  colony  with  whom  the  public  proceed- 
ings found  little  favor,  were  not  left  alone  to  experience  the  penalty 
of  their  liberality.  1saa.c  Robinson,  the  son  of  the  celebrated  Ley- 
den  pastor,  was  not  only  dismissed  from  civil  employment  therefor, 
but  his  name  was  stricken  from  the  list  of  freemen,  his  course  exposed 
to  much  censure,  and  his  person  to  some  indignity;  causing  him  to 
take  np  his  residence  on  the  Cape  among  more  congenial  spirits.  Mr, 
CuDWORTH  and  some  other  prominent  men  belong  to  the  same  cat- 
egory of  proscribed  citizens. 

Toi.  I.  80 


yGoogle 


234  THE   HISTOllY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

account  of  those  transactions,  has  called  them  "  a  per- 
nicious sect"  that  "sowed  their  corrupt  and  damnable 
doctrines  in  almost  every  town,"  that  (whether  they 
advanced  certain  sentimcnte  then  imputed  to  them,  or 
did  not,  —  which  we  can  neither  deny  or  affirm}  their 
"Vindication,"  published  at  a  later  period,  declares, 
"We  believe  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments to  he  of  divine  origin,  and  give  full  credit  to 
the  historical  facts,  as  well  as  to  the  doctrines  therein 
delivered,  and  never  had  any  doubt  of  the  truth  of  the 
actual  birth,  life,  sufferings,  resurrection,  and  ascension 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  as  related  by  the 
evangelists ;  without  any  mental  or  other  reserve,  or 
the  least  diminution  by  allegorical  explanation."  This 
is  entirely  opposed  to  some  errors  in  doctrine  imputed 
to  them  in  the  early  state  of  the  colony.  We  certainly 
have  never  known  or  found  in  their  writings  any  thing 
at  all  tending,  as  if  by  design,  "  to  gross  blasphemy  or 
atheism."  Even  Dr.  Cotton  Mather  was  constrained  to 
say,  in  regard  to  the  persecution  of  them,  "  If  any  man 
will  appear  in  vindication  of  it,  let  him  do  as  he  pleases ; 
for  my  part  I  will  not." 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that,  although  dis- 
tinguished in  later  times  for  a  peaceful  and  quiet  spirit, 
this  sect  did  at  that  time  exhibit  too  much  of  the  usual 
zeal  of  new  converts  for  new  creeds.  Determined  that 
thdr  "  light "  should  be  comprehended  by  "  darkness," 
their  language  was  too  often  that  of  severe  reproach 
and  most  bitter  denunciation.  Perhaps  it  would  have 
been  more  in  their  usually  mild  terms  of  persuasion,  had 
they  been  less  persecuted.  Governor  Prince,  it  is  true, 
could  hardly  be  expected  to  allow  himself  to  be  called 
"  a  liar  "  and  "  a  malicious  man  "  while  in  the  very  exer- 
cise of  his  high  authority  and  presiding  in  court,  without 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BABNSTABLE   COUNTY.  265 

an  effort  to  check  the  contempt.^     Contempt  of  court 
has   ever  been   deemed  a  high   offence.      Fortunate, 

^  The  demeanor  of  some  was,  without  conlradictioii,  most  iiudacious 
and  provoking.      Norton,  for  instance,  in  the  General  Court,  used 
towards  the  governor  most  insulting  language — "Thomas,  thou  liest; 
Prince,  thou  art  a  malicious  man."      Oa   another  occasion,  "Thy 
clamoi-oua  tongue  I  regai-d  no  more  than  the  dust  under  my  feet. 
Thou  art  like  a  scolding  woman-"     Again,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
governor,  he  says,   "  Thomas    Prince,  thou  liast  bent  thy  heart   to 
work  wickedness,  and  with  thy  tongue  thou  hast  set  forth  deceit. 
Thou  imaginest  mischief  upon  thy  bed,  and  hatchest  thy  hatred  in  thy 
secret  chamber ;  the  strength  of  darkness  is  over  thee,  and  a  malicious 
mouth  hast  thou  opened  against  God  and  his  anointed,  and  with  thy 
tongue  and  lips  hast  thou  utt«red  perverse  things.     Thou  hast  slan- 
dered the  innocent  by  railing,  lying,  and  felse  accusations,  and  with 
thy  barbarous  heart  hast  thou  caused  their  blood  to  be  shed.  .  .  .  John 
Aldeu  is  to  thee  like  unfo  a  pack-horse  upon  which  thou  layest  thy 
beastly  bag.     Cursed  are  all  they  that  have  a  hand  therein.     The  cry 
of  vengeance  will  pursue  thee  day  and  night.  .   .    .    The  anguish  and 
pmn  that  will  enter  thy  veins  will  be  like  gnawing  worms  lodging 
betwixt  thy  heart  and  liver.     When  these  things  come  upon  thee,  and 
thy  back  is  bowed  down  with  pain,  in  that  day  and  hour  thou  shalt 
know  to  thy  grief  that  prophets  of  the  Lord  God  are  we,  and  the  God 
of  vengeance  is  our  God."     This  is  but  a  specimen  of  the  abusive  lan- 
guage held  towards  the  magistrates.     It  is  clear  that  at  the  present 
day  none  of  the  highly  respectable  society  of  the  Fiierids  would 
justify  or  countenance  such  opprobrious  language ;  nor  would  any  of 
the  other  sects  justify  the  measures  pursued  by  the  magistrates ;  for 
Christian  charity  and  brotherly  love  have  sacceeded  to  misapprehension 
and  aspersion,     Mr.  Baylies  suggests  as  a  further  palliation  of  the 
course  of  the  Puritans,  that  "  those  persons  holding  this  language  were 
not  inhabitants,  but  invaders  of  the  peace  of  a  colony  by  coming  from 
abroad  to  wage  a  war  s^inst  the  religion  for  which  the  Puritans 
believed  themselves  to  have  suffered  much,  and  which  was  on  this 
account  the  more  endeared  to  them.     Their  laws,  their  government, 
their  worship,  were  all  denounced  in  no  very  civil  terms,  by  strangers ; 
their  ministers  and  magistrates  were  reviled.     To  be  csdled  a 'liar,' 
while  in  the  very  exercise  of  his  authority,  presiding  in  court,  was  a 
contempt  which,  by  any  governor  or  magistr.ife,  would  be  deemed 
a  punishable  offence  even  at  (he  present  day," 


vGooglc 


23G  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

indeed,  would  it  have  been,  if  the  hand  of  power  had 
been  laid  more  gently  on  the  offenders ;  and  if  it  had 
been  deemed  consistent  with  the  ends  of  justice  that 
they  should  pass  without  injury,  as  was  permitted  by 
the  Pope  of  Eome  to  the  Quaker  who  {in  an  effer- 
vescence of  insanity,  as  the  pope  believed)  had,  even 
within  the  walls  of  the  Vatican,  denounced  him  as 
"antichrist"  and  as  "the  man  of  sin."  After  King 
Charles  forbade  further  persecution  of  the  Quakers,  and 
the  most  obnoxious  laws  were  repealed  in  Plymouth 
colony,  we  are  told  the  Quakers  became  "  the  most 
peaceful,  industrious,  and  moral  of  all  the  religious 
sects."  Such  was  the  immediate  result  of  their  being 
unmolested  by  penal  laws. 

The  court  this  year  commended  such  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Yarmouth  as  were  prompt  to  discharge  their 
duties  for  the  encouragement  and  support  of  the  zninis- 
try,  but  censured  the  neglect  of  others  and  directed 
town  meetings  to  be  held  to  raise  forty  or  fifty 
pounds ;  the  levy  to  be  made  annually,  —  A  law  was 
enacted  providing  that  "  all  Quakers  and  cncouragers  of 
them,  aU  persons  convicted  of  speaking  contemptuously 
of  laws,  and  such  as  are  grossly  scandalous,  as  liars,  drunk- 
ards, swearers,  &c.,  shall  lose  their  freedom."  — Again,  the 
marshal  at  Sandwich  who  was  opposed  in  the  execution 
of  his  office,  having  called  on  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman, 
late  assistant^  for  aid,  and  this  having  been  refused, 
Mr.  Freeman  was  fined  ten  shillings.  Thomas  Burges, 
Jr.,  suffered  the  same  penalty.  Edward  Perry  and 
Stephen  Wing,  charged  with  "  abusive  speech  "  towards 
the  marshal,  were  fined  twenty  shillings  each ;  as  was 
also  William  G-ifTord  "  for  affront."  And  in  October,  the 
following  order  was  passed  in  General  Court :  "  Foras- 


vGooglc 


AN:N;iLS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  237 

much  as  this  court  findeth  that  our  people  of  Sandwich 
called  QuoJiers  have  had  by  them  many  papers  and 
writings  that  are  both  false,  scandalous,  and  pernicious 
to  the  government,  these  are,  therefore,  in  the  name  of 
the  state  of  England,  to  require  George  Barlow,  marshal 
of  Sandwich,  to  take  with  him  a  man  or  two,  and  repair 
to  the  house  of  Wni.  Newland  and  Ealph  Allen  of  Sand- 
wich, and  Nicholas  Davis  of  Barnstable,  to  make  search 
in  any  part  of  their  houses,  or  in  any  chests  or  trunks  of 
the  abovesaid,  or  elsewhere,  for  any  such  papers  or 
writings,  and  to  return  such  as  they  shall  so  find,  either 
to  the  court,  or  to  the  governor,  or  some  of  the  assist- 
ants." Moreover,  Thomas  Ewer,  "  for  his  tumultuous 
and  seditious  carriages,  and  speeches  in  court,"  was  sen- 
tenced by  the  court  "  to  lie  neck  and  heels  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  court."  It  appearing  that  the  said  Ewer 
.was  "an  infirm  man,"  the  matter  was  to  be  compromised 
"  if  he  will  be  rid  out  of  the  colony.*' 

Liberty  having  been  granted,  in  June  last,  to  Mr. 
Thomas  Hinckley,  Henry  Cobb,  Samuel  Hinckley,  John 
Jenkins,  and  Nathaniel  Bacon,  to  view  and  purchase  a 
tract  of  laud  at  Saconessett,  Mr.  Thomas  Hinckley  and 
Richard  Bourne  were  now  appointed  to  arrange  with 
the  Indians  for  the  same.  William  Nickerson  was  allowed 
his  lands. 

In  1660  Governor  Prince  and  Mr,  Hinckley  were 
again  in  office.  A  tract  of  land  —  ten  thousand  five 
hundred  acres  —  was  set  apart  by  the  General  Court  for 
the  exclusive  use  of  the  Indians  of  Mashpee.  A  grant 
and  deed  of  this  plantation  was  obtained  for  the  purpose, 
through  the  influence  of  Mr,  Ed.  Bourne  of  Sandwich. 

The  council  of  war  ordered  that  during  any  appear- 
ance of  danger,  a  miHtary  watch  be  kept  in  every 


vGooglc 


238  THE   illBTOIlY    OF    CAl'E   COD. 

town ;  the  Dutch  and  French  to  bo  regarded  as  com- 
mon enemies.  It  was  also  ordered  by  the  court,  that 
no  foreign  Indians  shall  be  allowed  to  come  to  another 
tribe's  plantation. 

The  colony  does  not  appear  to  have  had  much  ex- 
perience hitherto  in  the  evils  of  party  contest  at 
elections;  for,  at  this  time,  the  court  "noticing  that 
many  do  not  appear  at  elections,"  either  in  person  or 
by  proxy,  ordered  that  absentees  be  fined,  unless 
some  unavoidable  impediment  hinder  their  appearance. 
Whatever  restrictions  were  imposed  from  time  to  time, 
it  appeal's  ever  to  have  been  conceded  as  the  theory  of 
our  constitution  now  indicates,  that  the  people  are  sup- 
posed to  be  wise  enough  to  choose  their  own  rulers, 
legislators,  and  statesmen.  The  selections  made  in 
early  times  were  generally  judicious.  None  aspiring 
to  office,  the  best  men  were  proposed ;  and,  however 
reluctant  they  might  be,  they  were  expected,  ay, 
required,  as  we  have  seen,  to  serve.  At  the  time  of 
oxir  present  writing,  so  progressive  is  the  age,  it  is 
claimed  that  the  people  are  not  only  wise  enough  to 
elect,  but  every  one  is  competent  also  to  be  a  legislator 
and  statesman.  Even  the  outcasts  from  foreign  lands, 
as  well  as  the  respectable  because  moral  and  intelligent, 
are  quickly  enrolled  side  by  side  with  the  best  informed 
and  wisest  —  possessed  of  equal  rights  to  control  the 
destinies  of  the  nation  —  fit  dupes  often  for  the  party 
demagogue,  whilst,  it  may  be,  the  wisest,  the  best,  and 
those  who  really  have  the  greatest  stake  in  society, 
though  descended  from  men  who  through  successive 
generations  were  pillars  of  state,  are  virtually,  in  a 
great  measure,  excluded  from  office  —  then- very  superi- 
ority of  intellect,  erudition,  statesmanship,  and  moral 
culture  operating,  because  of  low  prejudice  or  envy,  as 
a  disfranchisement. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.         239 

The  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  recom- 
mended to  the  several  General  Courts  to  regulate  the 
mackerel  fishery ;  "  conceiving  fhai  fish  to  be  the  most 
staple  commodity  of  the  country."  Few,  who  have  not 
investigated  the  subject,  have  at  the  present  day  an 
adequate  conception  of  the  importance  of  this  branch 
of  productive  industry. 

A  parcel  of  meadow  "  formerly  mowed  by  Mr.  Lever- 
ich,  the  minister,  and  therefore  called  his  land,  at  Man- 
nomett,"  was  granted  by  the  court  to  Thomas  Burges, 
Sr,  Myles  Black  had  also  a  grant  of  land  at  Manno- 
mett.  It  was  also  ordered,  "concerning  the  lands 
granted  to  the  inhabitants  of  Eastham,  lying  from  Yar- 
mouth bounds  to  the  lands  of  William  Nicarson/  to  tlie 
north  bounds  of  the  pm?chaser's  lands,  that  Mr.  Thds. 
Hinckley  and  Ensign  Lumbcrt  view  the  same  and  make 
report."  Mr.  Alden  and  Mr.  Hinckley  were  also  ap- 
pointed "  to  purchase  lands  of  Janno,  sachem,"  in  behalf 
of  Barnstable.  Liberty  being  granted  to  Mr.  John 
Howland,  Anthony  Annable,  Isaac  Robinson,  Capt. 
Nathaniel  Thomas,  Samuel  Fuller,  Abraham  Pierce,  and 
Peter  Blossom,  "  to  purchase  lands  ^t  Sa.conessett  and 
adjacent,  March  5,  of  the  previous  year  ; "  Mr.  Samuel 
Hinckley,  Lieutenant  Matthew  Fuller,  John  Coopei', 
Henry  Cobb,  John  Dunham,  and  John  Jenkins  of  Barn- 
stable, and  Samuel  Fuller,  William  Nelson,  John  Morton, 
and  Thomas  Burman,  of  Plymouth  were  now  added, 
June  4,  1661.  It  was  also  ordered  that  Mr.  Thomas 
Hinckley,  Richard  Bourne,  and  Nathaniel  Bacon  "  shall 
purchase  all  such  lands  as  are  yet  unpurchased  at 
Saconessett  and  parts  adjacent,  or  any  of  those  parts 

'  This  name  was  generally  £0  written;  it  is  the  name  now  invari- 
ably Nickerson. 


vGooglc 


24:0  THE   mSl'OEY    OJi'   CAPE    COD. 

out  of  Barnstable  and  Sandwich."    It  was  also  granted 
to  Mr.  Thomas  Paine  "  to  purchase  land  at  Satiickett, 
for  his  miU."     Mr.  Alden  was  also  appointed  "  to  pur- 
chase lands  from  the  Indians  at  Mannomett." 
The  rate,  this  year,  (commissioners'  charge,)  was, 

Plymouth  £2    6  3.  Taunlon     £2  2  1.  Eelioboth    £3  15  7^. 

Dusbury      2    2  1.  Yaimoutli     2  2  1.  Eastham        114  0. 

Scituate        3  15  7^.  Barnstable    2  6  3.  Marslifield     2    2  1. 
Sandwich     2  14  7. 

A  grant  was  made  to  Eiehard  Bourne  of  Sandwich 
of  a  tract  of  land  "  on  the  western  side  of  Pampaspised 
Eiver,  where  Sandwich  men  take  alcwives ;  a  long  strip 
by  the  river  side,  for  breadth  from  the  river  unto  the 
top  of  the  hill  or  ridge  that  runs  along  the  length  of  it, 
from  a  point  of  rocky  land  by  a  swamp  called  Pame- 
toopauksett,  unto  a  place  called  by  the  English  Muddy 
Hole,  but  by  the  Indians  Wapoompauksett ;  as  also  " 
(other  strips,  &c.)  ..."  with  liberty  to  take  twelve 
M.  alewives  annually.     Also  lands  at  Mashpee,"  &c, 

William  Bassett  of  Sandwich,  whose  vocation  as  con- 
stable, had  been  superseded  by  the  appointment  of 
Mai"shal  Barlow,  was  fined  ten  shillings  "  for  spreading 
false  reports  of  the  marehal."  ^  A  letter  from  Isaac 
Robinson,  "  containing  certain  scandals  and  falsehoods 
to  the  prejudice  of  the  government,  and  to  the  encour- 
agement of  the  Quakers  who  were  liable  to  dis- 
franchisement, was  ordered  to  be  enquired  into." 
Captain  James  Cudworth,  "  for  sympathy  with  the 
Quakers,  and  for  letters  sent  to  England,"  was  bound 
over  in  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds.  Subsequently 
both  Captain  Cudworth  and  Isaac  Robinson,  were  dis- 

^  Barlow,  the  sequel  will  show,  was  a  bad  fellow  ;  Mr.  Tiassett  was 
a  most  estimable  citizen.  '  The  iaferenee  is  left  to  tlie  reader. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  Z4i 

franchisee!,  on  the  charge  of  being  "  opposera  of  the 
laws." '  "  George  Barlow,  the  marshal,  having  accused 
John  Newland  of  saying  he  (Newland)  is  holy  as  God 
is  holy,  and  perfect  as  God  is  perfect,"  the  matter  being 
inq^uired  into,  and  the  language  used  not  appearing  to 
bear  precisely  that  construction,  Newland  was  dis- 
charged. Thomas  Burges,  Jr.  for  refusing  to  assist  the 
marshal,  was  fined  thirty  shillings.  Henry  Dillingham, 
for  the  same  default,  was  iined  fifteen  shillings.  It 
appeared  by  the  affirmation  of  Elizabeth  Freeman,  that 
Benjamin  Nye  had  "  instigated  Jacob  Burges  to  accuse 
Newland,"  said  Burges  fearing  "  that  otherwise  he  could 
not  have  said  Nye's  daughter  for  a  wife."  Daniel  But- 
ler, "  for  rescuing  a  strange  Quaker  from  the  marshal, 
was  publicly  whipped."  Thomas  Butler  and  wife,  "  for 
turbulent  conduct,"  were  fined  forty  shillings.  Joseph 
Allen,  "  for  being  at  a  Quaker  meeting,"  was  fined  ten 
shillings.  William  Newland,  "for  entertaining  a  strange 
Quaker  called  Wenlocke  Christopherson,"  was  fined  five 
pounds  ;  and  said  Christopherson  was  ordered  "  to  de- 
part out  of  the  government."  Not  complying,  the  said 
Christopherson  was  sent  to  prison,  and  afterwards  was 
sentenced  "to  lay  neck  and  heels."  He  was  then 
"  whipped  and  sent  away."  ^      The  following  persons 

^  It  appears,  by  a  subsequent  entry  on  tlie  Colonial  Records,  that 
"  there  was  found  to  be  some  mistake  "  in  regard  (o  accusations  s^ainst 
Mr.  Robinson,  which  was  the  pretext  for  his  being  restored. 

®  Chriatophei-son  went  to  the  Massachusetts  colony,  and  there  was 
sentenced  to  die ;  on  which  occasion  he  desired  the  court  to  consider 
what  they  would  gain  by  bis  death.  Said  he,  "  For  the  last  man  you 
pat  to  deatli,  here  are  five  come  in  his  room  ;  and  if  you  have  power 
to  take  my  life  from  me,  God  can  raise  up  the  same  principle  of  life 
in  ten  of  his  servants  and  send  fhera  among  you  in  my  room."  lie 
waa  first  reprieved  for  a  short  time,  and  fiually  set  at  liberty  on  a 
pi'omise  to  return  to  England, 
VOL.  I.  31 


/Google 


242  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

were  fined  ten  shillings  each,  October  2,  "  for  being  at 
Quaker  meetings,"  viz. :  Eobert  Harper  and  wife,  John 
Newland  and  wife,  Jane  Swift,  Matthew,  William,  Joseph 
and  Benjamin  AUeo,  William  Gifford,  WUliam  Newland 
and  wife,  the  wife  of  Henry  Dillingham,  Peter  Gaunt, 
John  Jenkins,  Eichard  Kerby,  Sr.,  Eichard  Kerby,  Jr., 
Obadiah  and  Dority  Butler,  ail  of  Sandwich,  and  John 
Smith,  and  Deborah  liis  wife,  of  Plymouth.  Henry 
Howland,  "  for  entertaining  Quakers  at  his  house,"  was 
fined  four  pounds. 

In  1661,  Governor  Prince  being  in  office,  and  Mr. 
Hinckley  assistant,  freemen  were  allowed  to  vote  "  by 
proxy  "  ^  in  the  election  of  magistrates,  provided  it  be 
done  in  open  town  meeting,  the  court  so  ordering  and 
enacting.  Previous  to  this  time,  every  voter  was  re- 
quired to  repair  to  Plymouth  to  exercise  this  right  of 
franchise. 

At  the  court  in  -June,  a  loyal  declaration  was  made 
in  favor  of  King  Charles  H.,  who  had  been  restored  to 
the  throne. 

The  colony  sold  for  four  hundred  pounds  sterling 
their  territory  on  the  Kennebec  River,  granted  them 
by  their  last  patent,  taken  in  the  name  of  William  Brad- 
ford. This  purchase  originated  the  "Plymouth  Com- 
pany," as  the  purchasers  and  proprietors  were  called. 

The  General  Court  gave,  June  4,  to  Mr.  Eichard 
Bourne,  "  a  certain  tract  of  land  lying  on  the  westerly 
side  of  Pampaspecite  Eiver,  where  Sandwich  men  tiike 
alewives ;  the  land  is  a  long  slip  lying  by  the  river 
side ;  for  breadth,  from  the  river  unto  the  top  of  the  hill 

'  By  this  we  understand,  of  course,  the  deputy  chc^en  was  tlie  agent 
for  the  people  io  the  subsequent  general  election. 


yGoogle 


ANNAI^  OF   UARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  243 

or  ridge  that  runs  along  the  length  of  it,  from  a  point 
of  rocky  land,  by  a  swamp  called  Pametoopauksett, 
unto  a  place  called  by  the  English  Muddy  Hole,  but 
by  the  Indiana  Wapoampauksett.  The  meadow  is  that 
■which  was  called  Mr.  Leverlch  his  meadow ;  .  .  .  liberty, 
moreover,  to  take  yearly  twelve  thousand  alewives  at 
the  river  where  Sandwich  men  usually  take  alewives, 
to  him  and  his  heirs  fprever."  Also,  "  meadow  lying  at 
Mashpee."  Also  "  at  Mannamuckcoy,  with  a  little  upland 
in  it,  the  meadow  lying  between  two  little  brooks,  and 
the  said  meadow  ad,ioining  to  the  upland  called  by  the 
Indians  Auntaanta." 

In  October,  tlie  following  proposition  was  sent  to  the 
four  towns,  Sandwich,  Yarmouth,  Barnstable,  and  Eastr 
ham,  by  order  of  the  court,  viz. :  — 

"Loving  Friends:  Whereas  the  General  Court  was 
pleased  to  make  some  propositions  to  you  respecting 
the  drift  fish  or  whales ;  and,  in  case  you  should  refuse 
their  profler,  empowered  me,  though  unfit,  to  farm  out 
what  should  belong  unto  them  on  that  account;  and 
seeing  the  time  is  expired,  and  it  falls  into  my  hands 
to  dispose  of,  I  do,  therefore,  with  the  advice  of  the 
court,  in  answer  to  your  remonstrance,  say,  that  if  you 
will  duly  and  truly  pay  to  the  country  for  every  whale 
that  shall  come,  one  hogshead  of  oil,  at  Boston,  where 
I  shall  appoint,  and  that  current  and  merchantable, 
without  any  charge  or  trouble  to  the  country,  I  say, 
for  peace  and  quietness  sake  you  shall  have  it  for  this 
present  season,  leaving  you  and  the  Election  Court  to 
settle  so  as  it  may  be  to  satisfaction  on  both  sides ;  and, 
in  case  you  accept  not  of  this  tender,  to  send  it  within 
fourteen  days  aft«r  the  date  hereof.  And  if  I  hear  not 
from  you,  I  shall  take  it  for  granted  that  you  loUl 


vGooglc 


244  THE   HISTOllY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

accept  of  it,  and  shall  expect  the  accomplishment  of 
the  same.         Yours  to  use, 

Constant  Sotjthwoeth,  Treasurei''' 
Eichard  Child,  by  order  of  Court,  was  required  to 
desist  from  the  erection  of  a  cottage  at  Yarmouth. 
William  Allen  of  Sandwich  was  again  before  the  court 
at  Plymouth,  complained  offer  entertaining  Christopher 
Holder,  a  Quaker ;  and  a  similar  charge  was  presented 
against  William  Newland  and  Pefer  Gaunt.  Lodowick 
Hoxy,  "for  not  assisting  Marshal  Barlow,"  was  fined 
twenty  shillings;  also,  "for  refusing  and  neglecting" 
a  similar  call  fi?om  the  marshal  fines  were  imposed  on 
Joseph  Chandler,  Eichard  Smith,  and  Nathaniel  Fish. 

In  1662  Mr.  Prince  was  again  governor,  and  Mr. 
Hinckley  assistant. 

Another  earthquake  was  experienced  in  New  England, 
January  26  ;  and  yet  another,  January  28.-' 

A  tax  was  laid  on  all  liquors  sold  at  retail,  and  a  fine 
of  five  pounds  was  imposed  on  any  persons  who  should 
refuse  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity. 

Some  suspicion  of  Indian  plots  prevailhig,  King 
Philip,  alias  Metacomet,  came  into  court,  and  renewed 
the  treaty  of  friendship  agreed  on  by  himself  and  his 

^  In  the  annals  of  New  England  five  earthquakes  are  mentioned  as 
"  great-,"  that  of  1038,  1658, 1663,  Oct.  29, 1727,  and  Kov.  18, 1755. 
But  nineteen  more  are  also  mentioned  as  having  occurred,  viz. :  Oct.  29, 
1653, 1660, 1665, 1668, 1669, 1670, 1705,  Sept.  5, 1720,  1732,  Feb. 
6  and  Dec.  7,  1737,  June  3,  1744,  July  8,  1757,  March  12  and  Nov. 
1,  1761,  1766,  1769,  1771,  Nov.  29,  1788,  May  8,  1804,  Nov.  9, 
1810,  Nov.  28,  1814  more  severe  than  any  other  since  1755,  and 
others  have  been  reported  since.  But,  with  the  excepljoii  of  the  five 
called  "  great  earthquakes,"  and  that  of  1814,  the  vibrations  were  so 
slight  as  to  escape  general  notice.  —  Judge  Davis. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTy. 


245 


brother  in  1656.     The  treaty  was  witnessed  by  Francis, 
Saehem  of  Nausd. 

Two  of  the  late  judges  of  the  deposed  and  decapi- 
tated king,  Colonel  Goffe  and  Colonel  Whalley,  having 
fled  from  England  just  before  Charles  II.  was  pro- 
claimed, had  arrived  in  Boston  July  27,  1660.  They 
heard  of  the  accession  whilst  on  shipboard,  in  the 
Channel,  after  leaving  London ;  and  expected,  of  course, 
to  be  condemned  as  regicides.  Whalley  had  been 
Cromwell's  lieutenant  general,  and  Goffe  a  major  gen- 
eral. They  waited  immediately  on  Governor  Endicott, 
and  were  courteously  received.  At  length,  however, 
it  became  necessary  for  them  to  seek  other  quar- 
ters, and  they  finally  retired  to  Connecticut,  and  from 
thence  to  Hadley,^  in  Massachusetts,  October,  1664, 
where  another  of  the  regicides,  Dixwell,  joined  them. 
During  their  concealment  at  New  Haven,  and  subse- 
quently in  the  cave  at  West  Eock,  they  were  much 
sought  for,  requisition  being  made  for  them  unavail- 
ingly.  The  colonies  were  all  suspected  of  sympathy 
with  them,  and  of  being  accessory  to  their  concealment. 
The  following  document  appears  under  date  of  June 

^  They  were  there  concealed  many  years  in  the  house  of  Rev.  John 
Russel,  father  of  Rev.  Jonathau  Russel,  the  elder,  of  Barnstable.  A 
large  mass  of  manuscript  of  the  three  judges  (for  Dixwell  soon  joined 
them)  was  for  a  long  time  in  the  possession  of  the  younger  Kev.  Jon- 
athan Eussel  of  Barnatahle,  but  was  finally  irrecoverably  lost.  Falling 
into  the  hands  of  a  collateral  branch  of  the  family,  the  papers  were 
abstracted  from  the  attic,  by  domestics,  as  needed  in  kindling  fires, 
until  not  one  vestige  of  those  valuable  documents  remained !  Mrs. 
Nathaniel  Otis  of  Sandwich,  a  daughter  of  the  first  Rev.  Jonathan 
Russel,  and  who  died  in  1774  at  an  advanced  age,  at  the  house  of  her 
son-in-law,  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  in  Mansfield,  Cf.,  had  spent  much 
time  in  examining  those  papers,  and  from  her  President  Stiles  obtained 
much  of  his  information  for  his  history  of  the  three  judges. 


vGooglc 


246  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

10,  1662  :  "A  deposition.  A  purchase  made  of  Osor 
mequin  at  Satuekett,  of  six  miles,  from  the  centre  in 
the  weir  in  the  river,  by  Mr.  Constant  Southworth  and 
Lt.  Nash,  for  the  enlargement  and  accommodation  of 
the  town  of  Barnstable,"^  Another.  "This  testifleth 
that  when  Capt.  Standish  set  out  the  Indians'  land, 
Napoietan,  the  sagamore,  told  Mr.  Winslow  and  the  rest 
of  the  company,  that  he  gave  the  one  half  of  that  land 
to  Tacomacus ;  so  he  and  his  wife  and  children  have 
enjoyed  it  ever  since."  Signed,  Henry  Cobb.  June  10, 
1662.  Further,  "Mr.  Alden  and  the  majol'  are  appointed 
by  the  court  to  set  out  the  bounds  betwixt  Barnstable 
and  Sandwich,  and  to  end  any  differences  that  exist 
betwixt  these  towns  and  the  Indians  about  grants  of 
lands."  Again,  "  concerning  a  difference  between 
Quachatissett  and  Josias,  of  Nauset,  sachems,  the  court 
order  Mr.  Alden  and  Mr.  Hinckley  to  hear  and  deter- 
mine the  same."  The  agents  of  Yarmouth  appeared  at 
court  "  to  debate  and  have  determined  a  difference 
about  whales."  "A  mare  having  been  killed  by  Indians 
at  Mashpee,  belonging  to  John  Allen  of  Sandwich, 
Paupmunnuck  and  Keenecompsett  agreed  to  pay  £14 
for  the  same."  "  A  further  enlargement  was  granted 
to  Barnstable,  and  Ed.  Bourne  and  James  Skiff  were 

^  It  were  impracticable  to  insert  every  document  to  which  reference 
is  made.     Some  of  the  more  important  may  appear  in  the  town  annals 
hereafter.    It  would  be  equally  inconvenient,  in  this  part  of  our  work, 
to  designate  localities  by  their  present  names.     And  in  regard  to  names 
of  places  or  persons,  we  may  as  well,  once  for  all    ay  we  a 
strained  in  general  to  follow  the  record;  for,  altl    ugl    of  n  vor   lil 
theplaceorpersonintended  will  be  understood.   T   a     mp     nf    n  y 
in  the  writing  of  Indian  names  and  thus  to  propo     an  o   h        [t  Cil 
standard,  would  require,  what  none  now  have,  an  a    u  a     1      wl  dg 
of  Indian  orthoepy.     Besides,  by  marking  the  vana     n    a  d    han 
that  have  been  made,  the  reader  has  a  better  view  of  the  past. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  247 

appointed  to  settle  the  bounds  of  Nauquatmimacke's 
land."  Kenelm  Winslow,  Jr.  was  fined  ten  shillings  for 
riding  on  the  Lord's  day,  although  he  pleaded  necessity. 
The  strictness  observed  in  regard  to  the  sacredncss  of 
holy  time  is  forcibly  illustrated  by  the  fact  that,  in 
another  part  of  the  colony,  Lieutenant  Wyatt  was  before 
the  court,  in  1658,  and  "  reproved  for  writing  a  note  on 
business  on  the  Lord's  day,  in  the  evening  somewhat 
too  soon" 

The  rate  for  the  public  charge  of  the  country,  this 
year,  was, 

Plymouth  £11    2  0.  Taunton     £10  2  0.  Mai-shfield  £10  2  0. 

Dusbury        6  14  G.  Yai-mouth     10  2  0.  Eehoboth       15  3  0. 

Scituate        18    a  0.  Barnstable    112  0,  Eastham  8  2  0. 

Sandwich      10    2  0. 

Mr.  Prince  was  again  governor,  and  Mr.  Hinckley 
assistant,  in  1663. 

It  should  here  be  noted  that  after  the  departure  of 
Mr.  Leverich  from  Sandwich,  there  was  no  regularly 
settled  minister  in  the  town  for  some  years.  Mr. 
Thomas  Tupper,  known  more  prominently  as  Captain 
Tupper,  undertook,  although  not  acceptable  to  the 
stanch  friends  of  Rev,  Mr,  Leverich,  to  conduct  rehgious 
services  in  the  meeting  house ;  and,  strange  to  say, 
though  he  was  without  ordination  and  withal  somewhat 
fanatical  and  ranting  if  we  are  to  credit  tradition,  and 
often  in  difficulties  with  his  neighbors,  was  in  favor 
with  the  government,  (of  which  few  of  the  respectable 
inhabitants  could  at  that  time  boast,)  so  that  no  ob- 
jection to  his  officiating  was  made  by  court  influence. 
His  prophesyings,  as  is  evident  from  the  numerous  fines 
imposed  "for  not  attending  meetings,"  were  neither 
approved  or  countenanced  by  large  numbers  of  the 


vGooglc 


248  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

best  people  in  the  town,  nor  by  a  majority  of  cburcb 
members.  At  last,  however,  weary  of  dissension,  the 
meetings  that  had  been  kept  up  by  the  opposition,  em- 
bracing those  accused  of  favoring  the  Quakers,  were 
discontinued,  a  compromise  to  secure  a  better  undei^ 
standing  and  more  quiet  neighborhood  having  been 
effected.  The  arrangement  was  that  Mr.  Richard 
Bourne,  a  man  of  great  moral  worth,  should  assist  in 
keeping  up  public  rehgious  services  on  Lord's  days ;  and 
that  the  one  of  these  two  prominent  laymen  who  should 
have  a  majority  of  adherents  present  at  meeting  should 
be  the  minister  for  the  time  being.  This  state  of  things 
continued  until  Rev.  John  Smith  became,  about  1658, 
the  regular  successor  of  Mr.  Leverich,  remaining  the 
pastor  for  many  years.^  "  After  the  settlement  of  Mr. 
Smith,  Messrs.  Bourne  and  Tupper  turned  their  attention 
to  the  Indians."  ^ 

Other  important  changes  touching  the  ministry  on 
the  Cape  had  already  been  effected,  or  were  made  the 
present  year.  The  former  additions  were  Mr.  John 
Mayo,  Mr.  "William  Sargoant,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Crosby  ; 
the  later,  and  of  the  present  year,  were  Rev.  Thomas 
Walley  and  Rev.  Thomas  Thornton.  Mr.  Walley,  the 
minister  at  Barnstable,  it  has  been  said,  "  was  settled 
about  ten  years  after  Mr.  Lothrop's  decease  ; "  and  some 
have  it  that  there  was  no  minister  regularly  settled  in 
Barnstable  in  all  the  interim.  The  facts,  however,  that 
we  shall  present  hereafter  in  regard  to  Mr.  Mayo,  Mr. 

^  Mr.  Smith  had  previoHsly  officiated  for  some  time  in  Barnstable  ; 
but,  it  is  said,  "  being  disliked  by  Mr,  Hinckley,  left  and  went  to  Long 
Island,  then  to  New  Jersey,  from  thence  returning  to  Sandwich." 

*  More  partjcular  mention  of  Messrs.  Bourne  and  Tupper,  except 
as  their  names  occur  in  connection  with  public  transactions,  must  be 
deferred  to  the  annals  of  Mashpee  and  of  Sandwich. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  249 

Sargeant,  and  Mr.  Smith,  are  indisputable,  and  will 
sliow  that  they  severally  officiated  at  Barnstable  for  a 
time.  It  is  not  for  us  to  decide  peremptorily  the  posi- 
tion which  they  severally  held ;  suffice  it  to  say,  Mr. 
Walley,  who  was  highly  distinguished,  filling  a  large 
space  in  society,  became  an  inhabitant  of  Barnstable, 
and  was  the  pastor  of  the  church  in  that  town  in  1663  ; ' 
and  Mr.  Thornton,  also  distinguished,  was,  about  the 
same  time,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Millar^  in  the  pastorate 

^  Mr.  Walley  came  oyer  Jane  24,  1662-3,  in  the  ship  "Society," 
Captain  John  Pierce.  Bom  ia  Engltnd  1616,  he  was  for  a  time  set- 
tled in  London  as  rector  of  "Willitm  b  and  Mary's,  Whitecliapel.  In- 
vited to  a  charge  in  Boston  he  gave  the  preference  to  Barnstable  — 
a  preference  which  it  requites  discnraination  and  a  better  knowledge 
of  the  history  of  the  Cape  tlnn  la  enjoyed  by  many  non-residents  at 
the  present  day,  to  appreciate 

^  The  Eev.  Johm  Millar  came  to  Yarmouth  probably  in  1646. 
The  precise  time  of  his  advent  here  it  is  impossible  to  state  with  cer- 
tainty ;  nor,  in  the  absence  of  records,  is  it  practicable  to  mention  the 
exact  time  of  his  departure.  It  is,  however,  evident  that  he  was,  witli 
his  family,  in  Yarmouth  early  in  1647,  and  remained  until  1662  or 
1663.  From  various  sources  isolated  facts  are  gsithered  which  show 
that  he  was  educated  at  Cambridge,  England,  and  graduated  A.  B. 
1627.  He  is  mentioned  by  Mather  in  the  "  first  classis  "  of  those  who 
had  received  ordination  and  exercised  their  ministry  previous  to  leaving 
England.  He  came  over  in  1634 ;  was  some  time  in  Koxbury,  one  of 
the  elders  of  the  church ;  from  1639  to  1641  was  in  Eowley,  assistant 
to  Mr.  Rogers  and  also  town  clerk  ;  in  1641,  October  25,  was  waited 
on  by  messengers  desiring  his  services  for  the  church  at  Wobum,  but 
they  "found  Mr.  Rogers  loth  to  part  with  him;  "  in  September,  1642, 
was,  with  Mr.  Phillips  of  "Waterfown  and  Mr.  Thompson  of  Braintree, 
proposed  as  a  missionary  to  Virginia,  but  declined  "  because  of  bodily 
weakness;"  ia  1642,  December  7,  his  name  appears  on  the  list  of 
grantees  of  Newbury !  and  from  Johnson's  "Wonder-working  Provi- 
dence," we  learn  that  "  for  the  assisting  of  the  tender  flock  of  Christ 
at  Rowley  the  Rev.  John  Millar  did  abide  among  them  for  some  space 
of  time,  preaching  the  word  of  Grod,  till  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  call  him 
to  be  the  pastor  of  the  church  at  Yaimouth  in  Plymouth  patent."  In 
VOL.  I.  32 


vGooglc 


250  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

at  Yarmouth.  Both  gentlemen  are  reckoned  by  Math- 
er's "Magualia"  "de  viris  illustribus,"  of  the  "third 
classis."  ^  Mr.  Mayo,  after  being  "  teaching  elder  "  at 
Barnstable,  was  engaged  as  a  "reKgious  teacher"  at 
Eastham,  and  finally  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Crosby. 

It  was  enacted  by  the  court  that  every  town  shall 
choose  three  or  five  selectmen,  subject  to  the  approval 
ofcourt,  for  the  better  managing  of  town's  affairs.  These 
selectmen  were  empowered  to  hear  and  determine  all 
cases  of  debts  or  differences  existing  between  any 
within  their  respective  townships,  the  amount  involved 

1663,  March  18,  being  called  to  preach  at  Groton,  he  had  lands  as- 
signed to  him  in  that  town,  where  he  continued  to  exercise  his  ministry 
to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  June  12,  1664.  We  have 
very  little  material  for  a  biographical  notiee  of  him  ;  but  from  the  oc- 
casional mention  made  of  htm,  it  is  readily  inferred  that,  though  a  man 
of  "  low  stature,"  he  was  of  high  literary  attainments  and  of  exemplary 
piety  —  an  able  and  devoted  servant  of  Christ  Of  his  family  also, 
but  few  particulars  are  known.  He  brought  with  him  from  England 
his  son  John,  h.  March,  1631-2 ;  a  daughter  Lydia  was  born  to  him  in 
Rowley  12  mo.,  2,  1640;  and,  at  Yarmouth,  Susanna,  May  2,  1647, 
and  Elizabeth,  Oct  13, 1649.  The  Koxhury  church  recoi-ds,  in  the 
handwriting  of  "  tlie  Apostle  Eliot"  say,  "  1647,  month  6,  day  8,  Su- 
san, daughter  to  Mr.  John  Millar,  once  an  elder  of  our  church,  after- 
wards at  Rowley  he  preached,  and  then  was  called  to  Yarmouth,  bap- 
tized." John,  the  son,  m.  Margaret,  daughter  of  Gov.  Josias  Winslow, 
Dec.  24,  1659,  and  by  her  had  three  sons  and  eight  daughtei-s,  and  d. 
at  Yarmouth  June,  1711,  aged  79  years,  having  heen  much  in  public 
hfe,  sustaining  with  honor  offices  of  i-esponsibility.  Gov,  "WinsJow 
mentions  especially  ut  his  will,  "  Hannah  Miller,  my  grandchild,  now 
living  with  me." 

1  The  "  third  clasm,"  as  arranged  by  Mr.  Mather,  was  made  up,  to 
nse  the  language  of  the  "  Magnalia,"  of  "  such  ministers  as  came  oi  er 
to  Kew  England  after  the  reestahlishment  of  the  Episcopal  church 
government  in  England,  and  the  persecution  which  then  Irairicanoed 
such  as  were  non-conformists  unto  that  establishment," 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  ^51 

not  exceeding  forty  shillings;  also  to  adjudge  all  differ- 
ences occurring  between  English  and  Indians.  It  was 
farther  enacted  that  they  shall  have  power  to  issue 
summons  in  his  majesty's  name. 

A  petition  was  presented  to  the  court  "  by  the  sons 
and  sons-in-law  of  Wm.  Nickerson,  for  liberty  to  settle 
a  township  at  Manamoiett ; "  signed  by  Wm.  Nicarson, 
Sr.,  Robert  Nicarson,  Nicholas  Nicarson,  Saml.  Nicarson, 
John  Nicarson,  "Wm.  Nicarson,  Jr.,  Joseph  Nicarson, 
Robert,  Eldred,  Trustram  Hedges,  and  Nathl.  Covell. 

Mr.  Hinckley,  Thomas  Dexter,  Jr.,  and  Constant 
Southworth  were  appointed  to  settle  the  bounds  be- 
tween Sandwich  and  Plymouth.  Liberty  was  granted 
to  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  Sr.,  "  to  accommodate  himself 
and  the  children  of  William  Paddy  deceased,  with 
lands."  It  was  ordered  "  that  Sacconessett  shall,  for  the 
present,  belong  to  Barnstable." 

The  troubles  at  Sandwich  were  not  yet  laid.  Ed- 
ward Perry  was  before  the  court  "  for  a  railing  letter  " 
addressed  to  the  same.  Nehemiah  Besse  "  for  drinking 
tobacco  at  the  meeting  house  in  Sandwich  on  the  Lord's 
day,"  was  fined  five  shillings. 

Mr,  Prince  and  Mr.  Hinckley  were  again  chosen  to 
their  respective  offices  in  1664,  and  this  year,  King 
Charles  II.  issued  a  commission  empowering  appointees 
"  to  hear  and  determine  complaints  and  appeals,  in  all 
cases,"  within  New  England,  and  "  to  proceed  in  all 
things  for  settling  the  peace  and  security  of  the  coun- 
try." In  letters  which  his  majesty  caused  to  be  addressed 
to  the  government  of  New  Plymouth,  were  "  expressions 
full  of  royal  grace  and  favor,  and  promises  to  preserve 
all  its  liberties  and  privileges  both  ecclesiastical  and 
civil  without  the  least  violation,"  and  enjoining  loyalty, 


vGooglc 


252  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

affection,  and  obedience  on  the  part  of  his  New  England 
subjects.  The  commissioners  were  recognized,  and  an 
agent  appointed  by  the  Plymouth  Colony  government 
to  confer  with  them,  making  respectful  professions  of 
fidelity  and  allegiance.  This  commission  had  ■  been  ap- 
pointed in  consequence  of  repeated  complaints  by 
Quakers  and  others ;  and  the  people  now  became  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  of  decisive  action,  and  certainly 
showed  much  address  in  avoiding  the  real  merits  of  the 
case,  and  evading  what  was  expected  of  them. .  They 
doubtless  felt  great  relief  when  the  commissioners  re- 
turned to  England. 

A  comet,  very  large  and  brilliant,  excited  much  atten- 
tion from  November  17  to  February  4;  "the  blaze  of 
it,"  says  Morton,  "  did  turn  to  all  quarters  of  the  world ; 
it  was  no  fiery  meteor  caused  by  exhalation,  but  it  ap- 
peared to  be  sent  immediately  by  God  to  awake  the 
secure  world."  Hutchinson  observes,  "  The  people  of 
New  England  were  not  alone  in  the  opinion  that  comets 
were  omens  of  great  evils.  The  troubles  from  the 
king's  commissioners,  with  the  death  of  the  governor  of 
Massachusetts,  tended  to  confirm  the  people  in  this 
opinion." 

The  following  action  was  had,  the  record  of  which 
bears  date  February  7,  1664-5:  "Whereas  a  motion 
was  made  to  this  court  by  Ed.  Bourne,  in  the  behalf 
of  those  Indians  under  his  instruction,  as  to  tlieir  desire 
of  hving  in  some  orderly  way  of  government,  for  the 
better  preventing  and  redressing  of  things  amiss 
amongst  them  by  meet  and  just  means,  this  court  doth 
therefore,  in  testimony  of  their  countenancing  and  en- 
couraging to  such  a  work,  approve  of  those  Indians 
proposed,  viz. :  Paupmunnuck,  Keencomsett,  Watana- 
matucke,  Nauquatnumache,  Kanoonus,  and  Mocrust,  to 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BAENSTABLE  COUNTY.  253 

have  the  chief  inspection  and  management  thereof,  with 
the  help  and  advice  of  the  said  Ed.  Bourne,  as  the  matter 
may  require  ;  and  that  one  of  the  aforesaid  Indians  be 
by  the  rest  installed  to  act  aa  constable  amongst  them  ; 
it  being  always  provided,  notwithstanding,  that  what 
homage  is  accustomed  legally  due  to  any  superior 
sachem  be  not  hereby  infringed." 

There  was  granted  to  Josias  Cooke,  "three  score 
acres  of  land  and  four  acres  of  meadow  and  an  island 
at  a  place  called  Potanumatucke,"  and,  June  11,  the 
following  order  was  issued :  "  To  Mr.  Freeman,  Ed. 
Bourne,  Mr.  Dexter,  James  Skiff,  and  Wm.  Bassett, 
greeting  :  —  Whereas,  Nauquatnumacke  hath  com- 
plained of  wrong  done  to  him  in  his  corn,  by  horses,  in 
Sandwich,  these  are  to  request  you  to  take  some  serious 
and  effectual  course  that  the  poor  man  may  have  his 
corn  preserved,  &c.  ...  Attest,  Nathl.  Morton,  Glerk!' 
Mr.  Thomas  Dexter  appears  not  to  have  been  upon 
the  most  amicable  terms  with  his  neighbors,  since  he  is 
often  found  complaining  of  injury  inflicted  by  the  town 
of  Sandwich  "  to  his  right  of  lands." 

"  In  the  controversy  between  Mattaquasson,  sachem 
of  Mannamoiet,  and  John  Quason  his  son  on  the  one 
part,  and  Wm.  Nicarson  on  the  other  part,  about  lands 
bought  by  said  Nicarson  of  the  Indians,  Nicarson  was 
defaulted,  and  the  lands  reverted  to  the  colony."  Eob- 
ert  Harper  was  publicly  whipped,  by  order  of  court, 
"  for  disturbing  public  worship  at  Sandwich  and  Barn- 
stable," and  Eiclkard  Willis  was  set  in  the  stocks  "  for 
ribaldry." 


vGooglc 


THE  mSTORY  OF  CAPE  COD. 


CHAPTER    SHI. 


Doings  of  (he  Eoyal  Commissioners. — Concessions  in  favor  of  Eeligious 
Freedoic.  —  Grant  of  Lands  at  Monomoyick,  and  attendant  Difficul- 
ties.—  Religious  Instruction  of  the  Indians.  —  Bemarkable  Events. — 
Schools.  —  Difficulties  with  the  Indians  apprehended. — ^Settlement  of 
Ministers  required, — The  Fisheries. — Free  Schools. — Indians  give  in 
their  Adhesion. 

Mr.  Peince  being  governor  and  Mr.  Hinckley  an 
assistant,  in  1665,  the  Royal  Commissioners  submitted 
to  the  Colonial  Court  held  at  Plymouth,  February  22, 
propositions  designed  to  secure  the  administration  of 
justice;  the  right  of  every  man  of  competent  estate 
and  civil'  conversation,  though  of  opinions  differing 
from  others,  to  be  admitted  as  a  freeman,  and  to  have 
liberty  to  choose  andto  be  chosen  to  office;  the  right 
of  the  enjoyment  of  religious  privileges ;  and  the  ob- 
servance of  due  respect  for  the  rights  of  the  Crown. 
The  answer  of  the  court  was  so  generally  in  compliance 
with  the  propositions  submitted,  that  the  next  year  the 
king  expressed  his  royal  approbation,  and  gave  assur- 
ances of  his  continued  regard. 

Governor  Prince,  who  had  these  seven  years  been 
excused  from  a  residence  in  Plymouth,  removed  thither, 
a  house  being  provided  for  him,  and  it  being  deemed, 
by  the  court  assembled,  indispensably  necessary  for  the 
more  convenient  administration  of  justice  that  the 
govenior  should  reside  at  the  seat  of  government.  He 
thus  ceased  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  Cape.  It  had 
been,  as  we  have  before  intimated,  enacted   in  1633. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  loO 

"that  the  chief  go-vemment  be  tied  to  the  town  of 
Plymouth,  and  that  the  governor  for  the  time  being  be 
tied  there  to  keep  his  residence  and  dwelling;  and 
there  also  to  hold  such  courts  as  concern  the  whole." 

The  court  enacted  that  corporal  punishment  shall 
be  inflicted  on  any  who  deny  the  Scriptures  —  an 
ineffectual  way  of  convincing  the  sceptical  of  their  error, 
as  may  well  be  supposed  ;  also,  that  no  minister  shall 
leave  his  charge  without  first  deferring  the  question  of 
duty  and  privilege  to  the  magistrates,  who  were  empow- 
ered to  compel  congregations  to  support  their  ministers. 
It  was  also  enacted  that  "  assistants  in  the  govern- 
ment, of  long  standing,  shall  be  allowed  £20  per  annum 
for  their  services,  and  that  the  charge  of  tlieir  table 
shall  be  defrayed  ;  also  that  those  who  are  newly  elect- 
ed shall  be  allowed  the  charge  of  their  table  only." 
This  was,  indeed,  a  remuneration  for  services  rendered, 
or  to  be  rendered,  that  did  not  alarmingly  tend  to  cor- 
.  ruption  and  lust  for  office.  In  fact,  offices  were,  in 
those  days,  not  sought,  as  has  already  been  demon- 
strated ;  but  incumbents  were  carefully  selected  for 
office  and  pressed  into  service.  In  a  year  or  two,  how- 
ever, it  was  found  necessary,  that  honest  men  might  be 
able  to  serve,  to  increase  the  salary.^ 

The  wheat  crop,  which  had  been  injured  more  or 
less  for  several  years,  was  now  more  seriously  affected 
than  ever  with  blasting  and  mildew.^ 

1  In  July,  1G57,  £50  anniial  salary  was  allowed  to  the  assistants, 
and  the  cliarge  of  their  table.  And  it  was  then  foond  necessary  fo 
enact  that  such  aa  were  chosen  lo  the  ofBee  and  should  refuse  to  serve, 
should  be  fined  £5  for  the  use  of  the  colony. 

^  The  next  year,  the  injury  was  still  more  serious,  so  that  at  length, 
after  repeated  attempts  to  perpetuate  the  cultivation  of  that  valuable 
grain,  the  inhabitants  on  the  sea-coast  became  discouraged  and  relin- 
quished further  trials,  at  least  for  some  years. 


vGooglc 


256  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

This  year,  April  10,  purchases  were  made  from  the 
sachem  of  Monomoyick  of  valuable  lands  near  Potanu- 
maquutt,  with  the  view  to  a  settlement.  A  grant  was 
also  made,  this  same  year,  by  the  General  Court,  to 
Thomas  Hinckley,  John  Freeman,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  and 
associates,  of  lands  at  the  same  place.  This  led  to 
some  difficulty  between  the  purchasers  and  tlic  claim- 
ants under  the  grant.^ 

William  Nickerson  being  "  charged  with  illegally 
purchasing  lands  at  Mannamoiett  of  the  natives,  sub- 
mitted himself  June  7,  to  the  clemency  of  the  court." 
He  was  allowed  one  hundred  acres  at  or  near  his  house, 
to  be  laid  out  by  Barnard  Lumbert,  Marshal  Nash,  and 
Joseph  Howes.  The  rest  of  the  land  the  court  granted 
to  Mr.  Thomas  Hinckley,  Mr.  John  Freeman,  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Sargeant,  Mr.  Anthony  Thacher,  Nathaniel  Bacon, 
Edmund  Hawes,  Thomas  Howes,  Sr.,  Thomas  Falland, 
Sr.,  and  Lieut.  Joseph  Rogers,  in  equal  proportions,  the 
said  William  Nickerson  to  have  an  equal  shai'e  with 
them  in  the  meadow  lands.  It  was  further  ordered 
that  Mr.  Hinckley,  Mr.  Freeman,  and  associates,  pay  to 
said  Nickerson  whatever  he  shall  prove  to  have  been 
paid  by  him  in  the  purchase  of  said  lands.  The  court 
also  granted  liberty  to  Mr.  Hinckley,  Mr.  Freeman,  Mr. 
Sargeant,  and  the  rest,  "  to  purchase  the  tract  adjacent 
at  Mannamoiett,  to  the  extent  of  one  hundred  acres 
the  share  of  each,"  It  was  ordered  that  all  said  lands 
appertain  to  and  shall  be  considered  within  the  liberties 
of  the  township  of  Yarmoutli.  The  penalty  of  £5  for 
every  acre  illegally  purchased  by  William  Nickerson  of 
the  Indians  was  remitted. 

1  The  right  of  the  Indians  to  tlie  soil  seems  to  have  been  still  ac- 
knowledged. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  25T 

Mr.  Hinckley,  Richard  Bourne,  and  Nathaniel  Bacon 
were  appointed  by  the  court  to  purchase  land  of  the 
Indians  in  behalf  of  the  town  of  Yarmouth.  Richard 
Bourne  and  William  Basaett  were  also  appointed  to 
view  and  purchase  some  lands  desired  by  Edmund  Free- 
man and  Thomas  Butler,  lying  towards  Saconeesett. 

In  1666,  Governor  Prince  being  in  office,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Joim  Freeman  of  Eastham,  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Hinckley  of  Barnstable,  being  assistants,  Mr.  Richard 
Bourne  of  Sandwich  had  audience  before  the  governor 
and  others,  in  reference  to  the  religions  improvement 
of  the  Indians  under  his  instruction.  The  conference 
was  held  at  Mashpee,  then  called  Mashipaug.  Mr. 
Bourne  argued,  among  other  things,  that  the  Indians 
should  be  permitted  and  encouraged  to  enter  into 
church  fellowship.  This  was  allowed  at  a  subsequent 
period.  The  Indians  denominated  a  church  an  "  inclosed 
c/arden." 

The  Colonial  Court  directed  that  three  sessions  be 
held  each  year  for  the  trial  of  causes  civil  and  criminal ; 
the  court  to  be  composed  of  the  governor  and  at  least 
three  magistrates.  Appeals  from  the  decisions  of  select- 
men were  allowed.  Selectmen  were  required  to  present 
to  the  court  all  persons  who  absented  themselves  from 
public  worship. 

A  census  was  ordered  in  each  town  of  all  male  in- 
habitants, from  sixteen  to  sixty  yeara  of  age,  capable 
of  bearing  arms.  Laws  were  provided  also  for  the 
support  of  public  worship;  and  towns  that  neglected 
to  have  a  minister,  were  to  be  taxed  by  court  for  the 
gupport  of  public  worship.  A  penalty  was  also  imposed 
on  officers  legally  chosen  by  any  town,  who  refuse  to 
serve. 

VOL.  L  33 


vGooglc 


258  Tiri;  ihstoey  op  cape  cod. 

The  fisheries  of  Cape  Cod  were  regulated  by  law, 
and  a  duty  was  laid  on  all  fish  caught,  for  the  support 
of  a  free  school  in  some  town  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  court. 

The  confederation  between  Plymouth,  Massachusetts, 
and  Connecticut  Colonies  was  renewed. 

The  country  was  claimed  and  possessed  by  inde- 
pendent princes,  whose  right  to  the  lordship  and  sov- 
ereignty thereof  had  been  acknowledged  by  the  kings 
of  England,  The  settlers  were  obliged  to  purchase,  or 
to  appear  to  have  purchased,  for  valuable  considerations, 
not  only  the  soil,  but  the  dominion,  lordship,  and  sov- 
ereignty of  those  princes.  Hence  Mr.  Josiah  Winslow, 
governor  of  Plymouth  in  1676,  said,  "  I  think  I  can  truly 
say  that  before  these  present  troubles  with  the  Indians 
broke  out,  we  did  not  possess  one  foot  of  land  in  this 
colony  but  what  was  fairly  obtained  by  honest  purchase 
of  the  Indian  proprietors."  The  provisions  in  treaties 
that  the  Indians  should  not  sell  their  lands  without 
permission  from  the  court,  were  justified  by  the  fact 
that  the  King  of  England,  as  was  the  custom  of  other 
princes  of  Europe,  had  laid  claim  to  countries  from  dis- 
covery, and  had  granted  to  certain  of  his  subjects  this 
part  of  the  country. 

"Quachattasett,  the  Indian  sachem  of  Maunomett, 
came  into  court,  and  declared  that  Nanumett  and  No- 
croft,  two  other  Indians,  have  a  part  in  Mannomett  Old 
Field.  He  engaged  not  to  make  sale  thereof  from  tlie 
said  Indians ;  and  that  they  shall  have  liberty  of  wood 
and  timber  for  firing  and  other  uses  out  of  the  bordering 
woods.  It  was  mutually  desired  by  the  said  Indians 
that  this  record  be  made  for  their  security." 

At  the  court  at  Plymouth,  October  31,  William  Nick- 
erson  was  arraigned  for  scandalously  reproaching  the 


vGooglc 


ASNALS   OP   BAHSSTAELE   COUNTY.  259 

court,  in  a  letter  to  the  governor  of  New  York;  and  he 
was  bound  over  in  the  sum  of  £500.  His  sons-in-law, 
Robert  Eldred  and  Nathaniel  Covell,  being  privy  to  the 
letter  and  consenting  to  tho  same,  were  held  in  the 
sum  of  £100  each.  Due  acknowledgments  were  subse- 
quently made  and  entered  upon  the  records,  and  £30 
of  the  £50  in  which  he  was  amerced  was  abated.  A 
grant  was  made  to  Ensign  Bernard  Lombard,  John 
Finney,  and  Isaac  Robinson,  of  fifty  acres  each,  of  land 
at  Pausatucke  Neck ;  also  six  acres  of  meadow.  A 
grant  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  to  Mr.  Edmund 
Freeman,  Jr.,  was  confessed,  with  the  meadow  adjoining 
to  the  bounds  of  Sacconessett,  and  unto  a  place  called 
Tassacust;  the  purchase  made  of  Quachatassett  and 
Sepet  his  son.  A  grant  was  also  made  to  John  Doane 
of  one  hundred  acres  at  Pottannumaquett  Neck,  and 
six  acres  of  meadow.  Also  one  hundred  acres  to  Lieu- 
tenant Ellis,  at  Maconsett  Neck.  Also  meadow  to  Ezra 
Perry,  near  Mr.  Freeman's  land.  Also  to  James  Slciff, 
forty  acres  on  the  cast  of  the  Herring  Brook  at  Manno- 
mett. 

In  1667  Mr.  Prince  was  again  elected  governor  of 
the  jurisdiction  of  New  Plymouth,  and  the  Cape  fur- 
nished three  of  the  seven  assistants,  viz. :  Mr.  Thomas 
Hinckley,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Bacon,  and  Mr.  John  Freeman. 
So  inconsiderable  were  the  aspirations  for  this  latter 
office,  that  it  was  provided  that  "  if  any  who  are  or  may 
be  elected  to  the  office  of  assistant  refuse  to  serve,  they 
shall  be  fined  £5  for  the  use  of  the  colony." 

This  year  a  comet  appeared.^     As  illustrative  of  the 

'  Says  Morton,  "In  the  beginning  of  March  there  appeared  a  sign 
in  the  heavens  in  the  form  of  a  spear,  something  thidf  ei'  in  the  midst 
than  at  either  end,  of  a  whitish  bright  color;  it  was  seen  several  nights 


vGooglc 


260  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

times,  in  its  influence  —  we  mean  its  moral  effect  on 
the  people  —  it  is  worthy  of  mention ;  for  Mr.  Neal 
says  "it  excited  the  magistrates  to  promote  a  refor- 
mation of  manners,"  ^  We  are  not  aware,  however, 
that  it  occasioned  any  mieasiness  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  on  the  Cape.  In  fact  they  were,  so  far  as  we 
can  learn,  at  no  time  distingtiished  by  any  undue  de- 
velopment of  the  marvellous.  Even  "  the  roar  of  lions  " 
which  quite  early  discomposed  the  nerves  of  their  more 
vigilant  and  observing  neighbors  in  other  parts,^  seems 
never  to  have  caused  any  great  alarm  here. 

fogetber  in  tte  west,  about  an  Lour  within  the  night ;  it  stood  stooping, 
one  end  pointing  to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  so  settled  downward  by 
littlo  and  little,  until  it  quite  vanislied  and  descended  beneatli  our 
horizon.  God  awaken  us  that  we  be  not  heedless  spectators  of  his 
wonderful  works." 

^  The  Universal  History,  in  copying  this  account,  says,  "  Some 
di-eadful  event  was  apprehended  5 "  but  adds,  "  the  only  thing  of  that 
kind  that  happened  was  a  renewal  of  the  persecutions  against  the 
Baptists  and  Quakera."  "  Severe,"  says  Judge  Davis  in  his  notes, 
"  but  not  altogether  unmerited." 

"  In  1621,  certain  persons  at  Plymouth,  Goodman  and  Brown,  were 
greatly  alarmed  by  noises  which  they  supposed  to  be  "  the  roaring  of 
lions."  Gookin  testified,  "  For  beasts,  there  ai-e  some  bears,  and  they 
say  some  lions  also ;  for  they  have  been  seen  at  Cape  Ann."  And 
Woods,  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  New  England  Prospect,  published 
in  England  only  nine  years  after  the  settlement  of  Boston,  ^ves  the 
following  account :  "  Concerning  lions,  I  will  not  say  that  I  ever 
saw  any  myself;  but  some  afHrm  tliat  tbey  have  seen  a  lion  at  Cape 
Anne,  which  is  not  above  ten  leagues  from  Boston.  Some,  likewise, 
being  lost  in  the  woods,  have  heard  such  terrible  roarings  as  have 
made  them  much  ^hast,  —  which  must  be  either  devils  or  lions,  there 
being  no  other  creatures  which  use  to  loai  "^iviig  bears  which  have 
not  such  a  terrible  kind  of  roar  eg  Eeaide  Plymouth  men  have 
traded  for  lion  skins,  in  former  tiniei  But  sure  it  is  that  there  be 
lions  on  that  continent,  for  the  Viigmians  saw  an  old  lion  in  their 
plantation,  who,  having  lost,  his  jickal  which  was  wont  to  hunt  his 
prey,  was  brought  so  poor  that  he  could  go  no  further." 


vGooglc 


ANHALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  261 

The  council  of  war,  in  "  this  time  of  danger  from  the 
Dutch  and  French,  our  common  enemies,"  embraced 
Richard  Bourne,  WiUiam  Bassett,  and  James  Skifl^  Sr., 
of  Sandwich ;  Anthony  Thacher,  Edmund  Hawes,  and 
Thomas  Howes,  of  Yarmouth ;  Thomas  Hinckley,  Nar 
thaniel  Bacon,  and  John  Chipman,  of  Barnstable ;  and 
Lieutenant  Freeman,  Josias  Cooke,  and  Richard  Hig- 
gins,  of  Eastham. 

A  grant  was  made,  June  5,  to  Thomas  Butler  of 
Sandwich,  of  "  a  neck  of  land  called  Tassacausett,  lying 
near  to  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman's  land  —  being  divided 
by  a  creek  or  brook  on  the  southerly  side  —  land 
bought  of  an  Indian  called  Charles,  alias  Pampmunitt ;" 
and.  "  in  reference  to  two  necks  of  land  purchased  by 
Mr.  Thomas  Dexter,  Jr.,  the  court  granted  him  one 
hundred  acres  of  upland  thereof,  —  ordering  that  the 
balance  shall  appertain  to  the  minister's  house  at  Sand- 
wich." 

Thus  the  affairs  of  the  Cape  moved  on  in  their  usu- 
ally quiet  way,  leaving  very  little  that  is  pertinent  to 
onr  history  to  be  recorded  further  of  the  present  year, 
save  that  some  slight  exhibition  of  discontent  among 
the  settlers  at  Manomoiet  is  evidenced  by  the  court 
records.  "Nicholas  Nicarson"  was  before  the  court, 
July  2,  "  for  opprobrious  words "  uttered  against  Mr. 
Thomas  Thornton,  the  minister,  alleging  that  a  certain 
sermon  preached  by  Mr.  Thornton  "  was  half  of  it  lies," 
&c.,  &c. ;  but  he,  acknowledging  his  error  and  engagmg 
to  make  a  public  confession  of  his  fault  in  the  meeting 
hause  at  Yarmouth,  was  released.  Subsequent  diffi- 
culties, however,  are  mentioned  —  the  resistance  to 
Thomas  Howes,  constable,  and  affronts  offered  him,  &c.. 
Sec,  in  which  numbers  of  the  name  of  Nickcrson  were 
involved,  leading  to  severe  penalties  j   all  which  suf 


vGooglc 


262  THE  HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

ficiently  indicate  an  exasperated  feeling  on  the  part  of 
the  family,  doubtless  growing  out  of  the  disallowing  of 
their  transactions  in  purchases  made  of  the  Indians. 
But  we  forbear  to  enter  more  fully  into  particulars. 

In  1668,  July  7,  the  following  record  appears.    "  The 
court  confirmeth  unto  Ensign  Barnard  Lumbert,  John 
Finney,  Sr.,  and  Isaac  Eobinson,  a  certain  neck  of  land, 
with  the  meadow  adjoiniQg  thereimto,  commonly  called 
Passuntaquanuncke  Neck,  on  the  south  sea,  heretofore 
granted  to  them ;  bounded  westerly  by  a  river  which 
divides  between  the  said  neck  and  Quenaumett,  and  by 
the  next  river  easterly,  together  with  a  strip  of  land 
coming  up  fcom  the  said  neck  to  tlie  highway  which 
leads  from  Barnstable  to  Saeoneesett,  for  tlieh  common 
and  outlet;  being  part  of  those  lands  purchased  by 
Thomas  Hinckley,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  and  Richard  Bourne, 
mentioned  in  a  deed  of  sale  bearing  date  December  2, 
1667,  signed  by  Quachatasett,  Sepitt,  and  Acomont, 
sachems.     Also  this  court  confirmeth  unto  Mr.  Thomas 
Hinckley,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  and  Richard  Bourne,  all  the 
residue  or  remainder  of  the  lands,  both  uplands  and 
meadow,  contained  within  the  said  deed  of  sale,  from 
the  aforesaid  river  easterly,  extending  to  "Wequasett, 
according  to  the  bounds  mentioned  in  the  abovesaid 
deed  of  sale,  in  right  of  the  court's  former  grant  unto 
them,  as    also    in    right   of   the    court's   grant   unto 
William  Clarke,  bought  by  them,  the  said  Thos.  Hinck- 
ley and  Nathl.  Bacon."     We  also  find  that  Francis, 
sachem  of  Nauset,  was  fined  £10,  "for  uncivil  and  in- 
human words  to  Captain  Allen,  at  Cape  Cod,  when  cast 
away."     General  musters  of  the  military  were  "ordered 
to  be  held  on  the  second  Wednesday  of  October,  1669, 
at  Plymoutli,  Yarmouth,  and  Taunton."     The  colony 


vGooglc 


ANHALS   OP   BAEHSTAELE   COUNTY.  263 

complained  of  annoyance  and  interruption  of  the  fish- 
eries on  the  part  of  Massachusette,  and  an  order  was 
id,  remonstrating  with  the  General  Court  of  the 
3  Colony  against  the  intrusion. 

The  year  1869  was  barren  of  interest.  There  is 
Uttle  to  mention,  save  that  a  vessel  was  cast  ashore  on 
the  Cape,  and  that  a  controversy  arose  between  Thomas 
Moore,  the  claimant  and  owner  of  the  cargo,  and  Sam- 
uel Doty  and  others  of  Eastham,  in  regard  to  the  sal- 
vage. An  agreement  was  finally  concluded  Oct.  29, 
and  sanctioned  by  the  court,  touching  the  moneys  re- 
covered from  the  wreck. 

The  death  of  Capt.  Thomas  Southworth,  Dec.  8, 
caused  every  where  much  regret.^ 

In  1670,  a  stringent  law  was  enacted  touching  the 
support  of  the  institutions  of  religion.  Every  town 
was  required  to  be  constantly  provided  with  an  "able, 
learned,  and  orthodox  minister  or  ministers,  of  good 
conversation,  to  dispense  the  word  of  God ; "  and  these 
were  to  be  "  suitably  encouraged  and  sufficiently  sup- 
ported and  maintained  by  the  inhabitants "  of  the 
several  towns.  In  case  of  any  neglect  longer  than  six 
montlis,  the  court  was  to  provide  for  public  worship 
by  ordering  "  a  competent  allowance  for  such  minister 
according  to  the  estate  and  ability  of  the  town,"  and 
the  town  was  to  be  assessed  for  the  same.  There  appears 
also  at  this  time  the  record  of  a  sentence  and  its  execu- 
tion upon  a  prominent  citizen,  which  was,  "  that  he  be 

1  Thomas  Southwortli  came  over  in  1623,  with  his  brother  Constant, 
and  mother,  Alice,  (who  married  Gov.  Bradford,)  and  filled  a  large 
apace  in  t!ie  history  of  the  colony.  He  was  some  time  governor  of 
the  territory  of  the  I 


vGooglc 


264  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COB. 

publicly  whipped  for  reviling"  one  of  the  ministers. 
Another"  for  reviling  the  ministry"  was  fined. 

The  lands  at  Cape  Cod  harbor  received  the  special 
attention  of  the  General  Court.  These  lands,  which 
have  often,  even  to  the  present  time,  been  the  subject 
of  legislation,  appear  to  have  been  reserved,  not  be- 
cause of  any  appreciable  value  attached  to  the  soil,  but 
on  account  of  the  value  of  the  fisheries,  as  the  pream- 
ble to  the  act  at  this  time  intimates ;  "  Whereas  the 
providence  of  God  hath  made  Cape  Cod  commodious 
to  us  for  fishing  with  seines,"  &c.  The  fisheries  were 
duly  regulated,  and  a  duty  imposed  upon  mackerel, 
bass,  and  other  fish  taken  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Cape  —  a  d^ty  to  be  enforced,  mark  !  —  not  a  Imnty,  as 
might  have  been  more  reasonably  expected  —  a  duty 
of  12d  per  barrel. 

Another  provision  of  law  at  this  period  that  was  one 
of  great  importance,  destined  to  have  a  great  influence 
on  the  future  character  of  the  colony,  was  that  making 
provision  for  the  establishment  and  support  of  schools. 
It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  our  fathers  that  this  sub- 
ject received  so  early  much  of  their  attention.  So 
intimately  connected  witbi  it  are  the  vital  and  permar 
nent  interests  of  society,  that  it  may  well  be  said  tliat 
to  their  foresight  in  this  respect  we  owe  in  a  large 
measure  our  prosperity.  Contemporary  legislation  out 
of  New  England  furnishes  no  such  evidence  of  the 
high  estimation  in  which  the  blessings  of  education 
were  held.  And  it  certainly  lessens  none  of  the  im- 
portance that  is  attached  to  Cape  Cod  in  its  early  days, 
that  as  it  is  entitled  to  the  honor  of  being  the  part  on 
which  the  first  known  discoverer  of  Massachusetts  set 
his  foot,  and  also  the  spot  where  the  vessel  moored 
which  brought  over  the  first  colony  permanently  plants 


vGooglc 


ANHAI^   OF   BAENSTAELE   COUNTY.  265 

ed  in  New  England,  and  -which  for  a  considerable  time 
continued  to  receive  the  impress  of  their  feet  —  its 
shores  made  vocal  ■with  thanksgiving  and  praise  ;  and 
was  emphatically  to  the  early  pilgrims  what  Egypt 
had  been  to  the  ancient  Israelites  —  the  place  of  sus- 
tenance —  for  hither,  as  thither,  the  people  "  went 
down  to  buy  corn  ; "  so  it  was  the  source  from  which 
revenue  was  to  be  derived  for  furnishing  the  means  of 
wholesome  intellectual  growth.  Under  a  grant  by  the 
government  of  the  colony  at  this  time,  the  profits  ac- 
cruing to  the  state,  by  the  duty  on  fishing  with  nets  or 
seines  at  the  Cape  for  mackerel,bass,herring,  &c.,  were  ap- 
propriated to  a/ree  school  to  be  established  at  Plymouth. 
The  bounds  between  Sandwich  and  Plymouth  were 
so  settled,  "  that  in  ca^e  a  south-west  line  shall  cut  off 
any  part  of  Herring  River,  to  deprive  the  town  of 
Sandwich  of  the  benefit  of  the  alewives,  the  said  line 
shall  run  more  westward,  to  clear  the  said  river  unto 
the  town  of  Sandwich." 

The  Indians  under  King  Philip  were  now  again  sus- 
pected, by  reason  of  "  frequently  assembling  and  va- 
rious movements,  of  meditating  a  general  war,"  Mes- 
sengers were  despatched  to  them  to  reconnoitre  and 
make  discoveries ;  also  to  Massachusetts  to  confer  with 
that  government  upon  the  course  proper  to  be  ,takon. 
The  government,  of  Massachusetts  was,  for  the  present, 
averse  to  hostihties  which  the  Plymouth  government 
intimated  they  should  be  "  obliged  to  begin  unless  they 
could  otherwise  bring  the  Indians  to  reason."  A  com- 
mission with  armed  men  met  the  Wamponoag  sachem 
at  Taunton,  soon  after,^  and  he  consented  to  deliver 

1  The  interview  was  held  in  the  meeting  house  j  and  whilst  Philip 
and  the  Plymouth  commissioners  with  those  from  Massachuaetfa  who 
VOL.  L  34 


vGooglc 


^bb  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

up  to  the  English  all  his  arms,  to  be  kept  by  them 
as  security  against  war ;  at  the  same  time,  stoutly  de- 
nying having  harbored  any  thoughts  of  hostile  move- 
ments against  the  Enghsh.  The  bond  obtained  under 
such  circumstancesj  it  might  well  be  supposed,  would 
not  be  worth  much. 

In  1G71,  the  code  of  laws  for  the  government  of  the 
colony  was  revised  and  ordered  to  be  printed,  under 
the  title  of  "  The  Book  of  the  General  Laws  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  jurisdiction  of  New  Plymouth."  Under 
these  laws,  or  "  General  Fundamentals,"  as  they  were 
called,  provisions  were  made,  as  has  been  suggested, 
"  for  the  better  improving  of  fishing  for  mackerel,  &c., 
at  the  Cape,"  —  penalties  were  imposed  for  taking  them 
at  other  than  specified  times,  Kcenseswere  to  be  granted, 
&c.,  &c.  It  was  now  "  ordered  that  the  charges  of  the 
free  school,  £33  per  annum,  shall  be  defrayed  by  the 
treasurer  out  of  the  profits  arising  from  the  fishing  at 
the  Cape  until  such  time  as  the  minds  of  the  freemen 
be  known  concerning  it." 

At  this  time,  also,  "  certain  persons  belonging  in  Hull 
petitioned  the  government  for  permission  to  fish  at 
Cape  Cod  for  mackerel,  they  having  discovered  a  new 
method  of  fishing  with  nets  by  moonlight." 

The  Indians  being  required  "  to  engage  themselves 
to  fidelity,  viz.,  those  of  Paomet,  Nausett,  Sachatuckett, 
Nobscussett,   Mannamoyick,  Weequahutt,  and  Mattar 

had  lent  their  friendly  aid  as  mediatora,  were  negotiating  within,  the 
Plymouth  army  were  without  oa  one  side  of  the  building  and  a  large 
company  of  Indians  on  the  other,  the  eyes  of  the  suspected  gleaming 
with  indignation,  and  the  solemn  faces  of  their  accusers  resolute  and 
determined.  It  is  not  strange  that  Philip,  when  at  liherty,  spumed 
the  engagement,  and  that  no  more  arms  were  delivered  up. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTAELE   COUNTY.  267 

kesett,"  t]ie  "  engagement  was  signed,  April  10,  by  Mr. 
John  and  Quaguachjansuke,  of  Paomet ;  [SAJViP&ON,  of  Ncm- 
sett,  is  sick  at  this  time ;]  John  Quason  Taswott,  of 
Mannamoyick  ;  Sachemus  and  Little  Robin,  and  Wahwoo- 

NETTSHUNKE,   SaBATOBKETT,   SaMPSON     of  Nohsciissdt  ;    KaT- 

ENAT,  alias  Keencomsett,  of  MattaheseU ;  [Humphrey,  of 
Weequahidt,  is  not  come.]  "  "  All,"  says  ike  record, 
"  subscribed  at  Plymouth,  in  Jime." 

The  record  further  says,  "  Those  that  engage  for 
Maskpee,  SakiMt,  and  Wahoiett,  are  Kannunnays.  Ashu- 
WOOHAHITT,  for  CoTcoshoise  and  Washetasso ;  Akomont,  for 
Ashmuitt ;  Hope,  alias  Pohunna,  for  Sakmesset;  Weba- 
COMETT,  Quechassett,  for  Mannomdtr 

Men  were  pressed  for  the  public  service,  viz. :  from 
Sandwich  ten  soldiers,  Yarmouth  nine,  Barnstable  ten, 
Eastham.  five. 

The  opinion  continued  to  gain  ground  that  difficulties 
were  to  be  apprehended  from  the  peculiar  feelmg  and 
bearing  of  the  Indians  at  Pokanoket;  and,  August  23, 
the  Plymouth  court  infonned  the  council  of  Massar 
chusetts  of  their  determination,  on  certain  contingen- 
cies, to  make  war  on  the  great  sachem.  The  aid  of 
M^sachusetts  was  earnestly  solicited,  inasmuch  as  it 
must  be  regarded  as  a  common  cause ;  but  the  Massar 
chusetts  council  were  at  the  same  time  plainly  told  that 
if  they  chose  to  hold  back,  the  Plymouth  Colony  would 
begin  the  war  alone.  The  Wamponoags  (Pokanokets) 
had,  hke  the  once  powerful  Narragansetts,  resisted  all 
attempts  to  convert  them  to  Christianity,  although, 
under  Massasoit  and  Alexander,  they  continued  in 
friendship  with  the  English,  and  kept  inviolable  the 
league  of  1621.  But  the  present  sachem  at  Mount 
Hope,  it  was  supposed,  was  now  able  to  muster  at  least 
seven  hundred  warriors.     The  Indian  had  exchanged 


vGooglc 


268  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD, 

the  rude  bow  and  arrow,  to  a  great  extent,  for  the  mus- 
ket of  the  white  man ;  and,  it  was  very  naturally 
thought  that  he  sighed  for  the  freedom  of  his  earlier 
years  —  his  proud  spirit  chafed  at  being  hemmed  in 
by  rival  powei^  who  he  feared  would  ultimately  ex- 
terminate his  race  unless  the  pale-faces  should  be  ex- 
pelled from  the  country  —  his  thoughts  intent  on 
revenge,  notwithstanding  all  his  professions  to  the  con- 
trary. 

It  so  happened  that  the  sachem  with  his  chief  men 
arrived  in  Boston  tlie  same  day  that  the  before-men- 
tioned communication  from  Plymouth  was  received. 
The  state  of  things  was  investigated  by  the  Massar 
chusetts  council,  and  Philip's  representations  were  such 
that  the  governor  and  council  of  Massachusetts  deter- 
mined that  there  did  not  appear  sufficient  grounds  for 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  against  him.  The 
nature  of  the  sachem's  subjection  to  the  government  of 
Plymouth  was  considered,  and,  September  8,  the  Massa- 
chusetts government  wrote  to  the  governor  of  Plymouth 
Colony, "  We  do  not  understand  how  far  he  hath  subjected 
himself  to  you  ;  but  the  treatment  you  have  given  him, 
and  proceedings  towards  him,  do  not  render  him  such 
a  subject  that  if  there  be  not  a  present  answering  to 
summons  there  should  presently  be  a  proceeding  to 
hostihties ;  and  the  sword  once  drawn  and  dipped  in 
blood,  may  make  him  as  independent  upon  you,  as  you 
are  upon  him."  ^ 

'  Notwithstanding  that  in  treaties  from  time  to  time,  the  Indians 
have  acknowledged  themselves  subjects  to  the  King  of  England,  they 
seem  not  to  have  comprehended  the  meaning  of  the  term.  They  ever 
retained  an  idea  of  independency  to  which  English  subjects  had  no 
pretence.  The  "  Six  Nations"  would  never  allow  themselves  to  be  vailed 
subjects-     TTiei/  would  go  no  further  than  to  call  the  great  king  their 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OF  BAENSTABLH   COUNTY.  269 

Whilst  at  Boston,  Philip  very  readily  consented  to  a 
new  treaty,  engaging  "  that  he  would  enter  into  no 
quarrel  with  the  Plymouth  Colony  until  he  had  first 
addressed  himself  to  the  Massachusetts  for  advice  and 
approbation."  Mediators  met  at  Plymouth,  consisting 
of  gentlemen  from  the  Massachusetts  and  Connecti- 
cut Colonies,  and  matters  were  there  accommodated, 
Philip  and  his  attendants  signing  the  following  arti- 
cles :  — 

"  1.  We,  PmLip,  and  my  council,  and  my  subjects,  do 
acknowledge  ourselves  subject  to  his  majesty,  the  King 
of  England,  and  the  govemnient  of  New  Plymouth,  and 
to  their  laws. 

"  2,  I  am  willing,  and  do  promise  to  pay  unto  the 
government  of  Plymouth  £100,  in  such  thin^  as  I 
have,  but  I  would  entreat  the  favor  that  I  might  have 
three  years  to  pay  it  in,  forasmuch  as  I  cannot  do  it  at 
present. 

"  3.  I  do  promise  to  send  unto  the  governor,  or 
whom  he  shall  appoint,  five  wolves'  heads,  if  I  can  get 
them,  or  as  many  as  I  can  procure,  until  they  come  to 
five  wolves  yearly. 

father.  When  the  letters  from  Plymouth  to  the  Massachusetts  gov- 
ernment were  read  to  Philip  in  Boston,  he  replied,  that  "his  prede- 
cessors had  always  been  friendly  with  the  Plymouth  governors,  and 
tliat  an  engagement  to  that  end  was  made  by  his  father  and  renewed 
by  his  brother,  and,  when  he  took  the  government,  was  made  by  him- 
self; but  it  was  only  ati  agreement  for  amity,  not  for  subjection  any 
further,  as  he  apprehended  the  case."  He  desired  to  be  shown  a  copy 
of  the  engagement,  and  requested  the  governor  of  Massachusetts  to 
procure  it  for  him.  He  averred  that  he  "  knew  not  that  he  a«d  his 
were  subsets  to  the  Plymouth  government.  Praying  Indians,"  he 
said,  "  were  subjects,  and  had  officers  and  magistrates  appointed  for 
them,  but  he  and  his  people  had  no  such  thing  with  them,  and  there- 
fore were  not  subjects." 


vGooglc 


270  THE   IIISTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

"  4.  If  any  difference  fall  between  the  English  and 
myself  and  people,  then  I  do  promise  to  repair  to 
the  governor  of  Plymouth  to  rectify  the  difference 
amongst  us. 

"  5.  I  do  promise  not  to  make  war  with  any,  but  with 
the  governor's  approbation  of  Plymouth. 

"  6.  I  promise  not  to  dispose  of  any  of  the  lands 
that  I  have  at  present  but  by  the  approbation  of  the 
governor  of  Plymouth. 

"  For  the  true  performance  of  the  premises,  I,  the 
said  sachem  Philip  of  Pawkanauket,  do  hereby  bind 
myself  and  such  of  my  council  as  are  present,  our- 
selves, our  heirs,  our  successors,  faithfully.  In  witness 
whereof  we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  hands  the 
day  and  year  above  written. 

"  In  the  presence  of  the  court,  and  divers  of  the 
gentlemen  of  the  Massachusetts  and  Connecticui 

^  The  mark  P  of  Philip,  Sachmn,  dc. 
The  mark  i  of  Uncompau. 
The  mark  [  of  Wotokom. 
The  mark  7  of  Samkana" 

No  transaction  of  importance  between  the  English 
and  the  Indians  followed  this,  for  several  years.  The 
union  between  the  three  colonies  which  had  for  some 
time  been  interrupted  by  some  misunderstandings  that 
were  now  healed,  was  renewed ;  they  were  to  meet 
once  in  three  years  only,  unless  extraordinary  occasions 
should  arise ;  and  the  proportion  of  men  for  any  gen- 
eral service  was  settled  for  fifteen  years  to  come,  as 
follows :  Massachusetts  one  hundred,  Plymouth  thirty, 
Connecticut  sixty. 

At  this  time  a  family  of  ancient  consideration  in  the 


vGooglc 


jOfflALS   OF   BAllKSTABLE   COUNTY.  Z/1 

county,'  is  first  prominently  introduced  to  our  notice, 
and,  singularly  enough,  on  this  wise: — "John  Otis  was 

^  Of  the  preliminary  genealogy  of  this  family  we  here  submit  as 
follows :  — 

1st  Gen.  John  Otis,  bom  in  Barnstable,  Devonshire  county,  Eng- 
land, 1581,  came  with  wife  and  children  to  Hingham  in  1635.  Ho 
is  styled  yeoman.  His  house  was  burned  March  15,  1646 ;  his  wife 
Mai^ery  d,  June  28,  1653  ;  he  removed  to  "Weymouth  and  contracted 
a  second  marriage;  and  d.  May  31,  1657,  t^ed  76,  leaving  a  widow 
who,  in  1663,  was  mentioned  as  surviving.  Hia  children  were  John, 
b.  in  Devonshire,  1620;  Margaret,  who  m,  Thomas  Burton  of  Hing- 
ham, and  d.  1670;  Hannah,  who  m.  Thomas  GiU  of  Hingham ;  Ajine; 
and  Alice.  [It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  Eichard,  who  was 
admitted  freeman  at  Boston  in  1655,  was  a  son  of  the  above  ;  but  he 
is  not  named  in  John's  will.  This  Eichai-d  settled  in  Dover,  N.  H., 
and  was  there  killed  by  the  Indians  in  1689.  His  son  Stephen  was 
killed  at  fhe  same  time,  and  his  wife  and  infant  b.  1688-9  were  cap- 
tured, carried  to  Canada,  and  sold  to  the  French.  The  priests  edu- 
cated (lie  child  in  the  Romish  religion,  and  baptized  her  Christina. 
The  mother  m.  Mens.  Robitail  of  Montreal  and  lived  to  the  age  of  90. 
The  daughter  m.  Mons.  Le  Braw  and  had  two  children.  In  1714,  she, 
becoming  a  widow,  returned  to  New  England,  abjured  the  Eomish 
faith,  and  m.  second  Captam  Thomas  Baker  of  Northampton,  who  bad 
himself  been  taken  by  Indians,  at  Deeiiield,  in  1704.  She  survived 
in  Dover  till  1773.  See  Gov.  Buraett's  letter  to  a  Eomish  priest, 
occasioned  by  her  trials.  Besides  this  daughter,  Richard,  who  m. 
three  times,  first.  Rose  Stoughion,  second,  Shuah,  widow  of  James 
Heard,  and  third,  Grizett  Wan-en,  had  children,  viz.,  Richard,  who 
m,  Susanna,  had  a  grant  of  land  in  Dover  in  1694,  and  was  wonnded 
1696  ;  Stephen,  who  m.  Mary  Pitman,  1674,  killed  as  above ;  Solomon, 
b.  1663,  d.  young;  Nicholas,, killed  Jaly  26,  1696,  when  the  Indians 
in  ambush  fired  upon  the  people  returning  from  meeting,  at  which  time 
also  bis  brother  Eichard  was  wounded,  and  Nicholas,  Jr.,  was  captured 
and  carried  to  the  Penobscot;  Experience,  b.  1666;  Judith;  Rose; 
and  Hannah,  b.  1687,  and  killed  1689.  Descendants  of  the  above 
Richard  1st  are  yet  living  in  New  Hampshire,  Blaine,  and  elsewhere. 
These  are  also  descendants  of  Eichard  2d,  who  was  wounded  —  he 
being  the  only  one  of  the  name  of  Otis  who  was  not  killed  or  the  chil- 
dren.   This  last  Eichai'd  had  Rose,  Richard,  Rebecca,  Stephen,  and 


vGooglc 


THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


lined  forty  shillings  for  selling  cider,"     At  ^?hat  precise 
time  Mr.  Otis  came  to  Barnstable,  it  is  difficult  to  de- 


Wicholaa,  the  Isist  b.  1701,  the  year  the  parent  died.  Few  1 
suffered  so  much  from  Indian  hostilities.  Richard  Ist  was  one  of  those 
dissatisfied  with  the  Dovei-  church  because  of  the  Quaker  persecution, 
the  severity  of  which  drove  off  many  who  at  first  merely  sympathized 
with  that  people  in  their  afflictions ;  and  he  was  fined  "  for  not  attend- 
ing meeting,"  1663,  as  also  his  wife  and  servant-maid.  The  fines  im- 
posed 00  him  and  wife  were  thirteen  each,  of  five  shillings  each,  per 
day,  for  thirteea  days'  absence.  His  son  Richard  became  a  Quaker. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  John  1st,  Riehnrd  1st,  and  Robert  of  Con- 
necticut, were  of  the  same  stock,  as  will  be  seen  in  our  note,  in  the 
Annals  of  Barnstable.] 

2d  Gen.  John,  s.  of  the  above  John  1st,  b.  1620,  fii-st  in  Hingham, 
then  in  Scituate  in  1661,  then  in  Barnstable,  finally  returning  to  Scit- 
uate,  leaving,  in  Barnstable  his  son  John,  m.  Mary  Jacob,  daughter  of 
Kicholas,  1652,  and  d.  January  16, 1683.  He  had  Mary,  baptized  1658, 
who  m.  Capt.  John  Gorbam,  Feb.  24,  1674;  Eliaabeth,  who  m.  first 
Thomas  A!lyne,Oct.  9, 1688,  and  second  David  Loring,  July  20, 1699  ; 
John,  b.  1657  in  Hingham,  and  settled  in  Barnstable  —  the  distin- 
guished "  Col.  John;"  Hannah,  1660;  Stephen,  1661, known  as  "Capt. 
Stephen,"  who  m.  Hannah  Ensign,  1685,  daughter  of  John  who  fell  in 
"the  Pawtucltet  fight"  under  Pierce,  1677;  James,  16G3,  who  settled 
in  Weymouth,  and  joined  the  Canada  expedition  under  Pliips,  was  at 
Port  Royal,  and  iinally  killed  in  an  attack  on  Quebec;  Joseph,  1665, 
who  m.  Dorothy  Thomas  of  Blai'shfleld,  was  judge  of  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  1703-14,  representative  1700  and  1713,  removed  to  New  Lon- 
don 1721,  and  d.  1754 ;  and  Job,  1667,  who  m.  Maiy  Little,  resided 
in  Scituate,  and  d.  1758,  aged  91. 

3d  Gen.  Col.  John  of  Barnstable,  b.  1657,  —  a  man  of  distin- 
guished talents,  of  powerful  wit,  great  affabihty,  sagacity,  prudence, 
and  piety,  —  repvesentative  20  yeare,  commander  of  the  militia  of 
Barnstable  county  18  years,  j^rei  judge  of  probate  33  years,  chief 
justice  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  of  his  Majesty's  Council  1706, 
21  years;  m,  Mercy  Bacon,  daughter  of  Nathaniel,  July  18, 1683,  and 
d.  Sept.  23,  1727,  aged  70.  His  children  were  Mary,  Dec.  10,  1685, 
who  m.  Little:  John,  Jan.  14,  1687;  Nathaniel,  May  28,  1690; 
Mercy,  Oct.  15,  1693  ;  Solomon,  Oct.  13,  1696  j  and  James,  June  14, 
1702. 


vGooglc 


ANKALS   OB   BABMSTABI.E   COUBTY.  273 

tcrmine  with  accuracy.   This  much,  however,  is  evident : 
he  was  here  at  this  time,  and  both  he  and  a  son  of  tJie 


4th  Gen.  John,  b.  1687,  son  of  Col.  John,  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  1707,  and  m.  Grace  Hayraan  of  Bristol,  K.  I.,  1711.  He  was 
representative  or  member  of  council  from  1747  to  his  death,  May  4, 
1758.  He  was  also  king's  attorney.  He  bad  John,  1714,  who  m. 
Temperance  Hinkley,  settled  in  Barnstable,  and  d.  1792,  having  issue, 
John,  Dec.  17,  1742,  who  d.  eai'ly;  Jolm,  Feb.  19,  1743,  who  m. 
Hannah  Churchill,  settled  at  Plymouth,  and  A.  1798,  having  Lad  three 
daughters,  one  of  whom  m.  Solomon  Hinckley,  also  a  son  John  who 
d.  at  Plymouth  1822,  and  sons  Hayman,  Oct.  7,  1747,  who  d.  infant, 
and  Hayman,  March  8, 1748. 

Nathaniel,  b.  1690,  second  son  of  Col.  John,  and  brother  of  the 
above,  was  a  prominent  man,  and  settled  in  Sandwich.  He  was  re^s- 
tev  of  probate  many  years,  and  d.  Dec.  1739,  He  m.  Abigail  liussel, 
daughter  of  Eev,  Jonathan  Kussel  who  was  oi-dained  at  Barnstable 
1683.  She  was  a  remarkable  woman  —  as  says  President  Stiles  in 
his  "  History  of  the  Three  Judges  of  King  Charles  I.,"  "  She  was  every 
way  a  woman  of  superior  excellence,  of  exceedingly  good  natural 
abilities,  possessed  of  natural  dignity  and  respectability,  of  coasiderable 
reading,  and  extensive  observation."  She  survived  her  husband  till 
March  30,  1774,  residing  ivith  her  son-in-law,  Edmund  Freeman,  in 
Mansfield,  Ct.  The  children  of  Nathaaiel  were  Abigail,  Aug.  19, 
1712,  who  d.  infant;  Abigail,  Dec.  10,  1713;  Nathaniel,  April  16, 
1716,  who  d.  early ;  Martha,  Dec.  11,  1717,  who  m.  Edmund  Free- 
man of  Sandwich,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  1733,  Aug.  7, 1736, 
whose  son  was  Hou.  Nathaniel  Freeman  of  revolutionaiy  memory,  who 
d.  Sept.  20,  1827,  aged  87,  the  revered  parent  of  the  compiler  of  tliis 
History ;  Nathaniel,  Sept.  8, 1720,  who  joined  the  body  of  troops  under 
Ad.  Vernon,  which  in  1740  took  Porto  Bello  and  destroyed  its  forti- 
fications, attending  which  sei-vice  was  so  extraordinary  mortality,  that, 
of  one  thousand  New  England  men,  less  than  one  hundred  returned, 
he  perishing  among  the  many  ;  and  Jonathan,  April  30,  1723,  whom, 
and  resided  first  at  Newport,  major,  then  in  Middletown,  Ct.,  where  he 
d.  1791. 

Solomon,  b.  1696,  third  son  of  Col.  John,  graduated  at  Harvard 

College  1717,  m.  Jane  Turner   of  Scitnate,  was  register  of  deeds, 

county  treasurer,  justice  of  the  pence,  &c.,  and  d.  Jati.  2,  1778, — 

had  Jane,  Dec  10,  1725,  who  d.  young  ;  Mary,  1727,  d.  early ;  Jolmi 

VOL.  I.  85 


vGooglc 


274  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD, 

same  name  were  still  here  in  1678,  the  former  possessed 
of  valuable  property  which  was  long  known  as  "  the 
Otis-estiite."  The  father  returning  to  Scituate,  tlie  son 
remained,  from  whom  descended  men  who  lil^ie  him- 
self were  prominent  in  puMic  life,  several  of  whom 
were  illustrious  and  whose  nativity  and  honors  are 
associated  with  the  Cape. 

In  1672,  the  laws,  hitherto  in  manuscript  only,  were, 
for  the  first  time,  printed,  and  distributed  to  the  towns. 
The  General  Court  ordered  the  military  to  pay  atten- 
tion to  tlieir  preparations  for  defence  ;  now  apprehend- 


Sept.  24,  1720,  d.  early;  Mercy,  1731,  d.  ewly ;  Solomon,  Jan.  1, 
1732;  Mercy,  1735,  viho  m.  Adine  Hinckley,  Dec.  16,  1762,  and  d. 
Feb.  19,  1793;  and  Amos,  June  14,  1737. 

Col.  Jajies,  b,  1702,  the  youngest  sou  of  Col.  John,  m.  Mary  Al- 
lyne,  whose  father  had.  removed  to  "WetherEfleld,  Ct.  "  She  was  a 
woman  of  superior  character."  Sevei'al  of  the  issue  became  distin- 
guished in  public  life,  and  will  be  noticed  particularly  in  a  more  ad- 
vanced stage  of  our  History.  The  children  of  Col.  James  were  James, 
Feb.  5,  1725,  "  the  patriol,"  graduated  a,t  Harvard  College  1743  ;  Jo- 
seph, March  6,  1725-6,  "  general ; "  Mercy,  Sept.  14,  1728,  "  the 
historian,"  who  m.  G>en.  James  Warren ;  Mary,  Sept.  9, 1730,  whom. 
John  Gray;  Hannaii,  July  31,  1732;  Kathauiel,  July  9,  1734,  who 
d.  young;  Jlartha,  Oct.  9,  1736,  d.  early  ;  Abigail,  June  30,  1738,  d. 
early  ;  Samuel  Allyne,  Nov.  24,  1740,  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
1759 ;  Sarah,  April  11,  1742,  d.  young ;  Nathaniel,  April  9,  1743,  d. 
April  30,  1763  ;  and  a  daughter  who  d.  soon  after  birth. 

Of  the  fafher  of  these.  Col.  James  Otis,  vre  present  an  admirable 
likeness  taken  from  a  painting  by  Copley — now  in  the  possession  of 
one  of  the  descendants  resident  in  New  York.  We  have  taken  much 
pains  and  encountered  expense  that  we  can  illy  aiford  to  secure  a  cor- 
rect repi-esentatjon  of  the  venerable  patriot, —  not  alone  because  he 
will  by  and  by  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  the  present  History,  but 
for  lie  reason  that  this  is  the  most  ancient  portrait  extant  of  any  in 
this  country  bearing  the  family  name.  See  notice  of  the  sons  of  Col. 
Otis,  as  also  biography  of  himself,  in  future  pages. 


yGoogle 


u   'fl- 


saH.jaBOIS  iTti 


From  a  PorirBitliy  Csfliiy 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


AHNAL8   OF   BAEMSTABLE   COUNTY.  275 

ing  difficulties  with  the  States  General  of  the  United 
Belgic  Provinces  and  others.^ 

A(T0)!^es^e(ielectionwas8till  a  thing  unknown;  and  tines 
were  necessary  to  secure  acceptance  of  office,  whether 
in  General  Court  or  elsewhere.     Lands  had  been  again 
purchased  of  the  Indians  at  Monomoyick,  June  19,  for 
an  enlargement  of  settlement ;  but  this  and  preceding 
purchases  made  without  grant  from  the  General  Court 
conflicting  with  the  right  claimed  by  persons  to  whom 
a  grant  had  been  made  in  1665,  a  compromise  was 
effected,  Mr.  William  Nickerson,  the  purchaser  from 
the  Indians,  agreeing  to  pay  to  Mr.  Hinckley  and  his 
associates  a  valuable  consideration  for  the  relinquish- 
ment of  their  claim.     This  was  done  July  3,  and  a 
conveyance  was  made  to  Mr.  Nickerson,  not  only  of 
the  privileges  conferred  by  the  grant  aforesaid,  but  also 
of  all  the  lands  which  Mr.  Hinckley,  John  Freeman, 
Nathaniel  Bacon  and  associates,  had  themselves  pur- 
chased under  it.     Thus  Mr.  Nickerson's  title  to  lands 
purchased  in  contravention  of  the    grant  was   made 
valid.     This  arrangement  was  confirmed  by  the  General 
Court,  and  the  settlement  of  Monomoyick  progressed 
without  impediment.     "  Sandwich,  being  straitened  for 
commons,  applied  to  the  court  for  permission  to  pur- 
chase more  lands ; "   and  John  Preeman  and  Richard 
Bourne  were  "  allowed  to  purchase  at  Manomet  Old 
Field."      Thomas   Butler    of    Sandwich   purchased    of 
Quachatassett  and  Nauuraett  "lands  near  the  Cedar 
Swamp,  on  the  side  of  the  path  towards  Sandwich,  — 
the  path  which  goeth  from  Nauumett's  land  or  planting 
field  to  Break-Heart  HiU,  or  Salt  "Water  Pond ;   also 


1  War  was  proclaimed  in  Massachusetts,  May  28,  against  the  Dutch, 
in  conseqwence  of  the  king's  declaration  of  war  published  in  England. 


yGoogle 


276  THE  HISTORY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

land  being  tlie  neck  that  shoots  into  the  Herring  River 
Pond,  —  the  biggest  neck  of  land."  Seecukk  and  liis 
two  sons,  laying  claim  to  Scorton  Neck,  as  their  father's 
lands,  sold  "  the  end  next  to  Barnstable,  or  the  Sandy 
Beachj"  &c., "  to  Barnstable  men."  The  sale  was  also 
confirmed  by  Quachatassett,  sachem  of  Mannomett. 
Sacconessett  ■was  authorized  by  the  Court  "  to  make 
good  and  wholesome  orders  "  for  its  governance  and 
security. 

Gov.  Prince,  who  had  continued  in  office  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  was  again  reelected,  1673,  but  died  in  April,* 
and  JosiAS  Wihslow  was,  June  3,  elected  his  successor.^ 

This  year,  the  court  saw  fit  to  order  that  no  shipment 
of  fish  caught  at  Cape  Cod  shall  be  made,  unless  an 
account  of  the  same  be  rendered  first  to  the  authorities. 
It  was  also  enacted  "  that  Indians  may  be  worked  for 
debt;  that  drunken  Indians  shall  be  fined  and  whipped ; 
that  idle  Indians  shall  be  bound  out  to  labor ;  and  that, 
for  any  theft,  they  shall  restore  fourfold." 

I  Gov.  Thomas  Prince  {Prence  he  wrole  his  name)  filled  a  large 
space  in  the  early  history  of  the  colony.  His  influence  was  great  in 
this  part  of  the  colony,  where  he  became  an  early  settler  and  for  a 
long  time  resided.  Mr.  Pnnce's  salary  was,  on  his  removal  fi-om 
Eastliam,  in  compliance  with  the  requisition  of  the  court,  voted  £50, 
(not  a  very  lucrative  emolument,)  and  a  residence  was  provided  for 
him  at  the  public  expense.  For  a  more  particular  account  of  the 
governor,  as  well  as  other  prominent  men,  citizens  of  the  Cape,  see 
the  Annals  of  the  Towns. 

3  Gov.  Josiah  Winslow  was  son  of  Gov.  Edward  Winslow,  and  the 
first  of  the  governors  bom  in  New  England. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUKTY. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  Indian  War.  —  Its  Progreaa. —  Great  Sacrificeiof  Life  aiid  Property.— 
King  Philip  slain. ^Disttess  of  the  Colonics.^ The  Cape  vindicated. — 
Irish  Sympathy.  —  The  Acfiuiaition  of  Mount  Hope.  —  Severe  Laws 
against  the  Indians.  —  Commissioa  from  England.  —  Select  Courts.  — 
Oath  of  Fidelity.  — Charters  vacated. 

In  1674,  Gov.  Josiah  Winslow  again  in  office,  it  was 
ordered  that ''  the  names  of  ail  freemen  in  each  town 
shall  be  inscribed  on  the  town  records ;  and  that  noiio 
shall  be  presented  to  the  conrt  to  take  up  their  free- 
dom unless  they  have  the  approbation  of  the  major 
part  of  the  town,  certified  under  the  clerk's  hand  by 
the  deputies," 

The  year  is  memorable  on  account  of  the  difficulties 
in  which  the  colony  is  being  plunged  by  its  determined 
course  against  the  Indians.  A  renegade  Indian,  having 
circulated  reports  of  hostile  intentions  on  the  part  of 
Philip,  was,  before  the  truth  of  these  reports  could  be 
investigated,  found  drowned,  and  circumstances  seemed 
to  indicate  that  he  had  died  by  the  act  of  others.  That 
he  was  probably  put  to  death  by  some  of  Philip's  chief 
men,  and  perhaps  by  Philip's  sanction,  will  appear  in 
the  sequel. 

The  court  having  ordered  "  that  Manomoyick,  Pao- 
met,  and  Satucket  be  included  in  the  town  of  Eastham," 
it  was  further  ordered  "  that  all  otlier  places  of  like 
capacity  shall  helong  to  particular  townships,  as  the 
court  shall  see  meet."  Mr.  Hinckley,  Mr.  Preeman,  and 
Mr.  Bourne  were  requested  by  the  court  "  to  do  what 


vGooglc 


278  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

tliey  can  towards  settling  the  differences  between 
Mashantampaine  and  the  towns  of  Barnstable  and 
Yarmouth."  An  Indian,  "  Hoker,  was  condemned  for 
theft  to  be  sold  and  sent  to  Barbadoes."  A  grant  of 
"  lands  at  Pinguinc  Hole  River "  was  made  "  to  Mr. 
Smith,  teacher  of  the  church  at  Sandwich."  And 
Joseph  Burge  of  Sandwich  was  convicted  of  "  abusing 
the  watch,  trying  to  take  away  their  guns,"  Sec,  and 
fined  £5  6s. ;  and,  being  otherwise  "  turbulent,"  was 
still  further  fined. 

The  Indians  on  the  Cape  now  renewed  their  cove- 
nant with  the  government,  through  their  several 
sachems,  chiefs,  or  head  men,  viz. :  by  LauejINCE  and 
Francis,  acting  for  JVaiiset ;  Richard  and  Little  Robin, 
fo'c  Saguatuckett ;  Heecuies  and  Samson,  for  iVofecwsse^ 
Wasmcksuk,  for  MammmoyeU ;  Paule,  for  WeeguakM 
Keencomsett,  for  Mattacheesit ;  Ashawaham,  for  South  Sea 
and  PoMPAQum,  alias  Scippague,  for  Manrmndt :  renewed . 
"  for  themselves  and  their  neighbors," 

At  the  June  court,  To^s  (who  was  one  of  Philip's 
chief  counsellors)  and  the  son  of  Tobias,  with  another 
Indian,  having  been  arrested  on  suspicion  of  being  the 
murderers  of  Sausamon,  the  Indian  found  dead  in  the 
pond  at  Middleboro',  were  convicted  and  executed. 
The  circumstances  of  the  case,  the  manner  of  trial,  and 
the  justice  of  the  deed,  we  leave  to  the  historian  of 
the  war  that  ensued.^     Suffice  it  here  to  say,  that  this 


1  This  Indian,  Jolin  Sausamon,  had  left  the  seivice  of  Philip  lu 
167i.  He  was  a  Massachusetts  Itidiaa  by  birth,  hia  pireuta  heing 
"  praying  Indians,"  in  Mattet^an,  (Dorchester.)  His  parents  being 
Christian  conyerts,  John  had  been  instructed  by  the  misaionary  ind 
teachers,  and  learned  to  read  and  write.  He,  howe\ei,  abandoned 
his  friends  in  1662,  and  repaired  to  Mount  Hope,  and  engajjed  in 
Philip's  employ,  being  probably  adopted  by  the  iril;e,  at  It^it  Iivui^ 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  279 

affair  precipitated  at  least  a  crisis  that  was  terrible  for 
the  whole  of  New  England.  Philip  regarded  the  exe- 
cution of  his  friends  as  an  unpardonable  outrage.  He 
was  ordered  to  Plymouth  to  explain  his  conduct,  but 
refused  to  go,  and  took  no  pains  either  to  refute  the 
report  made  by  Sausamon  or  to  deny  his  being  privy 
to  Sausamon's  death.  The  whole  tribe,  indeed,  were 
exasperated  by  the  execution  of  their  three  friends.^ 

with  them  twelve  years.  His  knowledge  of  reading  and  writing  made 
him  of  use  to  Philip  as  a  scribe  and  interpretor.  He  had  doubtless 
often  heard  matters  of  stat«  discussed.  It  were  indeed  strange  if  he 
had  not  heard  the  Indians  speak  of  their  grievances ;  and  not  at  all 
improbable  that  they  had  in  his  hearing,  when  indulging  in  tlieir  sym- 
pathetic complaints,  spoken  of  a  resort  to  war  as  a  thing  that  might 
be  necessary.  Perhaps  they  were  preparing  for  it.  May  be  they 
were  determined.  But  at  all  events,  Sausamon's  course  had  become 
odious  to  them.  If  the  report  he  had  made  was  false,  they  had  rea- 
son to  detest  him.  If  true,  they  could  but  regard  it  as  a  betrayal  of 
confidence  and  an  abuse  of  hospitality.  If  he  had  been  regarded  and 
treated  as  one  of  their  own  people,  it  was  treachery  and  treason.  He 
was  found  dead,  as  we  have  said  above,  at  Assawompsit  Pond  in  Mid- 
dleboro'.  It  was  charged  that  Philip  had  autliorized  the  infliction  of 
the  penalty  for  the  treason. 

1  Philip  did  not  believe  that  he  was  summoned  to  Plymouth  for 
any  good  purpose.  He  could  not  but  remember  how  his  elder  brother 
and  predecessor  in  the  sachemdom  had  been  seized  and  his  mighty 
spii-it  crushed.  It  is  said  that  he  had  never  ceased  to  sympathize 
with  the  lofty  indignation  which  was  enkindled  in  Wamsutta's  proud 
breast  by  his  being  carried  a  prisoner  to  Mavshfield.  Nor  could  he 
otherwise  than  remark  the  wondrous  change  from  the  time  when  Mas- 
saaoit,  his  father,  received  from  the  first  Plymouth  governor  the  salu- 
tation of  a  kiss,  seated  in  state  upon  cushions  in  the  governor's  house 
and  claimed  as  the  friend  and  ally  of  King  James.  Ordered  from 
pillar  to  post ;  regarded  as  a  rebel  if  he  dared  to  delay  the  least  com- 
pliance with  what  he  considered  the  imperious  demands  of  the  civil 
magistrate ;  he  who  before,  when  coromanded  by  the  governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts to  come  and.  make  a  treaty,  had  prondly  replied  to  tiie 
messengers,  "Tour  governor  is  only  a  su7)ject  of  King  Charles  11.  of 


vGooglc 


280  THE   IIISTOKT    OF    CAPE   COD. 

An  army  was  soon  in  the  field ;  one  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  men  from  the  Plymouth  Colony,  five  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  from  the  Massachusetts,  and  three 
hundred  and  fifteen  from  Connecticut ;  this  being  the 
relative  proportion  under  the  confederation.  And  it 
was  ordered  by  the  court  "  that  every  man  shall  talie 
to  meetings  on  Lord's  days  his  arms  with  him,  with  at 
least  five  charges  of  powder  and  shot."  Also,  "  that 
whosoever  shall  shoot  ofi'  a  gun  on  any  unnecessary 
occasion,  except  at  an  Indian  or  a  wolf,  shall  forfeit  5s. 
for  every  such  offence,  until  further  liberty  be  given." 
It  was  further  ordered  "  that  every  town  be  garrisoned 
for  the  security  of  families."  The  requisition  upon 
each  town  for  a  proportionate  number  of  men  in  the 
service  against  the  Indians,  had,  of  course,  been  made 
preparatory  to  the  general  movement  already  men- 
tioned ;  and  in  this  the  Cape  bore  a  part.  Men  were 
impressed  for  the  war :  in  Sandwich,  sixteen ;  Yar- 
mouth, fifteen ;  Barnstable,  sixteen ;  and  Easthain,  eight. 
Again,  in  December,  of  the  soldiers  ordered  to  be 
raised,  eleven  were  required  of  Sandwich,  ten  of  Yar- 
mouth, thirteen  of  Barnstable,  and  nine  of  Eastham. 
Sanguinary  conflicts  had  already  ensued,  some  of  those 
called  out  had  fallen,  and  provision  was  especially  made 
by  the  court  for  "  Aptha,  widow  of  John  Knowles  of 
Eastham,  lately  slain  in  the  service." 

Departing  from  the  plain  and  simple  habite  of  earlier 
times,  it  was  now  ordered  **  that  four  halberts  attend 

England  ;  I  shall  not  treat  with  a  sutiject.  I  shall  treat  only  with  the 
Hng,my  hrotker.  When  Cliavlea  of  England  comes,  I  ain  ready," 
was  now  sullenly  indignant.  The  iron  was  already  driven  into  his 
Boul.  He  gathered  his  warriors  around  tim,  the  council  fires  were 
lighted,  and  his  thoughts  ran  upon  the  alternative  whicii  he  saw  he 
could  no  longer  avoid. 


yGoogle 


.^n:mals  of  babkstable  county  281 

the  governor  and  assistants  on  election  days,  and  two 
during  tlie  continuance  of  the  court." 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  say  that  early  in  the  prog- 
ress of  the  war,  it  became  necessary  for  Mr.  Church, 
then  living  near  Mt.  Hope,  to  communicate  with  the 
authorities  at  Plymouth.     Access  to  Plymouth  by  an 
inland  route  was  rendered  impracticable  ;  he  therefore 
took  passage  in  a  sloop  bound  to  Barnstable,  and  was 
landed    "  at    Sugkonesset,"   in   that  part  now   called 
Wood's  Hole.     From  thence  he  made  his  way  to  Plym- 
outh, without  danger,  reaching  the  latter  place  whilst 
the  General  Court  was  in  session,  to  their  great  sur- 
prise  and  joy.     He    returned    by  the    same   route,  a 
canoe  being  paddled  by  two  of  the  Sugkonesset  tribe, 
by  the  way  of  the  Elizabeth  Islands,  to  his  home.     At 
a  subsequent   period,  when   the  squaw  sachem,  Awar 
shonks,  had  given   in   Jier  friendly  adhesion,  and  was 
ordered,  with  all  her  subjects,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, to  repair  to  Sandwich,  as  a  security  for  her  being 
beyond  the  reach  of  hostile    influences,  Mr.  Church 
repaired  again  to  Sandwich,  agreeably  to  his  promise, 
to  meet  her  and  make  arrangements  for  her  braves  to 
take  part  in  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  English.     Au- 
thorized to  engage  what  force  he  deemed  necessary,  he 
secured  a  guard  on  his  arrival  at  Sandwich,  and  soon 
succeeded  in  finding  the  Indian  queen  and  her  entire 
party  in  company  with  neighboring  friendly  Indians, 
on  the  sliores  of  Buzzard's  Bay.      Charles,  an  Indian 
residing  in  these  parts,  who  could  speak  English  well, 
was  of  assistance  to  him,  and  procured  for  him  due 
deference  and  respect  from  all  the  natives  assembled. 
It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Mr.  Church  was  so  highly 
honored  by  the  g^'eat  supper  served  up  by  the  Indians 
upon  wooden  trenches  :  first,  baked  bass  ;  second,  fried 
VOL.  I.  36 


vGooglc 


282  THE   mSTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

tioimders  and  eels ;  third,  shell-fish  of  various  kinds ; 
and,  after  supper,  the  illumination  from  "  a  mighty  pile 
of  fat  pine,"  around  which  a  circle  was  formed,  the 
dance  commencing  and  resulting  in  a  great  accession 
of  soldiers  as  auxiliaries  to  the  English  in  the  war. 

The  war  affected  this  part  of  the  colony  comparor 
tively  little,  except  in  the  way  of  greatly  increased 
expenses  and  the  necessity  of  furnishing  a  full  quota 
of  men  for  the  service  ;  for,  although  the  Wampanoag 
rule  embraced  the  Cape,  the  Indians  here  adhered  to 
their  former  friendship,  either  remaining   neutral   or 
assisting,  so  that  their  position  was  in  fact  a  defence  to 
Sandwich  and  the  towns  below.    Still,  the  Cape,  being 
required  to  furnish  men  for  the  war,  suffered  its  share 
of  personal  loss ;  numbers  of  its  brave  soldiers  per- 
ished.   Especially  did  the  fall  of  Capt.  Pierce  of  Scituate 
and  nearly  all  his  force  of  fifty  English  and  twenty 
friendly  Indians,  near  Pawtucket,  E.  I.,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  war,  deal  a  sad  blow  to  the   Cape  towns.     In- 
deed, both  Hubbard  and  Mather  well  remark,  "  It  was 
the  severest  calamity  that  befell  the  Plymouth  Colony 
during  this  bloody  war."     Barnstable   lost  six  men ; 
Yarmouth,  five ;  Eastham,  four ;  Sandwich,  five ;  the  rest 
of  those  cut  off  were  thirty-one  in  number,  belonging  in 
Scituate,  Marshfield,  and  Duxbxiry.     The  Indian  Amos, 
Who  escaped  to  return  to  his  home  on  the  Cape,  and 
who  was  among  the  Barnstable  quota,  has  justly  been 
commended  :  he  not  only  "  fought  bravely  to  the  last, 
standing  by  his  unfortunate  captain,  but  his  escape 
from  the  fate  of  the  fallen  was  by  a  stratagem  illustra- 
tive of  Indian  tact,  —  for,  seeing  that  the  hostile  Indians 
had  used  the  precaution  to  blacken  their  faces,  that 
they  might  be  known  to  each  other  as  distinguished 
from  the  friendly  Indians  that  accompanied  Capt.  Pierce, 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BAENSTAELE    COUNTY.  283 

Amos  instantly  wet  some  powder  and  blackened  his 
own  face  wlien  his  safety  became  otherwise  hopeless, 
and  thus  passed  through  the  midst  of  the  victorious 
and  infuriated  enemy  without  detection. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year,  seven  hundred  Indian 
warriors  had  been  slain,  among  whom  twenty-hve  chiefs 
had  fallen,  and,  it  was  said,  three  hundi-ed  additional 
deaths  occurred  from  wounds ;  the  result  of  a  single 
battle.  Besides  these,  a  great  number  of  women,  chil- 
dren, and  aged  men  were  destroyed  en  masse,  in  the  six 
hundred  wigwams  that  were  doomed  by  the  conflagrat- 
ing torch.  Of  the  colonists,  six  captains  and  eighty 
subordinates  or  privates  were  slam  and  others  wounded. 
An  incident  connected  with  the  Indian  depredations 
of  the  present  year  may  here  be  mentioned.  We  have 
spoken  of  the  concealment  of  the  three  regicides  in 
the  house  of  Eev.  Mr.  Russell  at  Hadley.^  On  the  1st 
of  September,  this  year,  Hadley  was  alarmed  by  the 
Indiana  in  the  time  of  public  worship,  it  being  Sunday. 
Groffe,  who  had  been,  as  we  have  said,  a  military  com- 
mander, looking  from  the  window  of  his  place  of  con- 
cealment in  the  parsonage  which  was  near  the  meeting 
house,  saw  a  large  body  of  Indians  approaching  just  as 
the  people  were  collected  and  the  religious  services  of 
the  day  were  being  commenced.  In  a  moment  tlie 
congi'egation  were  greatly  alarmed.  Such  was  their 
consternation  they  wist  not  what  to  do.  Gofle  sudden- 
ly appeared  among  them,  as  if  a  spectre ;  an  aged, 
venerable  man,  in  unusual  dress,  his  white  hair,  and 

^  The  Jerm  "  regicide  "  we  use,  as  it  is  especially  applied  in  Englisli 
and  American  history  to  those  men  who  signed  tlie  death  wan'ant  of 
Charles  I.,  and  who  were,  on  the  restoration  of  hia  son,  proscribed. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Eussell,  their  friend,  was  the  father  of  Bev.  Jonathaa 
Russell,  the  first  minister  of  that  name  in  Barnstable. 


vGooglc 


284  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

beard,  and  loose  garments  streaming  to  the  wind ;  and, 
with  words  of  incitement  to  revive  their  courage, 
placed  himself  at  their  head.  At  the  word  of  com- 
mand, the  men  who  had  come  to  meeting  armed  were 
quickly  formed  in  martial  array,  and,  bearing  down  on 
the  foe,  the  result  was  the  enemy  were  repulsed.  Great 
was  the  astonishment  of  the  people  when,  after  the 
excitement  of  the  few  moments  that  achieved  the  "vic- 
tory, they  looked  around  for  their  leader  and  found  he 
had  mysteriously  disappeared.  They  verily  supposed 
that  their  deliverer  had  been  an  angel  sent  from  heaven 
for  their  protection.  The  place  of  Goffe's  concealment 
was  still  unknown  except  by  the  par.son  and  his  family. 

Mr.  Winslow  continued  to  occupy  the  gubernatorial 
chair  in  1676  ;  and  a  new  levy  of  men  for  the  war  was 
required  of  each  town.  Great  alarm  existed  in  the 
colony,  and  great  destruction  of  property  was  made, 
attended  with  very  many  instances  of  loss  of  life.  The 
Cape  being  free,  almost  entirely  free  from  the  alarms 
that  prevailed  elsewhere,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Eeho- 
both,  Taimton,  Bridgewater,  and  other  places  being 
greatly  exposed  and  in  many  instances  driven  from  their 
hoi^es,  an  invitation  was  extended  from  the  Cape 
towns,  particularly  Sandwich,  Barnstable,  Yarmouth, 
and  Eastham,  through  a  general  committee  appointed 
to  this  duty,  to  their  suffering  brethren  to  come  hitlier 
with  their  movable  property  for  preservation  and 
safety.  Dartmouth,  Middleboro',  and  Swansey  were 
already  broken  up  and  scattered.  To  the.  invitation, 
committees  from  several  towns  responded.  The  inhab- 
itants of  Taunton  replied,  "  We  bless  God  that  he  has 
given  us  so  much  room  in  your  hearts,  that  you  so 
freely  tender  to  us  a  part  with  you  in  your  houses, 


vGooglc 


AKNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   OOXIKTy.  285 

fields,  and  provisions,  at  such  a  time  ■when  the  Lord  is 
threatening  us  with  bereavement  of  our  own.  It  miich 
comforteth  us  in  this  day  of  darkness  and  distress,  that 
we  shall  want  no  succor  you  are  able  to  afford  us." 
The  replies  from  Eehoboth  aud  Bridgewater  were  ex- 
pressive of  similar  sentiments. 

It  was  ordered  by  the  General  Court,  Feb.  29, 
that  "the  inhabitants  of  the  several  townships  and 
plantations  shall  not  withdraw  from  the  same  without 
permission  first  had  and  obtained "  from  the  rightful 
authorities.  Town  councils  of  war  were  appointed  "  to 
look  out  for' the  safety  and  good  ordering  of  their 
respective  towns  : "  In  Sandwich,  Mr.  Richard  Bourne, 
Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  Jr.,  and  Thomas  Tobey,  Sr. ;  Yar- 
mouth, Mr.  Edmund  Howes,  John  MOler,  and  Jeremiah 
Howes ;  Barnstable,  Mr.  Thomas  Hinckley,  Mr.  Thomas 
Huckins,  and  Mr.  Barnabas  Lothrop ;  aud  Eastliara,  Mr. 
John  Freeman,  Jona.  Sparrow,  and  Mark  Snow.  De- 
linquent soldiers  were  ordered  to  be  fined;  and  fines 
of  £2  each  were  imposed  on  Ezra  Bourne  and  John, 
son  of  Mr.  John  Smith,  of  Sandwich,  for  not  appearing 
and  "going  out"  when  drafted.  The  towns  were 
assessed  for  the  war,  the  Cape  towns  being  required  to 
pay  the  following  sums  :  Sandwich,  £92  13s.  Gd. ;  Barn- 
stable, £99  3s.  6d. ;  Yarmouth,  £74  15s.  6d. ;  Eastham, 
£68  16s.  6d. 

Again,  Mar.  29,  soldiers  were  pressed,  viz.:  from 
Sandwich,  28 ;  Barnstable,  30  ;  Yarmouth,  26  ;  East> 
ham,  18.  All  male  youths  under  sixteen  competent  to 
the  duty,  were  required  to  join  the  town  watch. 

Yet  again,  in  June,  both  men  and  money  were  called 
for :  from  Sandwich,  £16  and  15  soldiers  ;  Yarmouth, 
£14  and  13  soldiers;  Barnstable,  £16  and  15  soldiers; 
Eastham,  £10  5s.  and  10  soldiers.     In  July  of  the  same 


vGooglc 


aOO  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

year  the  rates  for  the  war  and  other  public  charges, 
were:  Sandwich,  £327  15s.  6d. ;  Yarmouth,  £266  53.; 
Barnstable,  £351  3s.  9d.;  fiistham,  £236  5s. 

On  the  12th  of  August,  King  Philip,  the  great  sachem 
of  the  AVampanoags,  the  terror  of  New  England,  and 
accounted  by  the  Plymouth  Colony  their  deadly  foe, 
fell;  his  head  was  brought  in  triumph  to  Plymouth, 
and  a  general  thanksgiving  was  ordered.  A  historian 
who  would  utter  no  word  in  disparagement  of  the  con- 
duct or  motives  of  those  who  brought  about  this  war, 
remarks ;  "  Thus  fell  the  mighty  warrior !  He  was  un- 
questionably a  great  warrior  and  a  mighty  chief,  in 
whom  rested  the  confidence  and  the  hope  of  the  con- 
federated tribes.  The  noble  deeds  which  he  performed 
in  1676  in  the  defence  of  his  unfortunate  people,  would 
not  suffer  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  renowned 
heroes  in  our  own  cause  in  1776,  to  whom  has  justly 
been  awarded  a  large  share  of  honor  and  fame.  From 
this  death  may  be  dated  the  extinction  of  his  tribe, 
and  eventually  of  the  aboriginal  race  in  New  England. 
The  termination  of  this  horrid  war  was  an  event  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  colonies,  as  during  its  con- 
tinuance of  about  two  years  they  sxiffered  a  loss  of  about 
six  hundred  men  in  the  flower  of  their  strength,  twelve 
or  thirteen  towns  destroyed,  and  six  hundred  dwelling 
houses  consumed." '  By  this  war  a  large  debt  was  con- 
tracted, and  the  resources  of  the  colonies  were  greatly 
diminished. 

Before  we  pass  on  from  this  summary  reference  to 

'■  Thirleen  towns  were  destroyed  entirely,  the  buildings  being  all 
burned.  No  less  than  fifty-three  towns  suffered  severely  j  others,  in 
less  degree.  More  than  two  thirds  of  the  whole  number  were  in  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Rhode  Island.  —  See  Baylies's  Hist.  New  Plymouth, 
Thacher's  History  of  Plymouth,  and  Davis's  Morton. 


yGoogle 


AKNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  287 

the  war  of  1676,  we  must,  in  justice  to  the  Cape,  notice 
somewhat  particularly  a  fretful  remark  of  Gov.  Winslow 
reflecting  on  Sandwich.  We  have  said  tliat  new  levies 
of  men  for  the  war  were  required  of  each  town  early 
the  present  year.  The  crisis  was,  indeed,  most  momen- 
tous. Reports  of  the  conflagrations  of  towns,  and  the 
burning  of  isolated  dwellings  and  bams  hither  and 
thither,  came  so  incessantly,  one  report  treading  as  it 
were  upon  the  heels  of  another,  that  the  enemy  seemed 
to  be  ubiquitous.  They  had  returned  from  their  tempo- 
rarily concentrated  positions  on  the  frontier,  and  w-ere 
scattered  over  the  neighborhood  of  the  entire  seaboard 
of  the  Massachusetts  and -Plymouth  Colonies.  Their 
movements  were  so  rapid  as  to  baffle  the  utmost  vigi- 
lance, and  their  depredations  were  astounding.  The 
levy  which  the  council  of  war  at  Plymouth  had  ordered 
in  March,  "  to  oppose  the  enemy,"  was  to  be  furnished, 
to  the  number  of  300,  from  the  following  towns  :  Plym- 
outh, 30;  Duxbury,  16;  Bridgewater,  16  ;  Scituafe,  50; 
Taunton,  30  ;  Sandwich,  28  ;  Yarmouth,  26  ;  Barnstable, 
30  ;  Marshfield,  26  ;  Eehoboth,  30 ;  Eastham,  18  ;  besides 
a  recruit  of  100  friendly  Indians.^ ,  These  were  to  be 
ready  to  march  by  the  11th  of  April.  But,  before  that 
day  arrived,  many  changes  had  been  wrought  Some  of 
these  towns  had  been  attacked,  some  destroyed.  "  The 
council  of  war  met  at  Plymouth  on  the  day  appointed, 
and  a  sad  record  indeed  was  that  of  their  proceedings." 
Mr.  Winslow  says,  "Many  of  the  soldiers  who  were 
pressed ,  came  not  forth ;  especially  Scituate  and  Sand- 
wich proved  very  deficient;"  and  from  this  cause,  the 
governor   thought,  proceeded  "  a  frustration   of    the 

'  Dartmoutti,  Middleboro',  and  Swanscy  were  already  broken  up, 
and  therefore  not  included  in  the  requisition. 


vGooglc 


ZiSO  THE   HISTORY   01'    CAl'E   COD. 

whole  design."  The  fact  is,  the  council  of  war  disagreed, 
and  their  meeting  "  broke  up  in  division  and  confusion," 
and  the  several  towns  were  left,  unaided,  to  their  own 
defence.    "  A  few  of  the  soiithmi  soldiers  went  out  of 

.  their  way  as  far  as  Middleboro',  and  then  returned 
home."  ^ 

The  fact  in  regard  to  Sandwich  is,  the  twenty-eight 
men  required  were  drafted,  and  those  of  the  number 
who,  for  peculiar  reasons,  were  not  on  hand  at  the  time 
ordered  bj  the  council  of  war,  were  promptly  fined. 
It  was,  indeed,  felt  that  it  was  neither  for  the  interest 
of  the  town,  nor  of  the  colony,  that  Sandwich  should  be 
left  weak  and  defenceless.  The  incursions  of  the  enemy 
were,  as  we  have  suggested  before,  sudden,  vigorous, 
and  successful  wherever  attempted;  and,  although 
Sandwich  had  never  been  backward  in  affording  aid, 
there  were  now  peculiar  circumstances  demanding  the 
utmost  vigilance  of  its  inhabitants.  It  was  the  frontier 
town,  as  it  were,  of  the  Cape;  occupying  the  narrow 
isthmus  and  interposing  by  its  vigilance  the  only  effect- 
ual barrier  to  any  influence  from  the  hostile  Indians 
being  exerted  to  secure  the  cooperation  with  Philip  of 
the  numerous  Indians  on  the  Cape.     The  town  had,  so 

,  to  speak,  its  hands  full  already.  Its  inhabitants  had 
resolved  to  extend  to  theii  brethien  exposed  in  the 

*  With  SandwKli  onb  h'lVf  ne  m  thia  insf'^ace  ti>  do;  but  it  is 
proper  to  give  S  ituate  Ihp  bPiiefit  of  ihe  doubtleas,  ju  t  remarl!  of 
Judge  Davis:  "The  remissness  in  Safuite,  of  ivhioh  Grov.  Winslow 
complaina,  cannot  dow  be  explained  The  town  had  suffeicd  severely, 
and  the  inhabitants  might  have  been  in  circumstances  not  known  to 
Gov.  Winslow,  which  would,  in  their  opinion,  render  it  justifiable  or 
expedient  to  confine  themselves,  on  that  occasion,  to  their  own  im- 
mediate defence.  The  two  historians,  Hubbard  and  Mather,  commend 
their  intrepidity  on  a  former  occasion,  when  part  of  their  town  was 
destroyed." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.  289 

towns  beyond,  Taunton,  Rehoboth,  Bridgewater,  &c.,  an 
invitation  to  come  to  them  for  succor  and  share  with 
them  their  houses,  provisions,  and  every  comfort  they 
could  bestow ;  this  also  involved  peculiar  obligations. 
Besides,  its  inhabitants  had  no  reason  to  hope  for  an 
entire  exemption  from  the  ire  of  the  enemy ;  but  were 
rather  apprehensive  that  they  might  yet  attempt  to 
wreak  their  vengeance  upon  Sandwich  and  break  down 
the  barrier  that  was  in  the  way  of  their  intercourse  with 
the  Indians  of  the  Cape.  The  governor,  and  perhaps 
some  of  the  exposed  elsewhere,  may  not  have  appreci- 
ated tlxe  peculiar  position  of  the  place,  and  seem  not  to 
have  been  properly  impressed  by  the  readiness  of  the 
inhabitants  to  assist  to  the  utmost  even  unsolicited, 
never  calling  for  or  receiving  aid  for  themselves. 

It  is  true,  (and  the  admission  is  made  with  some  de- 
gree of  satisfaction,)  Sandwich  never  entered  into  the 
crusade  against  the  Indians  with  that  furore  which  dis- 
tinguished some  of  the  towns  nortli  and  west  of  it. 
Conflicting  opinions,  it  is  well  known,  existed  throughout 
the  colonies  in  regard  to  the  poUcy  of  the  council  of  war. 
Still,  Sandwich  did  the  best  it  could,  under  existing 
circumstances.  Money  was  freely  furnished ;  and  men, 
as  far  as  they  were  required,  were  raised,  and  even  be- 
yond its  proportion. 

A  letter  from  Gov.  Winslow,  May  23,  addressed  to 
Mr.  Edmund  Freeman  of  Sandwich  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Hinckley  of  Barnstable,  and  forwarded  by  Mr.  Church, 
throws  some  light  on  this  subject,  beyond  the  records 
of  the.  town.  The  governor  "  requested  that  the  towns 
of  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  would  furnish  ten  or  twelve 
Cape  Indians  for  each  of  the  towns  of  Bridgewater, 
Taunton,  Hingham,  Dartmouth,  &c.,  and  urged  the 
sending  of  sixty  as  speedily  as  possible."  The  governor 
VOL.  I.  37 


vGooglc 


290  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

expressed  the  hope  that  Mr.  Bourne  would  aid  the 
design  ;  and  adds,  "  Mr.  Church  tells  me  of  an  Indian 
woman  brought  in  last  Saturday  by  Sepit,  who  seema 
to  be  sent  with  lies  and  flams  to  affi-vjU  and  corrupt  your 
Indians ;  if  so,  I  wish  you  would  order  him  to  put  her 
to  death;  but  leave  it  to  your  discretion  if  you  should 
think  there  may  be  inconveniency  in  it,  —  but  let  her 
not  have  opportunity  of  returning  to  the  enemy.  I 
would  gladly  improve  the  present  heat  that  is  in  our 
men,  in  sending  out  fresh  parties." 

A  letter  previously  written,  April  1*7,  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
"Walley  ^  of  Barnstable,  and  addressed  to  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton 

1  Rev.  Thojias  Walley,  whose  "  prudence  was  tlie  means  of 
restoring  the  harmony  of  the  church  at  Barnstable,  which  had  been 
greatly  interrupted,"  is  mentioned  by  his  contemporaries  as  a  man  of 
talents,  learning,  aud  piety.  The  records  of  the  Barnstable  church  say, 
"The  Lord  was  pleased  to  make  him  a  blessed  peacemaker  and  im- 
prove- him  in  the  work  of  his  house  here  till  March  24,  1678,  being 
Lord's  day  morning,  about  forenoon  meeting  time,  and  then  he  called 
him  out  of  this  earthly  tabernacle  into  a  house  not  made  wilh  hands." 
Mr,  "Walley  is  said  to  have  been  "  remarkable  forhis  humility."  It  is 
much  to  the  honor  of  Mr.  "Walley  that  he  was  kindly  affected  towards 
the  Quakers,  He,  in  common  with  many  other  influential  inhabitants 
of  the  Cape,  was  much  dissatisfied  with  the  severity  practised  towarda. 
that  people  by  the  government.  It  is  equally  to  his  credit  that  he  was 
ever  an  advocate  for  a  kind  and  considerate  course  towards  the  Indians. 
In  the  Antiquarian  Kooraa  at  Worcester  are  preserved  manuscript 
letters  of  much  interest,  written  by  Mr,  Walley,  in  which  letrers  he 
laments  the  treatment  the  Indians  received,  A  sermon  of  his,  preached 
at  the  annual  election  at  Plymouth,  1669,  was  published,  entitled 
"  Balm  in  Gilead  to  heal  Zioa's  Wounds ; "  and,  prefixed  lo  the  election 
sermon  of  Mr.  Arnold  of  Marshfield,  1674,  was  publkhed  an  "  Address 
on  Public  Spirit,"  furnished  conjointly  by  Mr.  Walley  and  Eev.  Thomas 
Thacher. 

By  the  records  of  William  and  Mai7's  Church,  Whitechapel,  Lou- 
don, it  appears  that  John  Wullci/,  who,  it  is  probable,  was  the  grand- 
father of  Eev,  Thomas  above,  d,  in  1586,  being  a  printer  in  London. 
He  left  a  son  -Robert,  who  was  of  the  Court  of  Assistants,  aad  whose 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUiSITY.  Z'dl 

of  Plymouth,  is  not  without  interest  in  this  connection  : 
he  says,  "  I  am  greatly  afflicted  in  my  spirit,  to  see  tiie 

will,  London,  1651,  shows  a  son  Thomas,  who,  probably,  was  the  minis- 
ter of  Bavnslable.  However  this  may  be,  Kev.  Mr.  Walley  brought 
with  him  to  America  his  wife  Margery  and  several  children,  viz. : 
Hannah,  who  m.  Samuel  Allyne,  May  10,  1664,  and  d.  Oct.  23, 171 1 ; 
John,  b.  1643,  who  was  judge  and  major  general;  Mary,  b.  April  18, 
1644,  who  m.  Job  Crocker  of  Barnstable,  1668  ;  Thomas,  b.  1646 ; 
and  Lydia,  b.  April  16,  1650.  His  first  wife  dying,  he  m.  second 
Sarah  Clark,  about  1675,  whom  he  mentions  in  hia  will,  requesting  in 
the  same  that  he  "  may  be  buried  as  near  to  my  loving  wife  deceased 
as  may  be." 

John,  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Mr.  Walley,  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
member  of  council,  and  major  general,  d.  Jan.  11,  1712.  By  his  wife 
Sarah,  who  d.  Nov.  11,  1711,  he  had  Sarah,  who  m.  first  Cliarles 
Chauucey,  Oct.  19,  1699,  and  eecond  Francis  Willoughby,  Oct.  11, 
1716,  and  d.  Dec.  26,  1726;  John,  b.  Nov.  7,  1677,  and  d.  early; 
Hannah,  b.  July  23,  1680,  and  d.  Nov.  26,  1711;  Mary,  b.  Feb.  1682, 
and  d.  Aug.  15,  1704;  EUzabeth,  b.  Nov.  1,  1685,  m.  Rev.  Joseph 
Sewall,  D.  D.,  Oct.  29,  1713,  and  d.  Oct.  27,  1756 ;  Lydia,  b.  Sept.  2, 
1688,  and  d.  April  26,  1747 ;  and  John,  b.  Sept  11,  1691,  who  m. 
Bethia  Eyre,  March  18,  1714,  d.  March  6,  1745,  and  had  John,  Oct. 
C,  1716,  who  was  the  minister  first  at  Ipswich,  second  at  Bolton,  and 
m.  Elizabeth  Appleton.  Besides  Eev,  John  of  Ipswich,  his  father  had 
Catharine,  1719 ;  Sarah,  1722  ;  Bethia,  1724  ;  Thomas,  Nov.  1, 1725 ; 
Elizabeth,  1781;  and  Mary,  1733.  The  last  Thomos,  h.  1725,  m. 
fii-st  Mary  Kneeland,  1748,  and  second  Sarah  Hord,  17G7,aodd.  Sept. 
6,  1806.  He  had,  besides  several  children  who  d.  in  infimey,  Mary, 
who  m.  Capt.  John  Langtlon  ;  Thomas,  1768,  who  m,  Eliza  Ferrall  of 
Martinique,  and  d.  Aug.  2,  1848;  Solly,  March  25,  1772,  who  m. 
Hon.  John  Phillips,  the  first  mayor  of  Boston  ;  Charles,  1776,  who  m. 
Catharine  Hurd,  and  d.  March  12,  1840 ;  and  Samuel  Hall,  April  12, 
1778,  who  m.  Miriam  Phillips,  and  d.  July  25,  1850,  Laving  issue  — 
§amuel  Hurd  of  Roxbury,  Aug.  31,  1805,  who  m.  first  Mehitabel  S. 
Bates,  daughter  of  Hon.  Isaac  C.  Bates,  of  Northampton,  and  second 
Annie  G.  Hawes,  daughter  of  Prince  Hawes  ;  Miriam,  1807  ;  Sarah, 
1816,  who  m.  Doct.  W.  K.  Brown;  and  Abby,  1818. 

Thomas,  the  other  son  of  Rev.  Mr.  Walley,  was  a  merchant  in 
Barnstable  and  prominent  citizen.     Ho  m.  Hannah  Bacon  daughter 


vGooglc 


292  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

danger  we  are  in,  and  the  confusion  and  sad  disorder 
we  are  fallen  into.  New  England  must  prepare  itself 
for  what  the  Lord  will  lay  upon  it.  We  had  some 
hope  the  Indians  with  us  might  have  proved  fcdthfiil, 
and  been  a  help  to  us ;  but  ihey  see  mtr  tveakness  and 
confusim,  and  take  great  notice  of  the  seventy  showed 
towards  the  squaws  that  are  sent  away,  some  of  them 
much  grieved,  others,  I  fear,  provoked.  They  say  we 
cannot  so  easily  raise  armies  as  send  away  poor  squaws. 
The  country  about  us  is  ir&iMed  and  grieved  at  this  action, 
accounting  it  very  unseasonable ;  and  what  the  effect 
will  be,  God  only  knows.  I  could  wish  our  honored 
governor  would  send  for  them  back  and  return  them 
to  their  friends.  It  would  be  very  acceptable  to  this 
part  of  the  country,  for  there  is  much  discontent  about 
it.  Some  fear  we  have  paid  dearly  for  former  acts 
of  severity;  and  how  dear  we  may  yet  pay,  God 
knoweth."  ^ 

of  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Esq.,  anA  had  Thomas,  who  d.  without  issue; 
Hannah,  who  m.  first  William  Stone,  1G8C,  and  second  James  Leonard; 
and  Elizabeth,  who  m.  Edward  Adams,  1692.  He  d.  1672,  and  his 
widow,  Hannah,  m.  Rev.  George  Shove  of  Taunton,  Eeb.  18, 
IG74-5. 

Among  the  lineal  descendants  of  Rev.  Thomas  Walley,  oi'  connected 
with  them  by  marriage,  have  been,  and  are,  many  persons  of  high  dis- 
tinction. 

^  The  Cape  Indians  had  been  ever  disposed  to  be  friendly ;  but  the 
policy  of  the  colony  towards  the  Indians  came  near  moving  the  numer- 
ous bodies  of  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sandwich  and  Barnstable 
to  desperation ;  and  it  required  great  effort  and  prudence  to  keep  them 
quiet,  and  especially  to  make  their  services  available  still  to  the  Eng- 
lish. "What  that  policy  generally  was,  we  need  not  here  define.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say,  that  Mr.  Church  had  averred,  "  Had  the  promises  to  the 
Indians  been  kept  and  the  Indians  fairly  treated,  it  is  probable  that 
most,  if  not  aU  the  Indians  in  those  parts  had  soon  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  those  who  suiTcndered  themselves,  which  would  have  been 


vGooglc 


AKKALS   OF   BAESSTABLE   COUNTY.  293 

Hev.  Mr.  Walley,  in  a  subsecLuent  letter  to  Mr.  Cotton, 
July  18,  says,  "  I  observe,  throughout  the  land  where 
Indians  are  employed  there  hath  been  the  greatest 
success,  if  not  the  only  success ;  which  is  a  humbling 
providence  of  God,  that  we  have  so  much  need  of  them 
and  cannot  do  our  work  without  them.  It  should  teach 
us  to  be  wise  in  our  carriage  towards  them." 

The  Cape  towns,  whatever  glory  they  might  have 
claimed  in  any  public  cause,  (although  they  were  never 
behind  any  other  parts  of  the  country  in  their  patriotic 
devotion,)  have  never  cared  to  magnify  or  noise  abroad 
their  achievements.  It  is  proper,  however,  further  to 
remark,  so  restless  had  the  Indians  become,  that 
while  Mr.  Hinckley  was  abroad  on  the  public  service, 
a  guard  was  necessary  to  protect  his  dwelling ;  and,  in 
Sandwich,  at  the  town's  expense,  a  guard  was  constantly 
on  pay  watching  the  entire  isthmus  of  the  Cape  to  pre- 
vent communication  between  the  Cape  Indians  whose 
pacific  disposition  was  indispensable  to  the  safety  of  the 
country,  and  the  hostile  Indians  who  were  constantly 
desiring  and  seeking  their  alliance.  It  would  have 
redounded  more  to  the  credit  of  certain  historians,  had 
they  given  proper  prominence  to  the  real  facts  in  the 
case  whether  as  respects  the  Indian  war  or  the  wars 
that  succeeded. 

That  neither  Sandwich  nor  otlier  Cape  towns  were 
derelict  in  respect  to  sympathy  with  the  suffering 
colony,  may  be  seen  from  a  comparison  aided  by  the 

a  good  step  towards  finisliiiig  the  war.  But  in  spite  of  all  that  could 
be  said,  argued,  plead,  or  begged,  somebody  else  that  had  more  power 
in  (heir  hands  improved  it,  and  without  any  regard  to  the  pramises 
made  to  them,  on  their  surrendering  themselves,  they  were  carried  to 
Plymouth,  there  sold,  and  transported  out  of  the  country,  being  about 
eight  score  persons." 


yGoogle 


TliE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


following  schedule  of  disbursements  made  in  the  war, 
before  July,  1676 ; 


Plymouth  had 

paid 

£351    3  9,  a 

nd  rec.  of  Irish  donation 

Sandwich 

« 

327  15  6, 

"             "             " 

Duxbuiy 

' 

164  19  0, 

"             "             " 

Marshfleld 

" 

266    1  0, 

.1             "             » 

Tarmouih 

' 

266    1  0, 

Barnstable 

' 

351    3  9, 

.!                       ii                       U 

Scituat« 

' 

586    7  4, 

a              "               It 

Taunton 

' 

327  15  C, 

"               "               " 

Rehoboth 

485    5  4, 

"               "               " 

Eastham 

' 

23G    5  0, 

li               n              11 

B  ridge  water 

164  19  0, 

11                       ii                       u 

Swansea 

" 

165    0  0, 

iC                      "                       « 

Dartnioulli 

" 

0    0  0, 

H                      it                       U 

Middleljoro' ' 

" 

0    0  0, 
£3692  16  2 

' 

£124  10  0 

A  notable  occurrence  connected  with  this  war  illus- 
trates the  excited  feeling  of  the  times,  and  we  therefore 
mention  it,  although  the  Cape  had  no  concern  in  the 
matter.  An  Englishman,  during  the  war,  deserted  his 
post,  and  fled  to  the  Narragansetts.  It  was  charged 
that  he  carried  with  him  a  quantity  of  powder,  and 
furtlier  that  he  joined  tlie  Indians.  Being  captured,  it 
is  said  he  confessed  his  guilt.  He  was  condemned  to  be 
hung  and  quartered,  and  the  sentence  was  executed. 

It  is  worthy  of  more  particular  notice,  to  the  honor 
of  humanity,  that  in  the  time  of  the  distress  of  the 
Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Colonies  by  reason  of  the 

^  Dartmouth  and  Middleboro'  were  so  completely  laid  waste  that  no 
pecuniary  advances  were  made  by  those  towns. 

It  is  proper  to  state  that  soldiers  in  this  war  were  compensated  in 
part  by  a  portion  of  the  money  accruing  from  the  sale  of  pnsonei's ; 
lands  were  also  assigned  for  the  sums  due  them.  The  Indian  aux- 
iliaries received  their  compensation  in  the  plunder  they  miglit  acquire. 


vGooglc 


ASNALS   OF   BAILNSTABLE    COUNTY.  295 

war,  ■when  few  families  remained  tiiat  were  not  mourning 
the  loss  of  some  near  relative,  and  when  pecuniary  em- 
barrassments pressed  upon  them,  the  donation  from 
Ireland,  to  which  we  have  referred,  "  for  the  relief  of 
the  impoverished,  distressed  and  in  necessity  by  the 
war,"  was  received.  We  record  with  pleasure  this  noble 
instance  of  benevolent  sjTnpathy.'  We  are  constrained 
also  to  mention  the  fact  that,  although  the  Cape  towns 
were  so  favorably  exempted  from  the  general  calamities 
of  the  war,  some  misunderstanding  seems  to  have  inter- 
rupted for  a  moment  the  general  agreement  of  these 
towns.  A  dispute  arose,  in  which  Sandwich,  Barnstable, 
Yarmouth,  and  Eastham  were  involved  in  regard  to  the 
pubUc  charges. 

We  have  not  room  to  record  all  that  might  be  gath- 
ered from  official  documents  of  the  services  rendered 
by  the  Cape  in  the  war  with  the  Indians  ;  but  we  may 
add  that "  John  Paysley  of  Yarmouth,  a  cripple  in  the 
late  wars,"  was  allowed  £3 ;  Thomas  Tobey  of  Sand- 
wich had  for  his  services  a  grant  of  lands;  and  Captain 
Jonathan  Sparrow,  Lieutenant  Joseph  Lothrop,  and 
Lieutenant  John  Thacher,  were  conspicuous  members 
of  the  council  of  war. 

In  1677,  a  new  law  was  enacted  by  the  General  Court 
requiring  suitable  provision  to  be  made  in  every  town 
for  the  support  of  public  worship.  It  seems  to  have 
been  but  the  revisal  and  modification  of  already  existing 
enactments ;  although  some  have  it  that  this  was  the 
first  law  definitely  authorizing  and  providing  for  the 
coercive   collection   of  taxes   for   ministerial   support. 

'■  Ker.  Nathaniel  Mather,  a  CongregatJonal  minister  in  Dublin,  had 
a  conspicuous  part,  it  has  been  suggested,  in  this  fraternal  act. 


yGoogle 


296  THE   mSTuRY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

Additional  courts  were  ordered  to  be  holden  by  the 
selectmen  of  the  several  towns.  The  laws  respeeting 
the  sales  of  sta^ong  liquors  were  renewed  and  the  pen- 
alties increased.  Laws  were  also  enacted  for  the  imi- 
versal  establishment  and  support  of  public  schools. 
Indians  were  forbidden  to  come  to  Plymouth  at  the 
time  of  the  holding  of  the  courts,  "  except  provided 
with  a  permit  from  a  magistrate  or  selectman,  under 
the  penalty  of  five  shillings  or  a  whipping."  It  was 
also  made  penal  for  a  white  man  to  lend  to  an  Indian 
any  silver  money.  "  The  privileges  and  profits  of  fishing 
at  the  Cape,  were  farmed-out  at  £30  per  annum."  The 
rates,  for  state  purposes,  were  fixed  as  follows,  for  the 
Cape:  Sandwich,  £22  168.;  Yarmouth,  £18  10s.;  Barn- 
stable, £24  5s. ;  Eastham,  £15  18s. ;  and  lands  were 
granted  to  John  Wing,  Sr.,  of  Yarmoi:th. 

Joseph  Burge  of  Sandwich,  who  during  King  Philip's 
war  "  resisted  and  abused  the  watch,"  and  was  often 
fined,  was  now  again  before  the  court,  and  amerced  to 
the  amount  of  £5,  "  for  selling  liquor  to  tlie  Indians." 
The  decision  of  the  court  seems  not  to  have  been  well 
relished  by  him,  for  it  was  also  found  necessary  to  fine 
him  ten  shillings  "  for  swearing  in  court."  George  Bar- 
low of  Sandwich  was  also  before  the  court  for  being 
"  turbulent,  and  threatening  to  drive  away  the  minister, 
Mr.  Smith,"  as  well  as  on  the  charge  of  other  irregu- 
larities. 

In  1678,  it  was  enacted,  "  still  further  to  promote  the 
great  object  of  religious  worship,"  that  in  each  town 
there  shall  be  a  house  of  worship  provided,  repaired,  or 
enlarged,  as  occasion  may  require ;  and  in  case  of  any 
neglect,  it  shall  be  done  by  the  government,  and  the 
delinquent  town  assessed  for  the  expense.     It  has  been 


vGooglc 


AMNAI^   OF   BARNSTABLE   COCmT.  297 

suggested  by  a  reviewer  of  tliese  enactments,  that  "  a 
law  enjoining  upon  all  to  pursne  diligently  their  several 
professions,  would  have  been  as  efficacious :  much  of 
the  time  of  the  ministers  being  employed  in  civil  and 
secular  affairs."     It  is  thus  easy  for  some  to  cavil  at  the 
doings  of  the  early  settlers  ;  it  would  be  better  did  such 
labor,  instead,  to  imitate  them   in  their  virtues  and 
imbibe  a  portion  of  their  wisdom  and  patriotism.    It  is 
true,  the  experience  of  later  times  has  proved  that  the 
burden  of  the  support  of  public  worship  must  mainly 
fall  on  the  liberal,  the  conscientious  and  possessed  of  a 
strong  sense  of  religious  obligation,  who  will  ever  be 
ready  to  sustain  the  religious  teachings  which  they 
believe  are  most  in    accordance  with  the    gospel  of 
Christ.     But  the  condition  of  the  colony  was  now  pe- 
culiar.    It  had  just  emerged  from  a  state  of  war — a 
condition  of  thmgs  not  most  favorable  to  morality ;  and 
various  embarrassments  attended  the  carrying  out  in 
the  best  manner  honest  endeavors  for  the  public  weal. 
Among   the  causes    operating    to    thwart    the    policy 
hitherto  pursued,  the  practice  of  indiscriminate  suffrage 
(those  who  had  not  taken  the  freeman's  oath,' as  well 
as  those  who  had,  having  been  permitted  to  vote,  — 
claiming  the  right  by  reason  of  paying  taxes)    was 
thought  to  be  chief —  tending  "  to  the  obstruction  of 
carrying  on  religion  and  the  public  good."     The  court, 
therefore,  directed  the  towns  to  exclude  from  the  right 
cif  sufirage  all  who  had  not  taken  tlie  oath.    None  were 
''to  come  to  inhabit  without  leave;"  if  any  intruded, 
they  were  to  be  warned  to  leave,  a  fine  of  .five  shillings 
being  imposed  for  every  week's  continuance  after  such 
warning,  and  the  inhabitants  were  forbidden  "to  sell 
or  hire  out  accommodations  "  to  such,  or  to  entertain 
them,  under  a  heavy  penalty.     If  any  were  accepted, 
VOL.  I.  38 


vGooglc 


298  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

it  was  enjoined  that  great  care  bo  employed  to,  make 
assurance  doubly  sure  that  they  were  "  orthodox  in 
their  judgments."  If  the  people  of  any  town  should 
be  delinquent  in  providing  for  the  gospel,  the  people 
of  such  town  were  to  be  rated  for  its  support,  by  the 
colonial  government.  It  seemed  the  only  remedy ; 
and  hence  the  legislation. 

All  this  certainly  shows  a  great  change ;  whether 
attributable  in  some  degree  to  the  previous  attempts 
to  enforce  a  imUy  of  religious  sentiment,  or  to  other 
causes  alone,  the  reader  must  judge.  If  to  the  former 
chiefly,  it  shows  how  impolitic  is  coercion  and  persecu- 
tion. No  doubt  the  early  colonists  meant  well,  accord- 
ing to  their  ideas  of  toleration.  But  their  rigid  course 
and  exclusive  views  were  evidently,  in  some  cases  at 
least,  the  cause  of  their  own  early  defeat.  The  policy 
of  the  laws  of  the  previous  year  for  the  maintenance 
of  public  schools,  all  will  acknowledge,  was  less  ques- 
tionable than  coercive  enactments  of  an '  exclusive 
character  for  the  support  of  religion ;  and  possibly  the 
reader  may  most  cordially  approve  the  law  of  the 
previous  year  prohibiting  the  sale  of  strong  liquors, 
except  to  strangers,  and  that  with  a  license  for  keeping 
an  ordinary  or  inn. 

The  coiirt,  "  conceiving  the  public  safety  to  require 
that  all  persons  in  the  government  should  abide  and 
continue  in  their  own  towns  respectively,"  also  ordered 
that  "  no  one  shall  depart  on  the  penalty  of  forfeiting 
his  whole  personal  estate,  except  by  allowance  of  the 
governor  or  two  magistrates." 

This  year  also  an  act  was  passed  for  the  protection 
of  the  fisheries.  It  was  ordered  that  all  vessels  not 
belonging  to  the  colony  should  be  seized  for  the  colo- 
ny's use,  and  that  the  damage  done  to  the  fisheries 


vGooglc 


AUNAIS    OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.  299 

should  be  paid  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  such 
vessels.  Massachusetts  was  excepted  ;  hut  to  all  other 
foreigners  the  prohibition  extended. 

On  the  8th  March,  "  In  answer  to  the  petition  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Mannamoiett,  wherein  they  apply  them- 
selves unto  this  court  that  they  may  be  a  township  of 
themselves,  as  by  reason  of  their  remoteness  from  the 
town  of  Eastham  they  cannot  comfortably  attend  the 
worship  of  God  there,  —  they  manifesting  that  they 
are  desirpus  of  building  a  meeting  house  and  procur- 
ing Mr.  Crosby  or  some  other  orthodox  minister  to 
dispense  the  word  of  God  amongst  them :  the  court 
ordereth  that  if  they  so  do,  and  apply  themselves  to 
the  next  June  court  and  then  give  the  court  a  good 
assurance  thereof  as  also  to  perform  other  duties  which 
concern  a  well-ordered  township,  they  shall  be  a  town- 
ship by  themselves."  And,  June  3,  the  court  ordered 
"  in  answer  to  Mr.  "William  Nickerson's  petition,  that 
Mannamoiett  shall  be  a  constablerick  of  itself."  The 
court  also  enjoined  the  raising  of  £5  per  annum 
towards  "  the  enabUng  of  them  to  build  a  meeting 
house  for  a  minister." 

George  Barlow,  the  quondam  marshal  of  Sandwich, 
we  are  for  him  sorry  to  say,  was  again  before  the  court 
charged  with  being  a  "turbulent  fellow,"  and  bound 
over ;  and  Jane,  the  wife  of  John  Barlow,  was  com- 
plained of  *'  for  selling  liquors  to  an  Indian." 

In  1679,  SEtECT  Comrs  were  "  allowed  in  each  town 
or  jurisdiction,  and  the  following  persons  were  com- 
missioned to  hold  them,  on  the  Cape,  viz. :  in  Sandwich, 
Mr.  Edmund  Freeman,  John  Blackwcll,  and  Thomas 
Tupper ;  in  Yarmouth,  Edmund  Howes,  Ensign  Thach- 
er,  Edward  Sturgis,  John  Miller,  and  Jeremiah  Howes  ; 


vGooglc 


300  T1!E   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

in  Barnstable,  Lieut.  Laythrope,  (Joseph,)  Lieut.  James 
Lewis,  Mr.  Barnabas  Laythrope  ;  and  in  Eastham,  Capt. 
Jonathan  Sparrow,  Mark  Snow,  and  John  Doane."  The 
profits  of  the  Cape  fishing  the  last  year  were  ordered 
to  be  collected ;  lands  were  granted  to  Robert  Lawrence 
of  Sandwich,  "  purchased  from  PoMPAQuraE  of  Pokesit ; " 
and  £10  to  William  Perry,  "  who  received  great  wounds 
in  the  late  wars  with  the  Indians."  Leave  was  also 
granted  to  Robert  Lawrence  of  Sandwich,  to  purchase 
"  a  certain  tract  of  Indian  Slmon  Wiceett,  at  Pocassett : 
six  score  acres." 

In  1680,  "a  great  comet"  appearing,  the  usual 
amount  of  alarm  was  excited  in  New  England  —  a 
feeling  not  peculiar,  however,  in  that  day  to  tlie  peo- 
ple of  any  one  section  of  country,  or  portion  of  the 
globe.  The  teachings  of  the  pulpit  favored  in  some 
degree  superstitious  views.  Dr.  Increase  Mather,  in  a 
discourse  preached  at  that  time,  attempted  to  show 
tliat  "  when  blazing  stars  have  been  seen,  great  mutar 
tions  and  miseries  have  come  upon  mortals." 

Those  fine  lands,  the  territory  of  Mount  Hope,  the 
seat  of  the  groat  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags  —  that 
unfortunate,  though  shrewd  and  bold  warrior  who  paid 
the  forfeit  in  1676  —  which,  with  other  tracts,  were 
confirmed  to  the  colony  of  New  Plymouth  at  the  close 
of  tlie  war,  were  now  sold  by  order  of  court  to  liquidate 
the  expenses  of  the  war  and  to  refund  to  the  several 
towns  a  proportion  of  what  had  been  raised  by  taxation 
for  that  purpose.^  The  purchase  was  made  by  Boston 
gentlemen,  at  £300  sterling. 

'  The  sum  obtained  waa,  of  course,  inadequate  to  cover  tlie  whole 
expeuse  of  the  war.     Altbougli  the  daily  pay  to  those  who  seiTcd  in 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTY.  301 

The  writer  may  be  unfortunate  in  the  judgment  he 
forms  in  regard  to  the  moraUty  of  some  transactions 
which  he  feels  obliged  in  faithfulness  to  record.  But, 
a  descendant  from  the  early  settlers  though  he  be,  he 
cannot  appreciate  as  do  some  the  sentiment  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Holmes  in  his  Annals,  (often  cited  by  others  with 
the  same  reference  to  the  pidy  of  the  actors,)  when  he 
says,  "  It  is  a  consoling  fact  that  our  ancestors  purchased 
of  the  natives  their  land  for  an  equivalent  considera- 
tion, as  appears  by  a  letter  from  the  pious  Gov.  Wins- 
low,  1676:  'I  think  I  can  clearly  say  that  before  these 
present  troubles  broke  out,  the  English  did  not  possess 
one  foot  of  land  in  this  colony  but  what  was  fairly 
obtained  by  honest  purchase  of  the  Indian  proprietors. 
We  first  made  a  law  that  none  should  purchase  or 
receive  of  gift  any  land  of  the  Indians,  without  the 
knowledge  of  our  court.  And  lest  they  should  be 
straitened,  we  ordered  that  Mount  Hope,  Pocasset,  and 
several  other  necks  of  the  best  land  in  the  colony, 
because  most  suitable  and  convenient  for  them,  should 
never  be  bought  out  of  their  hands.' " 

It  is  indeed  painful  to  conteinplate  in  the  retrospect, 
or  the  present,  the  situation  of  the  original  natives  of 
the  soil ;  so  soon  after  their  welcome  to  their  English 
neighbors  were  they  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  occu- 
pying as  their  only  domain,  and  that  vipon  sufferance, 
a  few  narrow  possessions ;  the  martial  spirit  that  was 
every  where  exhibited  around  them  telling  that 
they  were  not  only  conquered  and  debased,  but  were 

this  war  was,  to  a  general  68.,  captain  5s.,  commissary  4s.,  surgeon 
gfineral  4s.,  lieutenant  4'*.,  sergeant  2s.  6d.,  corporal  2s.,  and  oi-dinary 
soldier,  Is.  Od.,  the  commission nrs  of  the  United  Colonies  represented 
the  disbursements  daring  this  war  as  amounting  to  £100,000  in  Plym- 
outh Colony  alone. 


yGoogle 


302  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

destined  to  extinction;  and  then,  at  last,  their  distinc- 
tive character  lost,  —  the  blood  of  the  Indian  only  flow- 
ing in  commingled  streams  with  negroes  and  others, 
until,  at  last,  scarcely  a  vestige  remains  of  once 
powerful  tribes,  if  we  except  the  bones  occasionally 
exhumed  where  once  they  roamed  the  proud  lords  of 
the  creation  around  them. 

Gov.  Josias  Winslow,^  who  had,  through  successive 
years,  held  the  office  of  chief  magistrate  from  the 
death  of  Gov.  Prince  to  the  present  time,  died  in 
MarshfieM,  Dec.  18,  greatly  lamented.  He  was  the 
first  governor  of  the  colony  who  was  born  in  New 
England.  It  has  been  regarded  as  much  to  his  credit 
that  one  of  the  first  acts  of  his  administration  was  to 
restore  Isaac  Eobinson  and  others,  who  had  been  dis- 
franchised because  of  their  advocacy  of  the  rights  of 
the  Friends. 

Mr.  Thomas  Hincklev  of  Barnstable  was  chosen  in 
1681  to  succeed  Gov.  Winslow ;  and  Mr.  James  Cud- 
worth  succeeded  Mr.  Hinckley  as  assistant.^ 

1  JosiAH  Winslow,  governor  of  Plymoutb,  bovn  in  Marshfield  in 
1629,  was  son  of  Gov.  Edward  Winslow.  In  Philip's  war,  as  com- 
mander of  the  Plymouth  forces,  he  proved  himself  a  brave  soldier. 
He  d.  at  Slarshfield,  Dec  18,  1680,  ae.  51.  He  was  father  of  Isaac 
"Winslow,  a  councillor  and  genera!,  who  d,  in  1738.  Edward,  John, 
Kenelm,  Gilbert,  and  Josias,  with  three  sisters,  constituted  the  family 
in  England.  Of  these,  Edward  and  Gilbert  came  over  in  the  May- 
flower in  1620.  John  came  the  next  year  in  the  Fortune.  Kenelm's 
name  appears  in  the  Plymouth  list  of  taxes  in  1633.  Josias,  the 
youngest  brother,  came  over  also.  John  removed  to  Boston ;  one 
settled  in  Eochester ;  one  ia  Portsmouth ;  another,  Edward,  governor, 
and  father  of  Gov.  Josias,  in  Mai'shfleld,  then  called  Green  Hai-hor. 
Kenelm  Winslow  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Winslows  on  the  Cape. 

3  Gen.  James  Cudvvorth  had  himself  been  for  a  time  a  distin- 
guished citizen  of  Barnstable  County,  and  one  of  the  original  settlers 
of  !he  town  of  Barnstable  in  1639.     Besides  being  deputy  to  the 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    Oh'   EA08TABLE   COUNTY.  303 

The  first  instalment  of  the  payment  obtained  by  the 
sales  of  Mount  Hope  was  made ;  and  those  fertile  and 
beautifully  located  lands  inviting  and  being  now  almost 
the  last  unoccupied  by  the  English,  numbeis  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Cape  removed  thither.  Military 
companies  were  required  to  fill  vacancies  with  able 
officers,  and  the  soldiers  were  to  be  provided  with 
swords  and  cutlasses.  The  selectmen  were  required  to 
be  under  oath,  and  the  secretary  was  to  furnish  them 
a  book  containing  all  the  orders  of  court.  It  was  also 
ordered  that  in  every  town  of  the  jurisdiction,  three  men 


General  Court  as  early  as  1649  and  an  assistant  in  1656,  he  had  been 
a  commissioner  of  the  United  Colonies  in  1655  and  1657;  liut,  in 
1658,  "in  conaequence  of  his  public  policy  ia  regard  fo  the  Quakei-s, 
views  more  indulgent  than  suited  the  spirit  of  the  time,  ho  was  left 
out  of  the  magistracy,"  as  we  have  before  shown,  "and  was  super- 
seded by  Gov.  Hinckley."  Gov.  Josiah  Winslow,  whose  confldence 
in  Mr,  Cudworth  was  great,  in  1673  appointed  him  commander  of  an 
expedition  ngainst  the  Dutch,  and  in  King  Pliilip's  war  he  was  made 
commander  of  the  forces  of  the  Plymouth  Colony.  This  same  year 
that  he  was  restored  to  his  position  as  assistant,  1681,  he  was  sent  to 
England  "to  solicit  a  charter  from  the  crown,  in  place  of  the  patent 
from  the  Plymouth  Company,  which  was  all  the  authority  the  colony 
yet  had  for  administering  its  affairs.  He  died  in  London  soon 
afler  his  arrival.  Mr.  Baylies,  in  his  History  of  New  Plymouth,  says, 
"  The  moral  character  of  Cndworth  stands  out  in  bold  relief  .  .  . 
From  the  maxims  of  his  pious  philosophy,  believing  that  he  was  not 
called  of  God  to  fill  the  high  places  of  the  state,  he  reconciled  himself  to 
his  obscurity  and  privacy,  and  preferred  the  retirement  of  his  farm  fo 
the  highest  civic  and  military  honors."  Mr.  Palfrey,  from  wliO:;e 
address  this  note  is  compiled,  adds,  "  Let  me  illustrate  this  modesty 
of  his,  and,  at  the  same  time,  something  of  the  domestic  habits  of  the 
period,  by  a  quotation  from  his  letter  in  reply  fo  the  governor's  com- 
munication of  his  appointment  to  lead  the  expedition  against  the 
Dutch:  ' The  place,' says  he, ' is  not  below  me,  as  some  deem  theirs 
to  be,  but  is  above  me,  and  far  beyond  any  desert  of  mine,  and  had 
the  court  been  well  acquainted  with  my  insufficiency  for  such  an 


yGoogle 


304  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPIi   COD. 

should  be  cliosen  and  joined  with  the  commissioned 
officers  to  be  "  the  town  council."  It  was  "  ordered  that 
Mannamoiett  do  choose  a  fit  man  to  exercise  its  men  in 
ai-ms,"  &c. ;  also  that  "  the  men  of  Sacconessit  repair 
three  times  a  year  to  Barnstable  to  train."  A  grant 
was  also  made  to  Jona.  Sparrow  of  lands,  viz.,  "  Spar- 
row's Mand,  near  Mattapoisett."  And  the  Quakers  of 
Sandwich,  upon  their  petition,  were  granted  liberty  to 
act  in  the  disposal  of  lands,  &c., "  so  long  as  they  carry 
themselves  civiliy  and  do  not  abuse  their  liberty." 
Gov,  Hinckley  was  continued  in  office,  by  election, 

undertaking,  doubtless  I  should  not  have  been  put  in  nomination. 
Besides,  it  is  evident  to  me,  upoa  other  considerations,  I  am  not  called 
of  God  inob  vokah  ne  The  a  and  condition  of  my 
family  is  sac  not  «lm  t  of      y       11".     M3'  wife,  as  is 

weU  known  o  ienhoe  o  n  no  only  a  eak  woman,  and  has 
been  so  a  a  on  h  now  by  ea  o  of  a^,  be  j,  67  years  and  up- 
wards, a  d  tia  u  e  decay  ug  so  e  I  ne  s  ^  b  n  ore  strongly  upon 
her.  N  e  a  Jay  j  as  bu  he  s  fo  ed  0  se  break  of  day  or 
before.  She  cannot  lie,  for  want  of  breath.  And  when  she  is  up 
she  cannot  light  a  pipe  of  tobacco,  but  it  must  be  lighted  for  her. 
And  she  has  never  a  maid.  That  day  your  letter  came  to  my  bands, 
my  maid's  year  being  out,  she  went  away,  and  I  cannot  get  or  hear  of 
another.  And  then,  in  regard  to  my  occasions  abroad,  for  the  tending 
and  looking  after  my  creatures ;  the  fetching  home  my  liay,  that  is 
jet  at  the  place  where  it  grew ;  getting  of  wood ;  going  to  mill ;  and 
for  the  performing  of  all  other  family  occasions,  I  have  now  but  a 
small  Indian  boy,  about  13  years  of  age,  to  help  me.  Sir,  I  can 
truly  say  that  I  do  not  in  the  least  waive  the  business  out  of  an  effem- 
inate or  dastardly  spirit;  but  am  as  freely  willing  to  serve  my  king 
and  my  country  as  any  man  whatsoever,  in  what  I  am  capable  and 
fitted  for ;  but  do  not  understand  that  a  man  is  called  to  serve  his 
country  with  the  inevitable  ruin  and  destruction  of  his  family.' 

"  So  little  of  state  was  there  in  those  times  in  the  hovtseliold  econo- 
my of  the  commander-in-chief  in  a  foreign  war ;  eo  little  of  the  lust 
of  office  bad  the  New  England  statesmen  and  soldiers  of  the  17th 
century.  Indeed,  it  is  amusing  and  toucliing  at  once  to  see  how  hard, 
in  those  days,  it  was  to  induce  men  to  be  williog  to'be  great." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARN3TABLE   COUMTY.  305 

ill  1682.  "  Of  the  Cape  money,"  state  avails  from  tlie 
fisheries,  "£12  was  granted  to  Eehoboth  for  their  school ; 
£8  to  Duxbury,"  &c,  A  law  was  passed  "  for  the  regu- 
lation of  proprietaries."  A  "  controversy  between  Rich- 
ard Smith  and  Ehode  Island  men,  about  Hog  Island," 
was  referred  for  settlement ;  the  government  req^uired 
all  probate  business  to  be  done  in  Boston ;  an  act  was 
passed  regulating  the  taking  ofalewives  in  Buzzard's 
Bay  ;  the  people  throughout  the  colony  were  required 
"  to  refrain  from  work  and  recreation  on  Fast  and 
Thanksgiving  days,"  and  "  from  travelling  on  the  Sab- 
bath and  on  lecture  days  ;  "  the  keepers  of  inns  were 
"  to  clear  their  houses  of  all  persons  able  to  go  to 
meeting "  when  regular  reHgious  services  were  ap- 
pointed, "  strangers  only  being  excepted ; "  and  the 
towns  were  ordered  to  "  provide  stocks  and  whipping- 
posts." Another  comet  appeared,  which  was  con- 
sidered by  some  a  presage  of  calamity ;  and  Zachary 
Allen  of  Sandwich  was  fined  £20  "  for  selUng  rum  to 
the  Indians."    Joseph  Holway  became  his  surety. 

Severe  laws  having  been  passed  in  1657  "regulating 
the  lives  and  conduct  of  the  Indians,  and  requiring  the 
Court  of  Assistants  to  appoint  an  overseer  for  them,  it 
was  now  furtlier  required  "  that  every  tenth  Indian 
shall  have  particular  oversight  of  bis  nine  men,  and 
present  their  faults  to  the  proper  authorities ; "  further, 
"  that  the  overseers  and  tithing  men  in  the  towns  where 
are  Indian  plantations,  shall  appoint  Indian  constables 
annually,  who  shall  attend  the  courts  held  for  regulating 
Indian  affairs."  ^     The  Indians  were  to  be  subject  to  all 

'  The  employment  of  the  Indiana  in  their  oivn  goYtirnment,  it  has 
been  said,  was  peculiarly  gmtefol  to  Ihem,  And  pvobahly  their  notions 
of  the  administration  of  justice  were  generally  in  accordance  with  the 
s  of  common  sense.  It  is  related  of  Wahan,  the  Indian  who 
VOL.  I.  39 


vGooglc 


306  TIIE   HISTOET   OF   CAPE   COD. 

capital  and  criminal  laws  made  for  the  English  in  the 
colony.  For  the  first  offence  of  drunkenness,  an  Indian, 
on  conviction,  was  to  pay  a  fine  of  five  shillings  or  be 
whipped,  for  the  second  ten  shillings  or  be  whipped ; 
and  "  no  Indian  "  was  to  be  "  trusted,"  nnder  penalty. 

In  1683,  a  bridge  over  Eel  River  in  Plymouth,  and 
one  over  Jones's  River,  were  ordered  to  be  built.  Sand- 
wich, Barnstable,  and  Yarmouth  were  required  to  con- 
tribute a£5,  in  silver,  each,  towards  the  building  of  Eel 
River  bridge.  Of  "the  Cape  money,  £12  was  appro- 
priated to  Barnstable,  £S  to  Duxbury,  £5  to  Rehoboth, 
^£3  to  Taunton,"  &c.  And  the  court  ordered  tliat  the 
selectmen  in  each  town  "  shall  talce  care  of  the  poor  in 
their  respective  townships,  the  town  to  provide  for  the 
expense." 

A  memorable    crisis  was  now  at  band.     Randolph 

welcomed  Mr.  Eliot  to  his  wigwam  in  Newton,  in  ICiC,  that  whilst 
acting  as  Indian  magistrate  at  Natick,  he  being  asked  hy  a  young 
Indian  who  had  just  received  an  appointment  to  the  same  high  office, 
and  wlio  wished  fully  to  inform  himself  respecting  tlie  modes  of  pro- 
cedure that,  heing  suilably  familiar  with  the  rules  hy  which  justice 
was  to  be  administered,  he  might  govern  himself  accordingly, 
"When  ludian  gets  drunk  and  quarrels,  what  you  do  den?"  he  re- 
plied to  the  inquiry  of  his  student,  "  Hah,  tie  um  all  up,  and  whip  um ; 
whip  um  plaintiff,  whip  um  'fendant,  and  whip  um  witness."  The 
following  13  also  said  to  have  been  the  form  of  the  warrant  he  issued  : 
"  You  big  constable,  quiclt  you  catch  um  Jeremy  Offscow,  strong  you 
hold  um,  safe  you  hring  um  afore  me,  "Waban,  Justice  of  Peace." 
This,  it  will  be  perceived,  is  very  similar  to  the  instance  given  by 
Judge  Davis  of  another  Indian  formula:  "I  Hioudi,  you  Peter; 
Jerry  Wicket,  quick  you  take  him,  fast  you  hold  him,  straight  you 
bring  him,  before  me,  Hioudi."  This  simplification  of  legal  documents 
all  must  confess  has  some  advantages  over  the  verbosity  which  has 
generally  prevmled  in  legal  writings,  and  shames  some  of  the  proposed 
improvements  of  modern  reformers  of  the  law. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  307 

arrived  in  Boston  in  October  with  a  qiio  warrmiio  against 
Massachusetts,  and  commissioned  by  the  crown  "  to 
settle  difficulties."  The  charter  was  vacated.  The 
Plj'mouth  Colony  was  in  constant  apprehension  of  pro- 
ceedings being  instituted  against  other  colonies  also 
itself  included,  and  found  it  necessary  to  act  with 
great  caution.  All  charters  being  soon  after  declared 
vacated,  the  people  were  told  that  the  titles  to  their 
estates  were  worthless,  inasmuch  as  (to  use  the  ex- 
pression then  in  vogue)  "  the  calf  had  died  in  the  cow's 
belly ; "  and,  moreover,  there  was  in  any  event  "  a 
radical  defect,  for  the  court  had  not  made  their  grants 
under  the  seal  of  the  colony."  This  defect  Randolph 
and  his  minions  alleged  no  possession  or  improvement 
could  heal.  "  From  this  period,"  says  Minot,  "  we  may 
date  the  origin  of  the  two  parties,  the  patriote  and  pre- 
rogative men,  between  whom  controversy  scarcely 
intermitted,  and  was  never  ended  until  the  separation 
of  the  two  countries.  Such  as  were  for  adhering  to 
their  patent,  naturally  won  the  feelings  of  the  people 
and  received  their  confidence  in  proportion  to  their 
zeal ;  whilst  such  as  hoped  to  assuage  a  power  which, 
in  their  opinion,  could  not  at  tliis  period  be  overcome, 
were  subject  to  the  reproach  of  cowardice,  or  self-inter- 
ested motives." 

In  1684,  a  second  distribution  of  the  result  of  the 
sales  of  Mt.  Hope  was  made.  A  jury  was  empanelled 
to  lay  out  a  road  "  from  Barnstable  through  Sandwich 
to  Plymouth."  The  taking  of  mackerel  at  Cape  Cod, 
or  near  it,  with  nets  or  seines,  was  prohibited  by  act  of 
the  Gieneral  Court ;  and  it  was  ordered  that  under  the 
restrictions  imposed,  "  the  Cape  fishing "  be  let  "  in 
behalf  of  the  country  for  seven  years."    A  lease  for  the 


vGooglc 


dUo  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE    COD. 

"  bass  fishing  "  was  made  to  Williain  Clarke  of  Plymoiitli 
at  ^£30  per  annum. 

Harwich  is  mentioned,  (piasi  a  town,  this  year,  although 
its  legal  and  MI  incorporation  did  not,  occur  until  ten 
years  after.' 

On  examining  the  Proprietors'  Records,  toucting  "  the  Quason'a 
lands,  or  sixteen  share  purchase,"  —  the  first  entry  in  which  is  some 
thirty  years  suhsequent  to  the  present  date,  —  we  find  the  cover  of 
said  records  to  be  an  ancient  parchment-deed  bearing  date  Feb.  20, 
1673,  of  property  conveyed  by  William  NickeKou  to  Tmstram  and 
Ann  Hedges,  bounded  by  lands  of  William,  Joseph,  Samuel,  aud  John 
Nickerson,  and  Trustraio  Hedges'  meadow,  Sequa,nset.  Oyster  Pond 
and  Great  Neck  are  named.  The  lands,  it  would  appear,  were  pur- 
chased of  John,  Joseph,  and  Samuel  Quason  and  their  sisters,  children 
of  John  Quason,  Sr.,  alias  Towasowet,  and  grandchildren  of  Matta- 
quason,  sachem  of  Monamoy,  and  of  Amos  Lawrence,  Indian.  The 
tract  included  more  than  half  of  the  present  territory  of  the  town  of 
Harwich,  and  was  bounded  north  by  "  Great  Long  Pond  "  —  the  pres- 
ent bounds  between  Harwich  and  Brewster ;  westerly  by  the  lands  of 
the  Indian  Sachemus,  "  beginning  at  the  easterly  comer-pond  called 
Hall's  Mill  Pond,  on  the  highway  that  leads  from  said  corner  of  said 
pond,  southerly  by  said  highway  as  it  runs  across  the  road  that  comes 
from  Monamoy,  to  a  mill.  Hall's  mill,  until  it  comes  to  the  road  that 
comes  from  said  Hall's  mill  to  Coy's  Brook ;  then  and  thence  running 
westerly  by  said  road  until  it  comes  to  Wing's  line ; "  southerly  most 
of  the  distance  by  "the  lower  cartway" — or  southward  through  Har- 
wich, and  easterly  by  Chatham,  In  the  absence  of  much  of  authentic 
data  that  might  enable  as  better  to  trace  the  progress  of  events  here, 
we  rescue  from  the  destroying  hand  of  time  these  few  suggestives  of 
the  cover  of  the  manuscript. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAEJfSTABLE   COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

The  Colony  divided  into  Counties,  and  Barnstable  County  erected.  —  Ar- 
rival of  Andros,  and  the  Goveraor  superseded.  —  Extension  of  Cape 
Tomne.  —  licvolution  in  England,  and  Ecstoration  of  the  Government. 

—  Erencli  and  Indian  War.  —  Annexation  of  Plymouth  Colony  to  Massa- 
chusetts, and  Extinction  of  the  foimer  Government. — Andros  dismissed. 

—  Efforts  to  obtain  a  Charter. 

Gov.  Hinckley  -was  again  in  office,  1685,  and  "the 
government  being  much,  enlarged,"  the  colony  was 
divided  into  three  connties,  viz. :  Plymouth,  Bristol,  and 
Barnstable.  In  the  County  of  Barnstable  were  reckoned 
eight  towns,  includhig  Falmouth,  Harwich,  Truro,  and 
Chatham,  though  as  yet  Sandwich,  Yarmouth,  Barn- 
stable, and  Eastham  only,  were  fully  incorporated. 
Barnstable  was  made  the  shire  town  of  tlie  county ;  a 
court  bouse  was  built,  and  proper  officers,  including 
judges,  for  the  county,  were  duly  appointed.  The 
towns  proper  were  now  required  to  send  grand  jurors 
to  court;  the  laws  were  again  ordered  to  be  revised 
and  published ;  and  confirmatory  titles  were  given 
under  the  seal  of  government,  "  the  several  purchases 
being  particularly  described." 

"On  the  motion  and  request  of  the  principal  men 
amongst  the  Indians  commonly  called  the  South  Sea 
Indians,  living  about  Satuit  Pond,  Mashpee,  and  places 
adjacent,  —  that  the  tract  of  land  formerly  given  by 
Tookenchosen  and  Weepquush,  Indians,  as  per  deed 
bearing  date  Dec.  11,  1665,  and  acknowledged  before 
John  Freeman,  assistant,  7:4: 1667,  may  appear ;  and 


vGooglc 


310  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

confirmed  unto  them  by  Quachatessett,  sachem  of  Man- 
nomet,  acknowledged  before  Mr.  John  Alden,  assistant, 
31 :  8 :  1672,  might  by  this  court  be  confirmed  unto 
them,  and  secured  to  the  said  South  Sea  Indians  and  to 
their  children  forever,  so  as  never  to  be  given,  sold,  or 
alienated  from  them  without  all  their  consents, —  except 
snch  parcels  of  upland  and  meadow  as  hath  already 
been  by  their  consents  granted  or  sold  to  Mr.  Richard 
Bourne,  late  of  Sandwich,  deceased,  and  to  his  son 
Shearjashub  Bourne  of  Sandwich  aforesaid,  hereafter 
mentioned.  The  tract  of  land  desired  by  the  Indians 
to  be  secured  for  them,  and  contained  in  said  deeds, 
are :  All  the  lands  lying  between  the  line  that  runs 
bet^veen  Barnstable  lands  and  said  Indians  on  the  east, 
leaving  the  skirts  of  good  land  lying  next  the  east  side 
of  Satuit  Pond  unto  said  Indians,  according  to  the  known 
and  accustomed  bounds  thereof,  and  then  extending 
westerly  to  the  westward  of  "Wequoyett  to  a  little  creek 
or  place  sometimes  called  Mannamoyest,  and  to  the 
mouth  of  said  "Wequoyett  Harbor  to  the  sea ;  and  from 
said  Mannamoyest  into  the  land  unto  Ashimuett  Pond 
and  half  a  mile  to  the  westward  of  said  pond,  and  so 
from  pond  to  pond  and  place  to  place  as  is  the  known 
northerly  bounds  thereof,  and  southerly  to  the  sea ; " 
the  lands  excepted  being  at  Anta-anta,  Mashpee,  Woo- 
qniitcakoospa,  and  Attaquahunchonnitt :  the  same  was 
"  confirmed  to  the  Indians  to  be  perpetually  to  tliem 
and  their  children,  so  as  that  no  part  of  thera  shall  be 
granted  to  or  purcha.sed  by  any  English  whatsoever,  by 
the  court's  allowance,  without  the  consent  of  all  the  said 
Indians," 

The  usual  amount  of  legislation  was  bestowed  iipon 
the  several  towns,  and  tliey  were  not  entirely  exempt 
from  the  attentions  of  the  judiciary.      An  increased 


vGooglc 


ANHAta   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY".  311 

bounty  was  offered  for  wolves,  the  towns  contiiming  to 
be  infested  by  tbem  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  in- 
habitants, and  doing  much  damage  by  the  destrnction 
of  sheep  and  cattle.  On  the  council  of  war  this  year 
were  appointed  Capt.  Joseph  Lothrop  and  Capt.  Spar- 
row. It  was  ordered  that  Indian  corn  be  received  for 
defraying  the  pnbHc  charges  and  for  paying  all  the 
public  officers,  at  the  rate  of  2s.  6d.  per  bushel.  Joaar 
than  Hatch  of  Sacconessett  was  granted  a  license  to 
keep  a  house  of  entertainment,  the  said  Hatch  to  keep 
a  victualling  house,  retailing  liquor  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  strangers,  passengers,  or  others  as  occasion 
may  require.  Thomas  Lewis,  Sr.,  waa  recognized  as 
the  clerk  of  the  records  of  the  Proprietors  of  Sacco- 
nessett, and  Jonathan  Hatch  was  acknowledged  as  an 
equal  purchaser  and  proprietor.  Caleb  Hopkins  was 
fined  £5,  silver,  "  for  selling  liquors  to  Indians ; "  he  to 
be  committed  to  prison  until  the  fine  shall  be  paid. 
Ambrose  Fish  and  Benjamin  Foster  were  fined  for  a 
breach  of  the  peace ;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Jabez  Snow, 
was  fined  10s.  "for  railing  expressions  on  the  Lord's 
day,  used  towards  Mr.  Samuel  Treat." 

King  Chaems  having  died,  this  year  the  Duke  of 
York,  James  H.,  succeeded  to  the  throne.  A  loyal 
address  was  made  to  the  crown  by  the  Plymouth  Col- 
ony ;  and  strong  hopes  were  indulged  of  royal  favor. 
The  people  were  not  without  sanguine  expectations  of 
having  all  their  wishes  realized,  notwithstanding  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  Dudley  to  the  government  of  Mas- 
3  caused  some  solicitude. 


The  colony  in  1686  still  continued  its  former  ad- 
ministration. Gov,  Hinckley  was  again  in  office  ;  and 
this  year  ■witnessed  another  addition  to  the  incorporated 


vGooglc 


312  THE   HISTOllY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

towns  on  the  Cape.  Many  families,  a  part  of  wtom 
were  from  Barnstable  and  some  from  Sandwich,  had  at 
different  times  become  permanently  located  in  Sucko- 
nessit,  the  Indian  tract  bordering  on  the  west  of  Mash- 
pee  and  the  south  of  Sandwich,  and  thence  extending 
to  the  Vineyard  Sound  and  Buzzard's  Bay.  This  tract 
was  now  incorporated  as  Falmouth. 

Monomoi/ick  also,  which  had  before  tliis,  as  we  have 
seen,  been  regarded  in  some  respects  as  a  town,  (the 
eighth  in  the  County  of  Barnstable  in  the  division  of 
the  Colony  of  Plymouth  into  counties  tlie  year  previous,) 
was  now,  in  June,  ordered  by  the  General  Court  to 
choose  a  grand  juror. 

Sippecan,  extending  from  Sandwich  to  Dartmouth, 
was  incorporated  as  '^Rochester  in  the  County  of  Barn- 
stable." Joseph  and  Barnabas  Lothrop  of  Barnstable 
with  others  had  been,  in  1679,  agents  for  its  settlement ; 
and,  in  1684,  we  find  that  Peter  Blaekman,  John  Ham- 
mond, Moses  Barlow,  and  others  had  removed  from 
Sandwich  and  located  in  Sippecan.  Subsequently,  in 
1689,  John  Wing,  Aaron  Barlow,  Joseph  Burgess,  and 
others  removed  thither  from  the  same  place.  But 
Rochester  was  not  destined  long  to  remain  associated 
with  this  county.  It  was  soon  set  off  to  Plymouth 
County,  and  thus  the  identity  of  the  towns  in  the  present 
Barnstable  County  as  the  Cape  County  was  established 
—  the  Cape,  the  whole  Cape,  and  the  Cape  only,  being 
its  territorial  limits  thenceforward. 

It  was  ordered  by  General  Court  that  "the  laws 
lately  printed  be  published  in  the  several  towns,  and 
be  in  force ; "  and  "  that  magistrates  and  associates  that 
are  to  keep  court  in  the  several  counties,  meet  and  be 
a  court  for  the  trying  of  actions,  and  that  they  also 
conclude  about  a  prison  in  each  comity."     It  was  also 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY.  313 

"  ordered  that  the  associates  be  chosen  by  the  General 
Court." 

Christopher  Gifford  and  Joseph  Hull  of  Suckonessit, 
indicted  "  for  resisting  tlie  constable,  Moses  Rowley,  Jr.," 
were  fined,  the  one  £7,  the  other  £5,  and  costs  in  each 
case,  £7  9s.  6d. ;  and  Indians  at  Nauset  were  fined,  and 
ordered  to  be  -whipped,  "  for  steaUng  hogs." 

The  administration  of  Gov.  Hinckley  was  fated  to 
interruption.  Sir  Edmond  Andros,  who  had  been  for 
some  time  governor  of  New  York,  arrived  in  Boston, 
December  20,  with  a  commission  from  his  majesty,  King 
James  II.,  appointing  him  governor  of  New  England, 
Mr.  Joseph  Dudley,  as  we  have  seen,  had  received  a 
commission  as  president  of  a  council  for  New  England  ; 
but  the  Plymouth  Colony  was  not  included  until  the 
close  of  the  present  year,  when  Sir  Edmtind  having 
arrived,  the  administration  of  Dudley  was  superseded. 
By  virtue  of  the  commission  to  Andros,  his  juris- 
diction was  to  embrace  in  connection  with  Massar 
chusetts,  Rhode  Island,  the  Connecticut  Colonies,  and 
the  Plymouth  government.  A  new  order  of  things  was 
thus  instituted.  Gov.  Hinckley  was  of  course  sup- 
planted by  this  arrangement ;  the  affairs  of  the  Plym- 
outh Colony  were  measurably  merged  with  those  of 
other  colonies ;  and,  for  the  time  being,  the  colony  of 
New  Plymouth  was  divested  of  its  distinctive  character. 
In  vain  did  Gov.  Hincldey  petition  the  throne  for 
redress,  setting  forth  in  earnest  and  forcible  language 
the  grievances  of  the  people.  No  attention  was  paid 
to  his  petition ;  but  the  colonists  were  left  smarting  under 
what  they  generally  regarded  as  the  severity  of  arbi- 
trary rule.  The  writers  of  that  day  assert  that  it  had 
been  discovered  soon  after  the  accession  of  King  James 
n.,  that  he  was  "  a  tyrant  in  disposition  and  a  bigot  in 
VOL.  L  40 


vGooglc 


314  THE   niSTOIlY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

practice;"  determined  "to  substitute  his  will  for  the 
law  of  the  land,"  and  his  own  views  for  "the  religion  of 
the  Bible ; "  and  that  although  he  pretended  that  he 
was  only  anxious  to  secure  greater  toleration,  his  evi- 
dent cdm  was  " merely  to  relieve  CatkoUes" 

Such  were  the  asperities  of  the  time.  The  fact  was, 
charter  provisions,  especially  in  the  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  Colonies,  where  the  complaints  were  loud- 
est and  vituperations  most  prevalent,  had  not  been 
very  carefully  observed.  The  first  settlers  had  consid- 
ered themselves  as  really  subject  to  no  laws  but  those 
of  reason,  equity,  and  Scripture,  according  to  their  own 
interpretation  of  these,  and  had  therefore  modelled 
their  government  according  to  their  own  pleasure.  In 
some  instances,  to  say  the  least,  religious  intolerance 
bearing  sway,  they  palpably  violated  even  laws  which 
they  themselves  had  enacted  ;  passing  sentence  of  ban- 
ishment and  inflicting  other  punishments  in  a  summary 
way  without  trial  by  jury.  Hence  they  had  been 
charged  with  disrespect  generally  to  the  laws  of  Eng- 
land. From  the  time  that  Edward  Eandolpli  was  sent 
over,  in  1676,  in  consequence  of  complaints  made 
against  the  colonies  by  Quakers  and  others,  great  anx- 
iety had  been  felt.  No  less  than  sixteen  times  in  nine 
years  did  Randolph  cro^  the  Atlantic  in  consequence 
of  complaints  preferred  to  the  crown.  The  proclama- 
tion of  King  James  for  a  gemi-cd  tolei-ation  of  course 
occasioned  in  some  quarters  not  a  little  excitement  and 
some  uneasiness.  It  ha-s  been  alleged  that  Randolph 
had  "  the  insolence,"  on  one  occasion,  "  to  reprove  and 
even  threaten"  the  governor  of  Plymouth  for  exacting 
taxes  from  Quakers  for  the  support  of  the  ministry. 
In  a  letter  to  Gov.  Hinckley,  June  22, 1686,  he  wrote, 
3  it  will  be  as  reasonable  to  move  that  your 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OE   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  315 

colony  be  rated  to  pay  our  minister  of  the  chiirch  of 
England  who  now  preaches  in  Boston  and  you  hear 
him  not,  as  to  make  the  Quakers  pay  in  your  colony  ; " 
a  sentiment  to  which  few  at  the  present  period  would 
demur.^ 

The  colonies  were  very  soon  summoned  by  Andros 
to  surrender  their  charters,  against  which  writs  had 
been  issued  in  1683,  occasioning  great  and  constant 
alarm  on  the  part  of  the  colonists  generally. 

In  1687,  Gov.  Andros  being  in  power,  and,  according 
to  the  views  of  many,  that  power  being  little  better 
than  despotic,  the  press  was  restrained;  exorbitant 
taxes  were  levied ;  and  it  was  pretended  that  all  titles 
to  land  were  invalid,  and  new  titles  must  be  procured, 
for  which  large  fees  must  be  paid,^  In  October  he 
went  to  Hartford,  Ct.,  and  demanded  a  surrender  of 
the  charter,^  and  in  this  excursion  was  accompanied  by 

'-  Eeligioua  motives  are  doubtless  the  most  effective  of  all  that  in- 
fluence human  conduct.  A  truly  religious  feeliag,  however,  becomes 
often  perverted,  as  all  history  shows,  producing  sad  results.  The 
Puritans  believed  their  mode  of  faith  was  right,  and  were  unwilling, 
therefore,  that  any  should  be  among  them  who  taught  or  believed  any 
thing  different.  This  feeling  produced  great  uncharitable  ness.  The 
oaly  possible  palliation  that  we  have  ever  heard  offered  in  our  own 
day  for  this  blemish  in  the  character  of  tlie  Puritans,  is  —  "  they  were 
not  free  from  the  common  error  of  the  age." 

^  Andros  is  said  to  have  declared  that  the  Indian  deeds  were  "  no 
hetter  than  the  scratch  of  a  bear's  paw." 

3  The  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  was  in  session,  and,  in  the 
evening,  after  much  debate,  the  charter  was  brought  in  and  liud  upon 
the  table,  when  instantly  the  lights  were  all  extinguished  and  the 
charter  suddenly  disappeared.  As  was  well  known  afterwards,  Capt. 
"Wadsworth  had  snatehed  it  up  in  the  short  interval  of  confusion  and 
darkness,  and  had  secreted  it  in  the  famous  hollow  oak,  since  known 
as  "  the  Charter  Oak." 


vGooglc 


316  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

troops.  He  had  begun  his  administration,  it  was  said, 
with  high  professions  of  regard  for  the  best  interests 
of  the  people ;  hut  had  "  now  thrown  off  the  mask," 
and  governed  oppressively.  It  was  charged  vipon  him 
that  his  object  was  to  amass  a  fortune  for  himself  by 
his  exactions,  which  were  said  to  bo  in  some  instances 
enormous.  Gov.  Hinckley,  in  a  petition  to  the  king  in 
behalf  of  the  Colony  of  Plymouth,  says  in  reference 
to  these  exactions,  that  all  the  money  left  in  the  colony 
would  scarcely  suf&ce  "  to  pay  one  half  the  charges  for 
warrants,  surveying,  and  patents,  if  every  one  must  be 
forced  thereto."  Some  regrets  have  been  expressed  by 
a  distinguished  jurist,  {Judge  Davis,)  that  Gov.  H. 
"accepted  a  seat  in  the  council  of  a  government 
that  suspended  the  ancient  authorities  of  the  country, 
and  authorized  or  countenanced  a  course  of  arbitrary, 
vexatious,  and  oppressive  proceedings."  But,  as  the 
same  writer  suggests,  *  many  of  that  council  were  sin- 
cere well  wishers  to  their  country,  and  accepted  seats 
at  the  board  with,  the  hope  of  preventing  injurious 
measures."  And  the  above  language  of  Gov.  H. 
shows  how  decidedly  he  disapproved  of  Andros's 
proceedings.  To  this  effect  there  is  abundant  testi- 
mony. 

The  next  year,  1088,  Gov.  Andi'os's  commission  was 
enlarged,  and  New  York  also  was  included  as  a  part  of 
his  jurisdiction.  And  now,  in  the  spring  of  the  year, 
he  proceeded  in  the  Eose  frigate  to  Castine,  and,  by 
the  course  he  pursued,  provoked  an  Indian  war.  At 
last,  his  capricious  and  arbitrary  proceedings  roused 
the  determined  spirit  of  the  people  of  New  England. 
Their  dissatisfaction  with  the  existing  state  of  things 
was  blown  into  a  flame  of  indignation. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARKSTABLK   COUNTY.  317 

In  1689,  the  functiona  of  the  several  colonics  were 
suspended.  But  the  revolution  of  1688,  which  occar 
sioned  the  flight  of  King  James  II.  and  the  accession 
of  WiLLUM  and  Mary  soon  produced  a  sensible  change 
in  affairs.  In  April,  Sir  Edmond  Andres  was  dismissed 
from  his  government,  and  each  colony  rea^sumed  its 
former  powers.'  Plymouth  had,  indeed,  no  charter  to 
resume,  as  had  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Ehode 
Island ;  but  having  until  the  interruption  by  Andros 
uniformly  exercised  all  the  -powRrs  of  government 
necessary  for  the  management  of  affairs,  under  its 
patent  from  the  council  of  Plymouth,  and  by  voluntary 
agreement  expressed  in  the  covenant  at  Cape  Cod  in 
1620,  sanctioned  by  uninterrupted  acquiescence,  the 
General  Court  of  Election  assembled  at  Plymouth  in 
June  as  before  Andros's  time,  and  Mr.  Hinckley  was 

1  No  sooner  had  the  rumor  i-eaehed  Boston  that  the  Prince  of  Or- 
ange had  landed  in  England  than  the  smouldering  fire  broke  out  in 
earnest,  to  Androa's  utter  (iismay,  and  the  discomfiture  of  his  sup- 
porters. The  people  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony  seized  their  ai-ms, 
April  18,  proclaimed  William  and  Mary,  and,  rushing  into  Boston, 
arrested  the  obnoxious  governor,  compelled  him  to  resign,  and  restored 
their  former  governor,  Bradstreet,  now  recalled  at  the  age  of  87,  not 
by  a  formal  election,  but  by  acclamation.  Gov.  Bradstreet  was 
the  last  governor  of  Massachusetts  under  the  first  charter,  and  was 
now,  on  the  imprisonment  of  Andros,  elected  president  of  the  council 
and  acting  governor.  He  was  for  fifty  years  an  assistant  in  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Colony,  enjoying  the  confidence  of  aU  classes.  He  died 
Mar.  27, 1697,  te.  94.  Andros  was  sent  home  to  England ;  but  was, 
in  1692,  appointed  governor  of  Vir^nia.  He  died  Feb.  24,  1714,  at 
a  very  advanced  age,  in  London.  Although  sent  home  to  England 
for  trial,  his  being  appointed  governor  of  Virginia  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  Lis  career  in  New  England  was  not  regarded  by  the  par- 
ent government  as  censurable.  Whether  lie  had  learned  wisdom  fi-om 
hia  misfortunes,  or  found  in  Virginia  a  people  more  congenial,  we  may 
not  undertake  to  say ;  but  it  is  recorded  of  him  that  "  few  of  the  gov- 
ernors of  Virginia  were  ever  more  beloved."     Fiatjustitia. 


vGooglc 


318 


THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


again  elected  governor^  and  Mr.  Bradford  deputy  gov- 
ernor ;  and  the  people  were  again  left  for  the  time  to 
the  full  enjoyment  of  their  accustomed  rule.  In  Au- 
gust, a  new  election  of  delegates  was  ordered,  so  that 
this  year  there  were  two  sets  of  representatives. 

During  the  administration  of  Andros,  Courts  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  eo  wnmie,  were  established  in  Barnstable 
County.  Now  Associate  Courte  were  restored,  and 
Jonathan  Sparrow  of  Eastham  and  Stephen  Skiff  of 
Sandwich  were  appointed  justices.  They  were  reap- 
pointed in  1690  and  in  1691. 

It  was  ordered  that  informers  against  violations  of 
law  in  retailing  strong  drink  without  license  shall  have 
one  half  the  fines  imposed.  It  was  also  ordered  that 
the  expenses  of  the  present  war  shall  be  assessed  as 
follows :  — 


Plymouth 

£60 

Barnsfable  £60. 

Bristol 

£35. 

Duxbury 

25 

Sandwich       60. 

Taunton 

60. 

Sdtuate 

88 

Yarmoutli      41. 

Eehohoth 

48. 

Marshfield 

45 

Eastham        46. 

Swansey 

40. 

Bridgewater 

28 

Rochester       8. 

L.  Coviipto 

35. 

Middkboro' 

14 

Monomoy        7. 

Freetown 

8. 

Ford's  Farms 

2 

Dartmoutli     40. 

Eastham  having  neglected  to  make  a  rate  for  the 
charge  of  the  war,  the  neglect  being  "  occasioned  by 
misrepresentations  or  insinuations  of  ill  men,  disaffected 
towards  the  government/'  a  fine  of  £50  was  inflicted 
"  to  be  collected  in  case  the  neglect  is  persisted  in." 
And,  in  August,  the  law  touching  "  the  seining  for 
mackerel "  was  repealed,  and  it  was  ordered  that  "  the 
magistrates  of  Barnstable  County  dispose  of  and  man- 
age the  Cape  fishing;  provided,  however,  that  all  for^ 
mer  fishing  orders  shall  be  in  force."  The  "  profits  of 
the  fishing  at  tlie  Cape  for  this  year  "  were  "  divided  as 


vGooglc 


ANSALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  319 

follows:  to  tiic  commissionerSj  £10;  treasurer,  4s.  out 
of  every  £1 ;  secretary,  £10;  chief  marshal,  £6;  under 
marshal  and  prison  keeper,  £5,  or  in  that  proportion." 

In  1690,  the  colonies  were  involved  in  other  troubles 
than  the  preceding.  The  war  with  the  French  and 
their  Indian  allies  was  on  hand ;  and  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  was  made  on  Canada,  in  which  Plymouth  Col- 
ony bore  its  proportion  of  charge  and  loss/ 

The  people  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  sent 
over  to  England  its  agents,  with  whom  went  Rev.  Ich- 
ahod  Wiswall,  from  this  colony,  to  obtain  a  restoration 
of  the  old  charter,  or  to  solicit  a  new  one.  The  resto- 
ration of  the  old  charter  was  refused ;  but  a  new  one 
was  promised.  The  Plymouth  Colony  was  to  be  united 
to  Massachusetts,  and  the  title  of  the  province,  thus 
embracing  the  two  colonies  with  additional  territory,^ 
was  to  be  that  of  "  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  Eng- 
land ; "  the  king  reserving  to  himself  and  successors 
the  right  of  appointing  the  governor,  lieutenant  gov- 
ernor, and  secretary.^  As  it  was  supposed  to  have  been 
the  intention  of  the  government  of  England  to  annex 
the  Plymouth  Colony  to  New  York,  the  arrangement 
finally  made  was  satisfactory  to  the  ma.iority.  A 
separate  charter  might  possibly  have  been  obtained  for 
the  Plymouth  Colony ;  but,  then,  it  was  thought  also 
it  might  have  been  worse.  The  result  showed,  we  think, 
that  the  arrangement  was  fortunate  and  wise. 

Ichabod  Paddock  was,  tliis  year,  engaged  to  go  to 

1  The  war,  during  the  reign  of  Willliiiii  and  Maiy,  lasted  from  1  GOO 
to  1697. 

^  Maine  and  Nova  Scotia  were  annexed  to  Massachusetts  Bay. 

3  The  only  privilege  reserved  (o  the  province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  was  the  right  of  choosing  representatives  by  the  people. 


yGoogle 


320  THE   IJISTOKY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

Nantucket,  from  Cape  Cod,  to  instmet  tlie  people  of 
that  island  in  the  art  of  killing  whales  by  the  employ- 
ment of  boats  from  the  shore.^ 

'■  The  locations  whicli  furnished  the  principal  scenes  of  whaling  in 
olden  time  have  changed ;  and  the  business  has  become  less  pi'omiuent 
on  the  Cape.  Nantucket  is  yet  noted  for  this  branch  of  eaterpi-ise, 
Provincetown  stiil  bears  some  part  in  the  business.  Touching  the 
mode  of  taking  whales,  ive  are  disposed  to  give  here  the  statements 
made  by  Purchas  in  his  "  Pilgrimage,"  a  folio  printed  early  in  the 
17th  century,  of  the  mode  of  killing  the  whale,  which  will  be  recognized 
by  modern  whalemen  as  being  closely  similar  to  their  own  operations 
at  the  present  day  —  the  fashion  having  been  but  very  slightly  altered 
dnring  upwards  of  two  centuries ;  and  the  picture  di-awn  of  the  "  great- 
est of  sea  monsters,"  though  in  a  few  points  somewhat  exaggerated, 
win  also  be  deemed  a  likeness. 

"I  might  here  recreate  your  wearied  eyes  with  a  hunting  specta- 
cle of  the  greatest  chase  which  nature  yieldeth ;  I  mean  the  killing  of 
a  whale.  "When  they  espy  him  on  the  top  of  the  water  (which  he  is 
forced  to  for  to  take  breath)  they  row  toward  him  in  a  shallop,  in 
which  the  harponeer  stands  ready  with  both  his  hands  to  dai-t  his 
harping  iron,  to  which  is  fastened  a  line  of  such  length,  tliat  the  whale 
(which  suddenly  feeling  himself  hart,  siuketh  to  the  bottom.)  may 
carry  it  down  with  him,  being  before  fitted  that  the  ihallop  be  not 
fhei-ewith  endangered ;  coming  up  again  they  again  strike  him  with 
lances  made  for  that  purpose  about  twelve  feet  long,  the  iron  eight 
thereof,  and  the  blade  eighteen  inches,  —  the  harping  iron  priiicipally 
serving  to  fasten  him  to  the  shillop,  —  and  thus  they  hold  him  in  such 
purauit,  till  after  streams  of  watei,  and  next  that  of  blood,  cast  up  into 
the  air  and  water,  (as  angry  with  both  elements,  whitb  have  brought 
thither  such  weak  hands  for  his  destiuction,)  he  at  length  yieldeth  his 
slain  carcass  as  meed  to  the  conqueron  They  low  him  to  the  ship 
with  two  or  three  shallop'*,  made  fa'it  to  one  another,  and  then,  floating 
at  the  stem  of  the  ship,  they  tut  the  blubber  oi  fat  from  the  flesh,  in 
pieces  three  or  four  feet  long,  which  after,  at  ^horp,  aie  cut  smaller, 
and  boiled  in  coppers ;  which  done,  they  take  them  out  and  put  them 
in  wicker  baskets,  which  aie  set  in  shallops  hilf  full  of  water,  into 
which  the  oil  runneth,  and  ih  thence  put  into  butts  This  whale  fishing 
is  yeai'ly  now  used  by  our  men  in  Uieenland,  with  great  profit.    The 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF    BAliSBTjiBLE    COUNTY.  321 

It  was  ordered  that  men  be  raised  to  go  to  Albany 
or  elsewliere,  to  join  with  the  forces  of  New  York,  Mas- 
sachusetts, Connecticut,  kc,  against  the  common  enemy. 

ordiniiiy  length  of  a  whale  is  sixty  feet,  and  not  so  huge  as  Olaus  hath 
written,  who  also  maketh  the  moose  as  big  as  an  elephant. 

"  The  proportion  of  this  huge  leviathan  deserves  deseripiion,  as  one 
of  the  '  greatest  wonders  of  the  Lord  in  the  deep,'  whereon  himself  so 
much  insisteth  (Job  41 :  12)  'that  He  will  not  conceal  his  parts,  nor 
his  power,  nor  his  comely  proportion.'  The  whale  that  we  here  speak 
of,  is  the  great  bay  whale,  —  for  there  are  many  other  kinds,  —  the 
Trompo,  which  hath  two  trunks  or  breathing  holes  on  his  head, 
(whereas  the  bay  whale  hath  hut  one,)  whose  brains  are  said  to  be  the 
Bpermaceti ;  the  luhurte,  which  hath  a  fin  on  his  back  dangerous  to 
boats,  exceeding  swift  and  httle  protitable ;  besides  other  kinds.  This 
is  the  most  simple  and  useful ;  the  greater  and  fatter,  the  more  easily 
taken.  His  head  is  the  third  part  of  him,  his  mouth  (0,  hellish  wide !) 
sixteen  feet  in  the  opening,  and  yet  out  of  that  belly  of  hell  yielding 
much  to  the  ornaments  of  our  women's  backs,  — the  whalebones  or 
fins  being  no  other  than  the  rough  and  inner  part  of  She  mouth,  closing 
in  the  shutting  thereof,  as  the  fingers  of  both  hands  within  eacli  other. 
Of  these  fins  are  five  hundred,  from  the  length  of  fourteen  feet  or  move, 
iu.  loss  and  less  proporlJona ;  he  hath  no  teeth ;  his  meat  he  eucketh  ; 
his  tongue  is  monstrous  gi"eat,  of  deformed  form,  like  a  wool  sack, 
about  eight  tun  weight,  and  one  part  thereof  used  to  this  purpose 
yieldeth  from  six  to  eleven  hogsheads  of  oiL  His  food  (that  nature 
might  teach  the  greatest  to  be  content  with  little,  and  that  greatness 
may  he  maintained  without  rapine,  as  in  the  elephant  and  whale,  the 
greatest  of  laud  creatures  and  sea  monsters)  is  grass  and  weeds  of  the 
sea,  and  a  kind  of  water  worm  like  a  beetle,  whereof  the  fins  in  his 
mouth  hang  full,  and  sometimes  little  birds ;  all  which,  striking  the 
water  with  his  tail  and  making  an  eddy,  he  gapes  and  reeeiveth  into 
his  mouth ;  neither  is  any  thing  else  (Master  Sherwin  hath  seen  them 
opened,  and  opened  this  unto  me)  found  in  their  bellies.  This  great 
head  hath, little  e3-es  like  apples,  very  little  bi^er  than  the  eyes  of  an 
ox,  and  a  little  throat  not  greater  than  for  a  man's  fist  to  enter,  and 
that  with  huge  bones  on  each  side  not  admitting  it  to  stretch  wider. 
His  body  is  round,  fourteen  or  sixteen  feet  thick.  .  .  .  They  are 
swallow-tailed,  the  extremes  being  twenty  feet  distant.  They  have 
but  one  young  at  a  time,  which  is  brought  forth  as  in  beasts,  about  the 
VOL.  I.  41 


vGooglc 


322  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAl'E   COD. 

The  Cape  towns  responcled  to  repeated  calls,  by  fur- 
nishing their  required  quota  of  soldiei'S ;  ^  as  also  of 
moneys  assessed  ^  to  meet  the  expenses  of  an  unsuc- 
cessful expedition.^ 

bigness  of,  but  longer  than,  a  hogshead.  The  female  hath  two  breasta 
and  teals,  ivith  white  raillt  in  them,  not  bigger  than  a  man's  head, 
■wherewith  she  sucldetli  the  young,  whereof  she,  as  the  moose  also,  is 
very  tender.  They  killed  one,  and  could  not  get  the  young  one  fi-om 
it.  There  hath  been  made  seven  and  twenty  tun  and  a  pipe  of  oil  out 
of  one  whale,  —  ordinarily  sixteen  tuns,  but  much  is  wasted  for  haste 
in  that  store.  The  English  are  grown  as  expert  in  this  business  as 
the  Biseainer.  They  uever  lost  a  man  in  this  action,  but  one  only  this 
last  year." 

1  The  number  of  men  first  required  was,  of  Barnstable,  5 ;  of 
Sandwich,  Yarmouth,  and  Eastham,  4  each;  and  of  llanamoyet  and 
Saeonessitt,  1  each ;  but  soon  agtuii  it  was  "  ordered  that  200  soldiers 
be  raised  for  Canada,"  of  whieli  "  Barnstable  County  shall  furnish  46, 
viz.:  Barnstable,  12,  Sandwich,  Tarmonth,  and  Eastham,  10  each; 
and  Manamojet  and  Saeonessitt,  3  each;"  also  "that  50  Indian  sol- 
diers ilditioml  be  nised,  of  which  Barnstable  County  shall  fnmiBli 
22."  It  wis  tuither  "ordered  that  one  tliivd  the  military  ia  eaeh 
town  shill  tike  their  arms  witli  them  to  meeting  on  the  Lord's  days," 
^  The  debt  ineuired  by  the  Plymouth  Colony,  as  its  share  of  the 
expenses  of  the  campaign,  amounted  to  £1350  ;  the  proportion  for  the 
County  of  Barnstable  was  £452  is.  9d. ;  and  for  the  sevei-al  towns  as 
follows :  — 

Barnstable,£112  10  0.  Sandwich,£93  15  0.  Manamoyet,£18  18  9. 
Yarmouth,     104    2  9.     Eastham,      93  19  6.    Saeonessitt,     15    3  9. 

The  ratable  estate  of  the  colony  at  tliis  time  was  — 
Plymouth,   £2260.  Yarmouth,  £2777.  Taunton,      £2689. 

Scituate,         4380.  Sandwich,     2500.  Kehoboth,       2117 

JIarshfield,     1804.  Eastham,      2506.  Dartmouth,     2200. 

Dusbtiry,       1500.  Rochester,       367.  Swansey,        1500. 

Bridgewater,  1430.  Monomoy,      505.  L.  Compton,  2000. 

Middleboro',     582.  Saeonessitt,     405.  Freetown,         349. 

Barnsbible,     3000.  Bristol,  1049. 

'  The  journal  of  Maj.  Gen.  Walley  is  to  be  found  in  Hutchinson's 
History  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  confaiuing  a  full  account  of  the  cam- 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OP   BARKaTABLB   COUNTT.  323 

The  General  Court  appointed  "  to  view  and  inspect 
whales  "  Mr.  Skif^  of  Sandwich,  and  Capt.  Lothrop,  of 
Barnstable  ;  and  also  passed  "  an  order  to  prevent  con- 
tests and  suits  by  whale-killers."  It  was  further  "  or- 
dered that  hereivfter  the  court  associates,  or  judges, 
shall  be  chosen  by  the  freemen ; "  also  "  that  the  two 
chosen  for  Barnstable  County  shall  reside  one  in  Sand- 
wich and  one  in  Eastham,"  Messrs.  Stephen  Skiff  and 
Jonathan  Sparrow,  who  had  each  held  the  office  by  ap- 
pointment, were  now  elected  and  continued  jn  office. 

In  1691,  Gov.  Hinckley  was  reelected  ;  Mr.  William 
Bradford  was  deputy  governor ;  and  John  Free- 
man, John   Thacher,  John  Walley,'  and  others  were 

'  Maj.  Gen,  "Walley  was  thus  l^ssi^tant  from  1G84  to  the  lime  of 
ihe  Union,  ivhen.  he  was  elected  to  the  Council.  It  is  regarded  as 
honorable  to  him  that  when  named  ns  one  of  Aru/ros's  Council  he  de- 
clined to  aet.  It  may  perhaps,  in  view  of  the  disaster  of  the  expe- 
dition against  Quebec  in  1690,  be  considered  as  unfortunate  for  him 
that  he  was  selected  to  command  the  land  forces  sent  against  that 
plaee ;  still,  history  records  that  his  appointment  subsequently  as  judge 
of  the  Superior  Court  was  in  consideration  of  bis  military  services. 
He  continued  to  occupy  a  place  on  the  bench  from  his  appointment  in 
1700  till  his  resignation  in  1711.  He  died  in  Boston,  Jan.  11, 
1712,  at  the  age  of  68 ;  and  it  is  conceded  that  this  high  li-usl  (as  also 
others  reposed  ia  him  by  his  country)  was  execuled  with  ability  and 
fidelity.  For  uprightness  and  candor,  gentlemanly  bearing  and  hon- 
orable and  virtuous  life,  bis  memoiy  is  embalmed  ;  and  it  is  worihy  of 
note  that  among  the  descendants  of  the  early  ministers  of  the  Cape 
bftTe  been  so  many  whose  exemplary  aad  useful  life  was  a  deserved 
tribute  to  their  pious  ancestry.  It  is  proper  to  remark  that  Mr.  Wal- 
ley had  in  1 680  removed  to  Bristol,  of  which  plaee  he  was  one  of  the 
founders.  The  portrait  of  him  which  we  present  on  the  opposile  page 
may  not  he  regarded  as  a  fair  exponent  of  the  appearance  of  the  maai  ; 
for,  though  doubtless  a  faithful  likeness  of  him  at  the  time  when  it  was 
painted,  it  was  eseculed  when  he  was  but  a  ^ulk  of  twelve  or  four- 
leen  years.  It  is  interesting,  however,  as  the  only  portrait  extant  of 
any  of  the  earlier  WalleyS!  and  serves  to  show  what  in  those  days 


vGooglc 


324  TOE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

assistants.  The  court  electing  them,  June  2,  syhh  the 
last  Court  of  Election  that  was  ever  held  in  Plym- 
outh. The  Pljmouth  and  Massachusetts  Colonies  now 
became  one  government.  The  charter,  signed  October 
7,  provided  that  four,  at  least,  of  the  twenty-eight  coun- 
cillors must  be  *'  from  the  territory  formerly  called  New 
Plymouth." 

The  towns  and  plantations  in  Barnstable  County  at 
this  date,  were  Sandwich  (Sliaume) ;  Yarmouth  (part  of 
MattacMest,  and  Nohscusset  which  became  Dennis  in 
1793);  Barnstable  (Oummaqidd  and  part  of  MaMachiest), 
—  each  inc.  in  1639 ;  Eastham  {J}fyiisd,  PmmialmnU 
which  became  Wellfieet  in  1763,  and  Namskehd  which 
became  Orleans  in  1797),  —  settled  in  1646  as  Nanset 
and  inc.  in  1651;  SaconessU,  1686,  inc.  as  Ealmouth ; 
SancJdud,  1640 ;  Monamoyick,  1686 ;  and  Pamd :  plan- 
tations from  which  were  derived  Harwich  in  1694, 
Truro  in  1709,  Chatham  in  1712,  Provincetown  in  1727, 
and  Brewster  in  1803  ;  with  Mashpee  (Massapee),  an  In- 
dian plantation.  Besides  these  was  Rochester  {Sippe- 
can,  including  part  of  Wareham,  inc.  1739 ),  —  afterwards 
transferred  to  Plymouth  County  after  a  temporary 
annexation  to  this. 

Taxes  had  again  been  levied  on  all  the  towns,  to  pay 
the  expenses  of  the  war  with  the  French  and  Indians 
in  Canada;  and  soldiers  required  to  be  raised.  Tlie 
emission  of  biUs  of  credit  resorted  to  by  the  General 
Court  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  army,  was  a  measure 

was  the  style  of  dregs  in  wliicU  even  boys  of  distinguished  family 
appeared.  The  peculiar  antiquated  garb,  with  the  huge  wig,  would 
exciie  the  visibles  of  the  beholder  at  the  present  day.  For  the  en- 
graving so  courteously  granted  at  our  solicitation,  we  are  indebted,  lo 
the  liberality  of  Hoa.  Samuel  H.  Walley.  For  family  genealogy,  see 
pp.  290-3. 


vGooglc 


Jj^(?.  q^\L((>.^ 


£  la54.  Jl.i/.H. 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


ANNALS  OF   EAE^JSTABI-E   COUNTY.  325 

fraught  with  lauch  evil,  as  was  afterwards  developed,' 
A  call  was  also  made  on  the  several  towns  to  defray 
their  several  proportions  of  the  expenses  of  obtaining 
a  new  charter. 

Liberty  was  granted  to  Monomoyick,  Feb.  11,  to 
elect  and  send  a  representative  to  the  General  Coiirt, 
and  the  next  month,  by  special  act,  the  bounds  of  Mon- 
omoyick were  enlarged.  The  associate  magistrates  for 
tlie  county  were  again  Sparrow  and  Skiff 

The  charter  granted  by  William  and  Mary  in  1691 
united  the  colonies  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  New 
Plymouth,  the  Province  of  Maine,  the  territory  called 
Acadia  or  Nova  Scotia,  and  all  the  tract  of  land  lying 
between  the  territories  of  Nova  Scotia  and  the  Prov- 
ince of  Maiiae,  into  "one  real  province,  by  the  name  of 
our  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  Eng- 
land." The  language  of  said  charter  being, "  Of  our 
especial  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and  mere  motion,  we 
have  given  and  granted,  and  by  these  presents,  for  us, 
our  heirs  and  successors,  do  give  and  grant  unto  our 
good  subjects,  the  inhabitants  of  our  said  province  or 
territory  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  their  successors,  all 
that  part  of  New  England  in  America,  lying  and 
extending  from  the  great  river  commonly  called  Mono- 
mack,  alias  Merimack,  on  the  north  part,  and  from  three 
miles  northward  of  the  said  liver  to  the  Atlantic,  or 
Western  Sea  or  ocean  on  the  south  part,  and  all  the 
lands  and  hereditaments  whatsoever  lying  within  the 
limits  aforesaid,  and  extending  as  far  as  tlie  outermost 

•  These  notes  of  credit  were,  by  act  of  court  imrlp  i  legal  tPiickr 
in.  all  payments.  The  bills  suffered,  as  might  hive  been  expected  a 
heavy  depreciation,  and  the  loss  falling  severeij  on  the  sold  ers  in 
whose  hands  part  of  the  emission  was  held,  ca  i  ed  i  h  li  content 
and  not  a  little  suffering. 


yGoogle 


32G  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

points  or  promontories  of  land  called  Capo  Cod  and  Cape 
Malabar  north  and  south,  and  in  latitude,  breadth,  and 
in  length  and  longitude,  of  and  within  all  the  breadtli 
and  compass  aforesaid  throughout  the  main  land ;  then 
from  said  Atlantic  or  Western  Sea,  and  ocean  on  the 
east  part  towards  the  Soutli  Sea,  on  westward  as  far  as 
our  Colonies  of  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  the 
Narragansett  country,"  &c.  "  To  have  and  to  hold 
the  said  territories,  tracts,  countries,  land,  heredita- 
ments, and  all  and  singular  other  the  premises,  with 
their  and  every  their  appurtenances  to  our  said  sub- 
jects the  inhabitants  of  our  said  Province  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  in  New  England,  and  their  successois, 
to  their  only  proper  use  and  behoof  forevermore,  to  be 
holden  of  us,  our  heirs  and  succe^ors,  as  of  our  manor 
of  East  Greenwich,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  by  fealty 
only  in  free  and  common  soccage." 


vGooglc 


MNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Arrival  of  the  new  Charter,  and  Assumption  of  GoTemraent  by  Sir  "William 
Phipps.  —  Hanvicli  incorporated. — Phipp a  superseded.  —  Passing  Events. 

—  Pii'ates.  —  Earl  of  Bellamont.  —  Extension  of  Cape  Settlements. — 
Gov.  Stoughton.  —  Gov.  Dudley.  —  The  Fisheries.  —  Monamoyick. — 
Bills  of  Credit.  —  Dangerfield  incorporated,  and  name  changed  to  Truro. 

—  Chatham  incorporated.  —  The  Precinct  of  Cape  Cod. 

In  1692,  May  14,  Sir  Williaii  Phipps  arrived,  with 
his  commission  as  Governor-in-Chief  under  "William  and 
Mary,  bringing  with  him.  the  new  charter,  and  at  once 
assumed  the  government  Warranto  were  issued  to 
the  several  towns,  ordering  the  election  of  representa- 
tives under  the  new  constitution,  to  serve  in  the  Gen- 
eral Court  to  be  held  in  Boston,  June  8.  Although 
there  was  still  felt  much  reluctance,  and,  in  fact,  some 
spirit  of  opposition  to  the  new  order  of  things, 
there  was  soon  a  very  general,  and,  it  may  be  said, 
finally  grateful  acquiescence,  so  that  the  new  Province 
OF  Massachusetts  Bay  proceeded  to  the  exercise  of  its 
charter  privileges,  and  the  happy  amalgamation  of  the 
two  colonies  as  one  province  was  duly  perfected.^ 

By  the  charter,  that  part  of  the  province  formerly 
the  Plymouth  Colony  became  entitled  to  four  council- 

^  Though  distinguished  individaalf!,  and  perhaps  not  a  few,  were  at 
first  dissatisfied  with  the  union,  tlie  event  caused  no  serious  disturb- 
ance ;  and  it  may  be  confidently  asserted  was  at  no  period  a  suhject 
of  regret  with  the  people  generally.  "  Gov.  Hinckley  was  well 
reconciled  to  the  mea.sure,  notwithstanding  his  favor  to  it  brought 
upon  him  some  odium." 


vGooglc 


o3b  a'liE  insTOitv  of  cape  cod. 

lors.     Gov.  Hinckley,  Gov.  Bradford,  John  Waliey,  and 
Barnabas  Lothrop  were  elected.' 

The  old  General  Court  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  met 
once  more,  the  first  Tuesday  in  July,  and  appointed  a 
fast  for  the  last  Wednesday  in  August ;  it  was  their 
last  act.  Thus  the  present  year  dates  the  extinction 
of  a  government  that  had  continued  in  existence  under 
memorable  circumstances  seventy-one  years.^  What- 
ever faults  it  may  have  had,  on  its  primitive  foundation 
was  laid  a  structure  of  government  which  thousands 
of  successive  generations  have  been  ready  to  claim 
was  "  distinguished  for  good  order,  peace,  liberty,  intel- 
ligence, sound  morals,  religious  reverence,  and,  at  least 
in  its  later  years,  religious  toleration."  ^     It  is  not  for 

^  The  selection  of  councillors  caused  some  feeling  and  elicited  not 
a  little  animadveraion.  The  men  selected,  it  could  not  but  be  admit- 
ted by  all,  were  highly  respectable  and  eminently  qualified ;  but  Iwo 
of  the  number  being  from  Bamslahle  County,  and  a  t/iird  foiTuei'ly  of 
Barnstable,  was  a  circumstance  thought  by  many  to  he  a  corroboration 
of  the  chaise  that  had  been  made  against  Gov,  Hinckley  of  having 
secretly  fevored  the  union. 

^  The  fact  that  the  Plymouth  Colony  had  but  six  governors  by  its 
own  election,  during  a  period  of  seventy-oae  years,  shows,  as  has 
often  been  remarked,  "  a  preaumptiou  that  men  of  virfue  and  well 
fitted  for  their  station  were  selected." 

3  Some  will  have  it  that  the  Plymouth  and  Ms^sachusetts  men  are 
usually  confounded  the  one  with  the  other,  quite  to  the  detriment  of 
the  former.  It  is  said  that  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  which  began 
nine  or  ten  years  later  than  the  Plymouth,  was  composed  of  a  class  of 
people  widely  different  in  many  respects ;  that  at  the  head  of  Iho 
Massachusetts  enterprise  was  Endicott,  whose  spirit  contrasted  strong- 
ly with  that  of  Bradford  and  others,  and  that,  but  for  the  urgent 
appeals  of  Massachusetts,  Plymouth  would  doubtless  have  exhibited 
less  of  the  intolerant  spirit  than  it  did.  They  insist  that  Massachu- 
setts' influence  prevailing  in  some  degree  for  a  time,  the  Plymoulh 
govertimeat  sometimes  erred ;  but  that  Massachusetts  was  not  long 
permitted  to  continue  in  the  ascendency,  the  more  moderate  prineipks 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   BABNSTAELE   COUNTY.  329 

US  to  suggest,  in  this  place,  exceptions  or  abatements. 
We  admire  the  devotion  —  sometimes  enthusiastic,  al- 
ways fervent  —  of  those  whose  mission  seems  to  be  to 
espouse  and  defend  the  "Pilgrim  cause."  "We  think 
the  candid  will  not  deny  that  the  primitive  foundation 
of  government  of  which  we  h,ave  spoken,  must  ever 
be  regarded  as  the  true  base  on  which  has  continued 
to  rest  our  most  glorious  institutions.  Certainly  — 
not  to  claim  the  entire  honor  exclusively  for  the  "  Old 
Colony  "  —  under  the  auspices  of  the  two  governments 
which  this  year  passed  away,  institutions  (civil,  literary, 
and  religious),  by  which  New  England  has  been  ever 
distinguished,  began  —  the  holding  of  lands  free  of 
soccage ;  tlie  right  of  general  suffrage ;  the  establish- 
ment of  towns  with  a  local  legislature  called  the  "town 
meeting,"  with  its  peculiar  executive  styled  "  selcct- 


of  the  Plymouth  Colony  diffusing  tlieir  influence  among  the  confed- 
erate sister  colonies.  That  the  Plymouth  Colony  did  much  to  shape 
the  character  of  othev  colonies,  aad  that  its  influence  was  potential,  all 
must  admit ;  and  we  have  already  expressed  our  own  conviction  that 
this  colony,  for  moderation  and  consistency  of  purpose,  will  compare 
favorahly  with  some  others.  The  comparative  merits  or  demerits  of 
each  we  do  not  feel  ourself  called  upon  to  discuss  in  fuli.  It  is  suffi- 
cient for  us,  that,  if  we  except  Gov.  Prince  and  a  few  others,  who 
also  had  many  excellent  traits,  the  influence  of  the  Cape  was  always 
favorable  to  the  liberal  side.  Gov.  P.  wag  only  a  sojoiimer  among 
us  for  a  season.  His  administration  it  becomes  us,  however,  in  stem 
justice,  (0  say,  was  at  an  inauspidous  and  perplexing  period;  and  yet 
no  government,  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  pursued  a 
course  more  steady  in  the  promotion  generaUy  of  the  substantial  in- 
terest.s  of  its  constituents  than  did  his.  During  the  sixteen  yeai-s  of 
bis  magistracy,  there  was  indeed  very  much  to  applaud.  His  anxious 
cffitrts  to  promote  the  ^tablishment  of  schools  of  a  higher  grade  than 
had  before  existed,  and  his  solicitous  attention  to  the  honorable  sup- 
port of  an  able  ministry,  are  to  his  honor ;  and  his  integrity,  energy, 
industry,  and  usually  good  judgment,  are  proverbial. 

Toi.  I.  42 


yGoogle 


330  THE   iriSTOIiY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

men  ;  "  ^  the  system  of  common  schools,  givmg  to  every 
childj  rich  or  poor,  the  advantages  of  education ;  and 
also,  at  last,  the  right  of  the  congregation  to  a  voice  in 
the  selecting  of  their  reUgious  teacher.^ 

'  "  Many  learned  have,  in  Iai)ored  treatises,  endeavored  to  prove  the 
doctrine  that  the  rights  of  man  are  inalienable,  and  nations  have 
bled  lo  defend  them ;  yet,  io  the  dark  ages  of  superstition  and  despot- 
ism, when  no  loogue  dared  to  declare  and  no  pen  to  write  this  bold 
doctrine,  which  was  then  as  much  in  defiance  of  the  common  opinion 
as  with  actual  power,  of  which  the  monarch  was  tlien  held  to  be  the 
sole  fountain,  (and  the  theory  was  nniversal  that  all  popular  rights 
were  granted  by  the  crown,)  ia  this  remote  wilderness,  among  a  small 
unknown  band  of  wandering  outcasts,  the  principle  that  the  will  of  the 
m^ority  shall  govern,  was  first  conceived  and  was  first  practically 
exemplified.  Our  forefathers,  from  their  belief  in  primitive  Chris- 
tianity, the  force  of  circumstances,  and  the  pure  moral  feeling  which 
is  the  oSspiing  of  true  religion,  discovered  a  truth  in  the  science  of 
government  which  had  been  concealed  for  ages.  On  the  bleak  shore 
of  a  barren  wilderness,  in  the  midst  of  desolation,  with  the  blasts  of 
winter  howling  around  them,  and  surrounded  by  dangers  in  their  most 
awful  and  appalling  forms,  the  Pilgrims  of  Leyden  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  A31EKICAN  Liberty.  Those  who  came  after  them  had  im- 
bibed (he  same  views  and  principles  of  dvil  government." — Baylies's 
New  Plymouth. 

^  "We  cannot,  of  course,  say,  as  is  sometimes  asserted,  that  "  under 
their  auspices  was  erected  the  first  building  for  the  worship  of  God, 
and  the  first  religious  assembly  gathered  in  Kew  England  ; "  for  the 
fact,  as  shown,  p.  67,  is  otherwise.  We  cannot  say,  either,  that  up  to 
this  time  nothing  was  lacking  in  rrapeet  to  religious  freedom.  Under 
the  new  order  of  things,  this  good  work  was  facilitated  ;  and  yet  it 
was  not  now  at  once  perfected.  It  required  some  trouble,  some  yield- 
ing of  former  opinions,  some  time.  Dr.  Increase  Mather,  in  his 
account  of  the  negotiations  for  the  new  charter,  says,  "  Keligion  is  se- 
cured :  for  liberty  is  granted  to  all  men  to  worship  God  after  the 
manner  which,  in  their  consciences,  they  shall  be  persuaded  is  the 
most  scriptural  way.  The  General  Court  may,  by  laws,  encourage 
and  protect  that  religion  which  is  the  general  profession  of  the  inhab- 
itants." Hence,  at  the  first  General  Court,  an  act  passed  "  establish- 
ing all  the  local  laws  of  Massachusetts  Province,  until  other  provision 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  3ol 

Gov.  Phipps  had,  in  his  administration  of  the  pro- 
vincial government,  the  advantage  of  having  been 
nominated  by  the  colonial  agents  themselves ;  his 
career,  therefore,  was  quiet  and  peaceful,^ 

In  1694  new  regulations  for  the  mackerel  and  other 
fisheries  were  made  by  the  General  Court ;  and  Haii- 
wiCH  was  incorporated,  Sept.  14,  and  allowed  as  a 
township. 

Gov.  Phipps,  who  appeared  to  the  close  of  his  ad- 
ministration to  have  at  heart  the  best  interests  of  New 
England,  was  now  recalled,  and  sailed  for  England  in 
November.^ 


lallh 


'  The  nomination  of  the  first  governor  vmdev  the  new  charter  was 
left  by  the  crown  entii'ely  to  the  agents  then  in  England,  the  only  re- 
striction being  that  "lie  must  be  a  military  man."  The  crown  aimed 
at  making  the  charter  acceptable. 

^  Gov.  Phipps  waa  born  in  Bristol,  Me.,  the  son  of  a  gunsmith  in 
humhle  circumstance,^,  and  of  a  mother  who  had  twenty-six  children, 
twenty-one  of  whom  were  sons !  The  governor's  life  was  truly  one 
of  adventure.  After  living  in  the  wilderness  until  eighteen  years  of 
iige,  he  bound  himself  to  a  ship-carpenter.     When  his  apprenticeship 


vGooglc 


332  THE   I-IlSl'ORr    OF    CAPE   COD. 

Early  in  1695,  Richard,  Earl  of  Bellamont,  was  ap- 
pointed to  succeed  Gov.  Phipps ;  but  not  arriving  for 
some  time,  Lieut.  Gov.  William  Stoiighton  officiated  as 
commander-in-chief.  Nothing  of  great  interest  as  re^ 
gards  the  Cape  appears  on  the  record.  Mr.  Shearjashub 
Bourne  of  Sandwich  had  liberty  granted  him  to  pur- 
chase land  of  tlie  Indians,  one  tract  lying  near  his 
house,  and  another  at  "Waquoit ;  and  Capt  "William 
Bassett  and  Mr.  Slmbael  Smith  were  appointed  by  the 
court  "  to  assist  the  Indians  in  the  sale,  and  to  see  that 
they  receive  a  good  and  valuable  consideration."  It  is 
not  certainly  known  at  what  period  the  whipping-post 
and  stocks,  as  by  law  provided,  were  introduced  to  these 
parts  ;  but  these  coadjutors  in  the  pmiishment  of  crime, 
generally  pronounced  the  relic  of  a  barbarous  age,  were 
now  required  to  be  established  in  every  town. 

In  1696,  some  difficulty  existed  in  several  of  the 
Cape  towns  in  enforcing  the  payment  of  their  quota  of 
the  expenses  of  building  bridges  in  the  town  of  Plym- 
outh ;  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cape  regarding  the  decree 

of  four  years  had  expired,  he  went  to  Boston,  and  tiiero  learned  to 
read  and  write.  Determined  to  seek  his  fortune  upon  the  sea,  lie, 
after  a  variety  of  adventures,  discovered  a  Spanisli  wreck  on  the 
coast  of  Hispaniola,  and  fished  np  plate,  pearls,  and  jewels,  amounting 
in  value  to  £300,000  sterling,  with  which  he  soiled  to  England  in 
1687,  and  was  knighted  by  King  James.  Ketnrning  to  Boston,  he 
commanded  an  expedition  against  Port  Eoyal,  which  place  he  cap- 
tured, Phipps  was  evidently  not  only  a  man  of  energy,  but  of  strong 
mind.  On  being  appointed  governor,  one  of  his  first  acts  was  to  put 
a  stop  to  prosecutions  for  witcheraft.  He  was,  however,  of  aa  irasci- 
ble temper,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  settle  a  pei^onal  controversy  witli 
stui-dy  blows.  For  this  he  was  recalled.  He  is  represented,  notwith- 
standing the  violence  of  his  temper,  as  a  man  of  the  kindest  feelings, 
unassuming  in  his  mannei-s,  and  of  strict  integrity.  He  died  Feb.  18, 
169o,  soon  after  his  recall,  33.  41. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


3S3 


of  tlie  justices  of  Quiirter  Sessions  to  be  contrtuy  to 
the  laws  of  the  province,  Plymouth  being  in  another 
county.  A  French  privateer  fitted  out  at  Bordeaux, 
and  cruising  on  the  American  coast,  was  wrecked  in 
Buzzard's  Bay,  and  the  crew  were  made  prisoners  and 
taken  to  Boston.  On  board  this  vessel  was  Dr.  Francis 
Le  Baron,  a  skilful  surgeon  and  physician,  whose  liber- 
ation was  asked  by  the  inhabitants  of  Plymouth  that 
he  might  practise  his  profession  in  that  town.' 

In  1697  the  treaty  of  peace  at  Ryswick  put  an  end 
for  the  present,  happily,  to  the  French  and  Indian  war. 
A  committee  wjis  appointed  by  the  court "  to  view  a 
place  for  a  passage  to  be  cut  through  the  land  in  Sand- 
wich, from  Barnstable  Bay  into  Manomet  Bay,  for  ves- 
sels to  pass  through  and  from  the  western  parts  of  the 
country,  it  being  thought  by  many  persons  to  be  very 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  men  and  estates,  and 
that  it  will  be  very  profitable  and  useful  to  the  public." 
This  committee  consisted  of  Messrs.  John  Otis,  William 
Bassett,  and  Thomas  Smith,  who  were  instructed  to 
report  to  the  General  Court  at  its  next  session.  And 
Mr.  William  Bassett^  having  petitioned,  in  behalf  of 

'  From  him  Wfru  deswndeil  Ihose  of  flic  niimn  in  Phmoulh,  as 
also  tho  venerable  and  (ixcKUent  Eev.  Lemuel  Le  Baron,  settled  in 
Eoehestcr  (Mattapoiset)  in  1772. 

'  The  ancient  family  of  Bassetts  has  been  one  of  prominence  and 
high  respectahility  in  the  colonies.  Mr,  "William  Bassett,  above, 
sometime  known  as  colonel,  and  then  esquire,  chief  marshal  1689  to 
1692,  representative  from  Sandwich  many  years,  judge  of  the  Com- 
mon Pleas,  and  register  of  Probate,  a  man  of  much  distiuctinu,  wa-i 
descended  froip  William,  who  came  ovei-  in  the  FortiuK:,  1621.  one 
of  tho  "purchasers,"  first  in  Plymouth  with  his  wife  Elizabeth  and 
sou  William,  Jr.  and  daughter  Elizabeth,  having  part  in  the  division 
of  cattle  in  1G27 ;  then  of  Duxbnry,  and  deputy  1640,  3,  4,  5,  8 ; 
then  one  of  tho  proprietors  of,  and  first  permanent  settlei-s  in,  Bridge- 


vGooglc 


334  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

the  town  of  Sandwich,  for  "  the  approbation  and  allow- 
ance of  the  allotment  and  division  made  by  the  inhab- 
itants of  said  town  of  the  two  tracts  of  land  known  as 
Scauton  and  Shaume  Kecks,  Mr.  Thomas  Hinckley, 
Maj.  John  Thacherj  and  Mr.  Jolm  Bradford  were  ap- 
pointed to  inquire  into  the  matter  and  report."  Their 
report  being  made,  the  prayer  of  the  petition  was  "  al- 
lowed ; "  and  "  for  the  better  supply  of  said  town  with 
grain  in  this  time  of  scircity,  the  full  quantity  of  land 

na,tei  16j1.  He  nas  i  Hige  landli older,  incl,  although  i  black- 
smith had  a  consideiable  hbiaij  Judge  Mitchell  thinks  his  wife 
Elizabeth  was  pi-obably  a  Tilden  He  d  in  Biidgeivater  16b7,  and 
his  1  sue  was  ."William,  who  Rettled  m  Sandwich ,  Nathaniei,  hrst  set- 
tled ia  Marshtield,  then  in.  Y  iniioutli  1684  ,  Joseph,  vho  lemained  in 
BiJdgewater  on  the  paternal  estate,  ftai-alijVho  m  Peiegiiue  "White  ; 
Elizabeth,  who  (Judge  M  says  m  T\m  Hatch,  but  Sandwich  rec- 
ords say)  m.  Thomas  Burge,  Jr.,  Kov.  8,  1G48;  and  Jane,  who,  says 
Emery's  History  of  Taunton,  m.  Gilbert;  The  History  of  Bridge- 
water  says  there  were,  "  perhaps,"  oiber  childi-en.  "We  are  inclined 
to  believe  that  both  histories  labor  under  some  misfalte ;  but  at  all 
events,  "William,  eldest  son  of  "William  of  Bridgewater,  settled  in 
Sandwich,  was  a  trader  and  "licensed  to  di'aw  wines"  1639,  a  deputy 
1C62,  d.  1G70,  !E,  about  45,  and  Mrs. Mary  adm.  on  the  esiate.  "Mr. 
"William  and  Mary"  had  Mary,  Nov.  21,  1654,  who  ra.  John  Red- 
ding, 8  mo.  22,  1G76;  and  William  (llie  marshal)  165G.  Both  were 
minors  Avhen  their  father  d.,and  Maj.  (Gov.)  "Winslow  and  Mr.  (Gov.) 
Hinckley  were  their  respective  guardians.  "William,  the  son  last 
named,  b.  165C,  afterwards  marshal,  m.  Eachel  "Willison  of  Taunton, 
Oct.  9,  1G75,  and  had  Mary,  Oct.  20,  1676,  who  m.  Nathan  Bourne, 
Feb.  3,  1698;  Rachel,  Oct.  25,  1679,  who  m.  Joseph  Foster,  Sept.  8, 
1096,  and  d.  Dec,  12,  1744.  No  other  record  of  births  appears  in 
this  connection ;  but  the  following  were  doubtless  children  of  the 
same,  viz. :  Jonathan,  wlio  d.  Dec.  13,  1683 ;  "William,  who  m.  Abi- 
gail Bourne,  Feb.  3,  1709  ;  Nathan,  who  m.  Mary ;  Thankful, 

who  m.  Matthias  Ellis,  March  20. 1711  ;  and  Jonathan,  who  m.  Mary 

Gate,  May  14,  1708.     The  last  William,  "son  of  "William,  Jr.,"  who 

m.  Abigail,  had  Mary,  Dec.  24, 1709,  who  m.  Ellakim  Twpper,  March 

■  28,  17ii4;  "Willliim,  Nov.  20,  1711,  who  m.  Lydia  Smith,  Dee.  1, 


vGooglc 


AHNALS  OF  BAaNSTABLE  COUHTY.         335 

in  said  necks  improved  in  tillage  the  last  year "  was 
"  allowed  to  be  sown  with  English  grain,  only  this  year, 
according  to  the  present  allotments,  and  no  more  land 
to  be  broken  up."  Purchases  of  land  at  this  time,  by 
the  settlers  at  Easthara,  from  the  Indians  at  Pamet, 
prepared  the  v.'ay  for  a  settlement  at  the  latter  place. 

In  1G98,  Lieut.  Gov.  William  Stoughton  still  held  the 
reins  of  government,  tlie  Earl  of  Belkmont  remaining 
in  New  York;  but  the  earl  arriving  in  Boston,  May 


173i;  Elisha,  Feb.  15,  1714,  who  m.  Kuhamah,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Jennings,  Esq.,  of  Sand wi eh,  Oct.  11,  1739;  Johc,  April  11,  171G, 
who  m.  Mercj  Newcomb,  Oct.  24,  1742  ;  Thomas,  Jan.  4,  1718,  who 
m.  Patrick  Tobey,  Feb.  13,  1746;  Nathaniel,  Oct  15,  1719,  ivho  m. 

Hannah  ;  Jonathan,  May  G,   1721,  ivho  m.  Mary  Freeman, 

daughter  of  John  F.,  Nov.  10,  1748  ;  Abig^l,  "Jr.,"  1722,  who  m. 
Eliakim  Tobey,  April  17,1740;  Elizabeth,  1725,  who  m.  Timothy 
Cliipman  of  Barnstable,  Jan.  23,  1752;  Nathan,  Dec.  17, 1727,  who 
d.  1728 ;  and  Hannah,  1730,  who  m,  Isaac  Smith,  of  Kingston,  Jan. 
23,  1752.  Elisha,  above,  who  m.  Jennings,  removed  to  Yarmouth, 
since  Dennis,  was  called  "  captain,"  holding  commissions  in  t!ie  royal 
militia,  under  Shirley,  Pownal,  Dudley,  and  Hutchinson t  early  suiTcn- 
dering  his  commission  from  the  crown  and  tsiking  ride  with  his  coun- 
try as  an  active  and  ardent  whig,  and  was  repreaentative  from  Yar- 
mouth to  the  Provincial  Congress  tbrce  years.  He  d.  1794,  and  his 
issue  waa  Elbha  who  went  to  Ashfield  j  Samuel  who  settled  in  West 
Barnstable;  William  wlio  m.  Betsy  daughter  of  Jonathan  Howes,  Esq. 
of  Dennis;  Lot  who  went  to  Ashfielcl ;  Lydia  who  m.  Howes  and  from 
whom  is  descended  Philip  H.  Sears,  Esq.  of  Boston ;  Abigail  who  in. 
Howes ;  and  Deborah  who  also  m.  Howes.  The  last  Williaji,  who 
m.  Howes,  d.  in  Dennis,  leaving  a  son  only,  then  a  minor,  who  is  the 
present  Francis  Bassett  Esq.,  of  Eosfon,  graduated  at  Harvai-d  Col- 
lege 1810,  a  lawyer,  clerk  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States 
fifteen  years  to  184C,  overseer  of  Harvard  College,  &c.,  who,  retain- 
ing his  partiality  for  his  native  Cape,  has  his  summer  i-esiUcnco  in 
Dennis.  The  Bassett  family  is  numerous,  and  widely  scattered  over 
the  United  States.  The  genealogy  of  other  branches  of  the  name 
will  be  resumed  by  and  by. 


yGoogle 


336  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

26,  1699,  the  lieulenant  governor  submitted  to  his  su- 
perior in  office.  Bellamont  was  popular,  much  of  his 
attention  being  directed  to  the  suppression  and  arrest 
of  pirates  infesting  the  whole  Atlantic  coast,  greatly  to 
the  annoyance  of  all  engaged  in  honest  maritime  pur- 
suits.' During  his  administration  the  notorious  Capt. 
Kidd  was  apprehended,  sent  to  England  for  trial,  and 
expiated  his  crimes  on  the  gallows.^  There  have  been 
vague  traditions  existing  from  the  time  of  Kidd's  ex- 
ecution, that  large  treasures  of  money  and  other  val- 
uables were  concealed  by  him.  in  various  localities,  and 
arc  yet  reposing  on  the  coasts.^ 

'  Through  the  grwiter  part  of  llie  sevt'iiteenlh  and  <iavly  pm  t  of  the 
eighteenth  centuries,  the  American  seas,  and  especially  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  were  iufestetl  by  pirates- 

^  The  earl  came  over  "  particularly  instructed  to  put  a  slop  to  the 
growth  of  piracy,  the  seas  being  constantly  enrtangered  by  freebooters. 
This  Kidd  (  WiUiam,  not  Robert,  as  in  song)  waa  an  Englishman  who 
had  himself  undertaken  an  expedition  against  the  pirates,  sailing  from 
New  York.  Whilst  commanding  the  sloop  Ontario,  and  holding  a 
commission  to  cruise  as  a  privateer,  he  turned  to  be  pirate  himself, 
and  had  now  achieved  an  immense  amount  of  mischief.  After  a  time, 
burning  bis  vessel,  and  venturing  bis  jivesence  in  Boston,  where  he 
supposed  his  character  would  not  be  known,  he  A\as  seized,  and  a 
speedy  trial  and  condemnation  in  England  ensued. 

Tiiat  this  noted  pirate  concealed  treiisures  extensively  in  the 
sands  has  at  no  time  received  confirraotion  ;  but  that  he  had  a  deposit 
fli  Gardiner'a  Island,  N.  T.,  is  evident  from  the  schedule  rendered  to 
Bellamont,  July  7,  1 GDO,  of  valuables  found,  viz. :  — 
Bag  Ko.  1.    Gold  dust,  G0|  oz. 

"      "    2.    Coined  gold,  11  oz. ;  silver,  124  oz. 

»      "    3.    Gold  dust,  24|oz. 

"      "    4.    Silver  rings  and  precious  atones,  4^  oz. 

"      "    5.   Unpolished  stones,  12i  oz. 

"      "    G.    Crystal,  cornelian  rings,  agates,  and  amethysts. 

"      "    7.   Silver  buttons  and  lamps. 

"      "    8.   Broken  silver,  173^  oz. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARSSTABLE   COUNTY.  337 

Bcllamont  rcraained  in  the  colony  but  foiiTtecn 
months.  At  the  close  of  the  session  of  the  General 
Court  in  1700,  he  returned  to  New  York,  and  left  the 
lieutenant  governor  again  in  power.^  No  remarkable 
event  of  public  interest  which  need  find  a  place  in  our 
present  history  marked  this  second  period  of  Stough- 
ton's  administration,  save  that  tlie  scarcity  of  money 
was  seriously  felt  here  as  every  where.  The  interests 
of  the  Cape,  however,  prospered.  A  meeting  of  "  the 
proprietors  of  Pamet "  vans  held  February  4,  and  some 
differences  being  amicably  adjusted,  the  progress  of  the 
settlement  of  this  part  of  the  Cape  wa^  accelerated. 

The  year  forms  the  epoch  of  the  organization  of  the 
first  church  in  Harwich,  and  the  settlement  of  the  Rev. 


Bag  Eo.  0.  Gold  bars,    353^-  oz. 

"      "  10.  Gold  bars,    238 J- oz. 

"      "  11.  Gold  dust,       59^  oz. 

"      "12.  Silver  bill's,  309    oz. 


These  several  bags  and  their  contents  were  deSivered  to  the  govern- 
ment. There  has  been  much  digging,  at  different  periods  since,  for 
Kidd'a  treasures,  not  on  Gardiner's  Island  only,  but  on  different  parts 
of  the  coast  and  on  the  banks  of  some  of  the  large  rivers.  The  mania 
for  this  species  of  gold  digging  doubtless  received  increased  impetus 
from  the  fact  that  a  large  sum  of  money,  chiefly  foreign  coins,  were 
seized  about  the  time  that  the  treasures  of  Kidd  were  revealed,  found 
in  tie  possession  of  one  Smith ;  and  from  the  apprehension  of  one 
Bradish,  of  London,  who,  witii  his  piratical  crew,  had  deposited  large 
sums  of  money  on  Long  Island  and  ebewhere. 

^  Gtov.  Eellajiont  had  the  good  fortune  to  make  himself  gener- 
ally popular  in  his  governments.  A  nobleman  of  polished  manners, 
and  a  friend  to  the  revolution  in  England  which  had  excited  so  much 
joy  in  the  colonies,  he  was  also  a  great  favorite  of  King  "William, 
The  governor  was  received  in  this  colony  with  unusual  parade,  and 
during  his  stay  much  respect  was  shown  to  him.  He  evidently  took 
pains  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  people.  He  died  in  Hew  York, 
March  5,  1701. 

VOL.  r.  43 


/Google 


338  THE   HISTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

Nathaniel  Stone  as  pastor.  The  pastorate,  we  slmll 
find,  was  protracted  through  fifty-five  years.  The  yeai' 
is  also  marked  by  the  decease  of  that  estimable  and 
venerable  man,  Rev.  Thomas  Thornton,  fonnerly  the 
minister  of  Yarmouth.^  Before  we  proceed  farther 
with  the  events  of  the  century  before  us,  it  may  be  well 
to  record  some  of  the  other  changes  of  the  past,  of  an 
ecclesiastical  nature,  since  the  influence  of  the  ministry 
in  the  early  days  of  the  colony  was  so  intimately  in- 
terwoven with  the  entire  progress  of  society.  The 
ministry  of  Rev.  John  Smith  of  Sandwich,  greatly  pro- 
tracted, had  ceased  by  reason  of  death,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1G91  by  that  of  Rev.  Roland  Cotton.  That 
of  tlie  aged  Thornton  was  committed  alone  to  his 
former  colleague,  Eev.  John  Cotton.  That  of  the  pious 
"Walley  was,  in  1683,  succeeded  by  the  ministry  of 
Rev.  Jonathan  Russell,  whose  prolonged  labors  were 
in  the  then  unreyealed  orderings  of  Providence  to  be 
followed  in  1712  by  a  son  bearing  the  same  name,  fnl- 
fdling  also  a  lengthened  pastorate,  and  inheriting  all 


'  Eev.  Thomas  Thornton  was  in  Plymoutli  Colony  prior  to  June 
18,  1663,  from  which  dnte  he  continued  in  the  ministry  at  YamioiilU 
to  1693.  In  1691  he  received  as  coileagHe  Rev.  John  Cotton  ;  hut, 
two  or  three  years  after,  the  infirmities  incident  lo  estreme  age  led 
him  to  yield  to  the  kindness  that  always  awaited  him  of  the  welcome 
of  a  happy  home  la  the  bosom  of  the  family  of  his  son  Timothy,  at 
that  time  a  prosperous  merchant  of  Boston,  at  whose  honse  he  died, 
Feh.  15,  1699-1700,  aged  nearly  93.  Of  this  excellent  pastor,  the 
scenes  of  whose  closing  life  were  a  beaQtiful  comment  on  his  protracted 
and  useful  ministry,  we  have  much  to  say,  not  merely  as  the  record 
of  a  faithful  pastorate,  and  as  presenting  a  lovely  picture  of  the  bless- 
ing that  hallows  the  last  days  of  an  aged,  saint,  hut  as  affording  an 
interesting  riew  of  the  times  and  manners  of  the  period  in  which  he 
lived.     But  this,  with  a  genealogical  notice,  we  must  for  the  present 


vGooglc 


iVNNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  339 

his  father's  virtues.  The  devotedly  faithful  and  laboii- 
0U8  Rev.  Samuel  Treat  of  Eiistham,  settled  in  1672, 
and  who  had  been  preceded  by  Rev.  John  Mayo  and 
Rev.  Thomas  Crosby,  was  still  working  on  and  waiting 
on  his  ministry  nntil,  as  in  1715,  he  should  be  called  to 
his  reward.  And  in  Falmouth  the  labors  of  Mr.  Sajiuel 
Shiverick  were,  with  the  century,  begun. 

The  decease  of  Gov.  Stoughton  occurring  in  1701,  the 
duties  of  government  devolved  on  the  Council,  which 
was  in  fact  the  administration  until  June  11,  1702, 
when  Gov,  Joseph  Dudley,  appointed  by  Queen  Anne, 
arrived.'  Difficulties  again  arose  between  England 
and  the  French  and  Indians.^  The  new  governor  ap- 
plied himself  to  the  duties  of  his  station  with  great 
diligence,  but  instructions  from  the  crown  to  procure 
an  act  of  court  rendering  his  salary  and  that  of  tlie 
lieutenant  governor  permanent,  occasioned  a  contro- 
versy with  the  legislatiu-e  reaching  into  the  administra^ 
tions  of  his  successors, 

A  law  of  the  province  was  enacted  requiring  all  fish- 
ermen to  report  under  oath  to  the  town  clerk,  in  their 
respective  towns,  the  quantity  of  fish  and  oil  obtained 
in  each  and  every  voyage ;  also  providing  that  any 
person  or  persons  who  shall  find  on  the  sea  shore  any 
wreck  or  lost  property  shall  report  the  same  to  the 
proper  authorities.     A  movement  being  made  for  the 

'  Lt.  Gov.  Stol'chton  was  an  aged  man,  and  possessed  of  tlie 
confidence  of  the  people.  A  grad.  of  H.  C,  1 650,  lie  was  a  preaciier 
in  Eng.  many  years,  and  coming  back  to  New  Eng.  in  1662,  preached 
the  election  sermon  in  1668.  Esteemed  a  man  of  great  learning,  in- 
tegrity, prudence,  patriotism  and  piety,  he  d.  a  bachelor,  July  7,  1701, 
aged  70,  and  left  £1000  to  Harvard  College,  Besides  various  other 
.charitable  bequests. 

^  This  war,  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  lasted  from  1702  to  the 
peace  of  Utrecht  in  1713. 


vGooglc 


340  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE    COD. 

establisliment  of  a  new  town  to  be  taken  from  the 
town  of  Harwich,  and  a  petition  to  that  eifect  having 
been  preferred  by  Gershom  Flag,  Benjamin  Hall,  Samuel 
Hall,  Manoah  EliiSjJosepb  Sufferance,  and  Samuel  Nick- 
erson,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  their  fiimiUes,  it 
was  "  ordered,  that  the  ed.  6  families  shall  first  defray 
their  part  of  the  arrears  of  all  past  charges  in  the  sd. 
town  of  Harwich,  and,  there  being  a  learned  minister 
settled  there,  shall  continue  to  belong  to  sd.  town 
until  there  shall  be  a  learned  orthodox  minister  settled 
at  Monamoictt,^  — when  this  court  may  take  further 
order." 

In  1704,  the  further  redemption  of  bills  of  credit 
which  had  been  issued  at  different  times  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  the  disastrous  expedition  of  1690  against 
Canada,  and  which  were  punctually  met  imtil  the  pres- 
ent time,  was  deferred  by  order  of  court.  Gold  and 
silver  had  become  'almost  extinct  in  the  province,  and 
paper  money  having  sadly  depreciated,  the  usual  com- 
mercial troubles,  of  course,  ensued. 

In  1705,  it  was  ordered  by  the  General  Court  that 
"  the  part  of  the  Cape  lying  below  Eastliam,  and  known 
as  the  Indian  Pamet,  shall  be  a  separate  town  ^  by  the 

1  Conflicting  views  .ind  interests  seemed  to  have  caused  frequent 
disputes  tetween  tte  settlers  at  Monamoiett  and  tlie  town  of  Harwich  ; 
as  also  between  Monamoiett  and  inhabitants  claimed  as  witbin  its 
bounds.  Very  soon,  subsequent  to  the  above  oi-der  of  Court,  we  find 
Isaac  Atkins,  John  Ellis,  lieriah  Broadbrook,  and  Ja^eph  Suiferance 
setting  forth  in  a  petition  to  the  court,  that  "  they  have  paid  their 
taxes  t'o  Harwich,  and  that  the  constable  of  Monamoiett  has  seized 
upon  their  property  for  like  tases  at  the  latter  place,"  and  asking  for 
relief. 

2  We  follow  the  record;   but  a  district  was  evidently  intended; 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BABNSTABLE   COTJKTy.  d41 

name  of  Dangerfieldr  ^  That  part  of  the  Cape  below 
Pamet,  subsequently  known  by  the  name  of  Province- 
town,  but  hitherto  known  only  by  the  cognomen  "  Cape 
Cod,"  was  evidently  the  resort  of  many,  and  the  resi- 
dence of  not  a  few,  engaged  in  mercantile  adventures, 
at  an  early  period.  The  existence  of  ruins  of  substan- 
tial buildings  and  other  circumstances  indicate  this,  as 
we  shall  show  hereafter.^  Rev.  John  Cottom,  the  min- 
ister of  Yarmouth,  died  the  first  month  of  this  present 
year. 

In  1706,  April  25,  died  suddenly,  in  Barnstable,  Gov: 
Thomas  Hinckley,  at  the  advanced  age  of  86;  a  gen- 
tleman of  distinguished  reputation  and  of  great  energy 
of  character,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  filled  a  large  space 
in  the  history  of  the  county  of  Barnstable,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  affairs  of  the  Plymouth  Colony.  In  truth  it 
may  be  said,  it  was  his  to  fill  a  large  space  in  the  zvorMs 
history.     He  had  stood  by  the  cradle  of  the  colony  in 

qiioii  a  towji,  yet  associated  with  Eastbam.  Tlie  title  of  a  subsequent 
act,  1709,  is  "An  Act  making  Pamet,  a  district  of  Eastliam,  a  township 
to  be  called  Ti-uro." 

'  This  name,  if  is  to  be  presumed,  was  not  inflicted  because  of  any 
especial  hostility  manifested  at  any  time  on  the  part  of  the  Ptimet 
Indians,  who  were  ever  friendly  and  well  disposed  towards  the  early 
settlera;  but  was  proposed  in  view  of  the  dangers  that  beset  naviga- 
tion at  this  locality.  The  name,  however,  as  will  appear,  was  ephem- 
eral, being  soon  exchanged  for  another  supposed  to  be  in  better  taste 
—  at  least  more  agreeable  to  the  people  resident  there  and  petitioning 
for  town  privileges, 

'  The  following  letter  is  indicative  of  the  position  and  importance  of 
the  ancient  Cape  Cod  proper  at  this  time,  and  showB  also  that  there  were 
some  who  were  not  only  willing  to  receive  civil  distinction  and  emolu- 
ment, but  disposed  to  prefer  their  own  claim  for  promotion.  The  let- 
ter is  interesting  historically,  though  perhaps  it  may  not  at  (he  present 
day  be  regarded  as  best  fitted  for  a  place  in  the  pages  of  "The  Com- 


vGooglc 


d4y  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

its  infancy,  and  "Imd  been,  from  first  to  last,  the  associ- 
ate, in  weai  or  woe,  of  its  great  and  good  incn^  and 

plete  Letter- writer."  We  give  it  verbatim  et  literaiim  as  tlius  furnisli- 
ing  the  best  evidence  of  the  disintei-ested  patriotism  of  a  successful 
office-seeker  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  :  — 

"  Cas  Co»,  July  IZlh  1705. 
"  Squier  Dvdly. 

"  Sir :  —  After  all  due  sarvis  and  Kespecks  to  your  honnor  wisliing 
you  all  hapjnes  boath  hear  and  hear  after  I  mack  hoiild  to  infoiin 
your  honnor  that  i  have  liveed  hear  at  the  Cap  this  4  year  and  I  have 
very  often  every  year  sien  that  her  maiesty  has  been  very  mucli 
wronged  of  har  dues  by  these  contry  peple  and  other  whall  men  as 
corns  hear  a  whalen  every  year  which  tacks  up  drift  whals  which 
was  neuer  killed  by  any  man  which  fish  i  understand  belongest  lo  har 
magiesty  and  had  i  had  power  i  could  have  seased  severl  every  year  and 
liekwies  very  often  hear  is  oportunyty  to  seas  YCsels  and  goods  which 
are  upon  a  smoglen  acompt  i  belive  had  i  had  a  comishon  so  to  do  i 
could  have  seased  a  catch  this  last  weak  which  had  most  of  thar  men 
out  landish  men  i  judge  porteges  she  lay  hear  a  week  and  asloop  i  be- 
leve  did  thar  bisnes  for  tbem :  sir  I  shall  be  very  Redy  to  sai-vef  har 
magisty  in  Either  of  thes  or  any  thing  els  that  i  may  be  counted 
worthy  if  your  honor  see  case  to  procure  a  commishon  of  his  Exa- 
lency  for  me  with  in  strocktions  I  shall  hy  the  help  of  god  be  very 
faithful  in  my  ofes  one  thing  mor  i  mack  bold  to  inform  your  honnor 
that  hear  are  a  gret  meny  men  wjiich  goues  fishing  at  lliis  harbor  and 
som  limes  the  french  corns  hear  and  then  every  one  i-ous  his  way 
beeas  thay  have  no  one  to  heed  them  i  my  self  haiie  ben  a  souferar 
since  i  liveed  hear  bemg  cared  a  way  by  a  small  slop  and  hear 
was  130  men  and  severl  brave  sloops  and  no  hand  a  capt  about  12 
miles  distance,  but  we  may  be  all  tacken  at  the  Cap  and  be  no  nothing 
of  it  i  levef  it  to  your  honnors  consideration  and  mack  bold  to  subskribe 
my  selef  your  hombed  and  uuwothy  san'nt  War.  Clapp. 

"  Sir  I  am  astranger  to  your  selef  but  if  you  plesc  to  iuquier  of 
Capt  Soethwark  ann  he  can  in  form  your  honnor  whether  i  am  cape- 
bel  of  any  such  sarvis. 

"  To  the  honnoi-ed  Mr.  Pall  Dodly  Eisquier  att  Boston." 
The  letter  is  indorsed  hy  the  Gov'r,-—"  Commission  for  William 
Clap,  Lt,  at  the  Cape.  —  Warrant  to  prize  drift  whales,  a  water  baylit 
—  Letter  from  the  Custom  House.  —  Lives  at  Cape  Codd." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARSHTABLE   COUSTl'.  64:6 

had  lived,  himself  the  chief  among  the  surviving,  to  see 
the  last  chapter  written  in  its  immortal  annals."  ^ 

'  Gov.  Hinckley  was  the  son  of  Mr.  Samuel  H.,  who  came  fi'om. 
England  to  Boston,  1G34;  was  in  Scituate  in  1030;  removed  to  Barn- 
stable in  1639,  and  d.  Oct.  31,  1G62,  having  been  a  very  prominent 
n;aa  in  public  affairs.  Gov.  H.  was  b.  in  1618.  He  came  witb  his 
father  to  Batnstabie,  and  was  eai-ly  and  consiantly  prominent  in  town 
affairs,  —  a  deputy  as  early  as  1645,  a  magistmte  and  assistant  ia  the 
colony  from  1658  to  1C80,  and  gov.  in  1681,  continuing  in  office,  ex- 
cept as  interrupted  by  Andros,  until  the  union  of  tbe  colony  with 
Mass,  in  1692.  He  was  also  one  of  the  two  coraraiasioners  for  Pljm- 
outli  colony  in  the  General  Board  of  tbe  United  Colonies  fl-om  1678 
to  1692.  Under  the  adiniaist ration  of  Andros  he  was  appointed  as 
one  of  the  Council.  His  acceptance  of  a  scat  in  council  under  an  ad- 
ministration and  policy  that  suspended  die  ancient  rule,  was  deeply 
regretted  by  many  of  his  friends.  It  has  been  contended,  however, 
that  he  was  too  good  a  patriot  to  approve  of  the  ai'bitrary,  vexatious 
and  oppressive  measiires  of  Andros  and  his  adherents,  and  retained 
liis  seat  at  the  Board  for  worthy  purposes,  hoping  to  stay  or  qualify 
by  his  influence  the  obnoxious  proceedings  of  the  crown.  That  he 
was  honest,  as  well  as  energetic,  we  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  from 
a  review  of  his  whole  couKe,  aithoagh  his  policy  at  this  juncture  has 
ever  since  been  questioned.  Gov.  H.  d.  as  nearly  87.  His  first  maiTiags 
was  Dec.  7,  1641,  to  Mary,  dr.  of  Tlios.  Kichards,  who  d.  June  24, 
1659,  tmd  lie  m.  second  Mary,  wid.  of  Nath'l  Glover  of  Dorchester, 
Mar.  IG,  1659-GO,  She  was  a  dr.  of  Quarleraiaster  Smitti,  who 
tame  from  England  with  his  family  in  1635.  She  has  been  com- 
mended as  a  Christian  gentlewoman,  "  of  uncommon  excellence  and 
great  accomplishments."  ,  Prince,  the  historian,  who  was  ber  grand- 
son, says,  "  To  the  day  of  her  death  she  ■  shone  in  the  eyes  of  all  as 
the  loveliest  and  brightest  for  beauty,  knowledge,  wisdom,  majesty, 
accomplishments  and  graces,  throughout  the  colony."  She  d.  July  29, 
1703.  By  these  two  marriages,  Gov.  H,  had  a  nnmerous  family, — 
Mary,  1C44;  Savab,  1646;  Melatiab,  1648;  Hannah,  1C50;  Samubl, 
1652  ;■  Thomas,  1654;  Bathsheba,  1657;  Mehitable,  1659;  Ebenezer, 
1601;  Mercy,  1662;  Experience,  1664;  Jcha,16G7;  Abigail,  1669; 
Tliankful,  1671 ;  and  Ebenezer  and  Reliance,  1673.  It  is  said  there 
was  yet  another  daughter  by  the  second  m.  who  d.  young ;  if  so,  his 
iwiie  numbered  seventeen.  The  father  of  Gov.  H.,  whose  wife  Sa- 
rah d.  Aug.  18,  1636,  m.  2d.  Bridget  Bodfiah,  Dec.  15,  1657.     He 


vGooglc 


344  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  1V07,  and  for  a  number  of  years,  the  French  and 
Indian  war  —  in  great  degree,  so  far  as  some  portions 
of  New  England  were  affected  by  it,  literally  and 
almost  exclusively  an  Indian  war  of  a  merciless  char- 
acter instigated  by  the  French  —  continued  to  make 
exactions  upon  the  people,  and  its  influence  was  not 
unfelt  upon  the  Cape. 

In  1708,  a  representation  was  made  to  tlie  General 
Court  by  the  Court  of  General  Sessions,  in  regard  to 
the  ministry  of  Sandwich  ^  and  Falmouth ;  and  £20 
was  appropriated  to  Falmouth  "  towards  the  settlement 
of  a  minister."  ^  This  year  also  witnessed  the  settle- 
ment of  Rev.  Daniel  Greenleaf,  as  successor  of  Rev. 
John  Cotton  at  Yarmouth.^ 

The  "District"  that  was  some  three  or  four  years 
since  erected  by  the  name  of  Dangerfield,  was,  July 
16, 1709,  on  the  petition  of  Capt.  Thomas  Payne  of 
Pamet,  incorporated  by  the  name  of  Truro,  nuiking  the 
seventh  township   on  the  Cape;  and,  Aug.  1,  pursuant 

brought  to  K^evv  England  fouv  cliiklren,  and  had  in  Barnstable,  Sam- 
uel, bap.  July  24,  1642,  and  John,  May  24, 1644 ;  perhaps  there  ivere 
others.  Gov.  Hinckley's  remains  were  deposited  in  Ibe  old,  or  upper 
burying  ground,  marked  liy  a  stone  ivhieh  has  attracted  the  steps  of 
many  visitors. 

^  The  Bev.  Roland  Cotton  was  the  minister  at  Sandwich  at  this 
time,  having  succeeded  Mr.  Smith  in  1691.  The  above  probably  had 
reference  to  inadequacy  of  support  gi-owing  out  of  the  depreciation  of 
the  currency. 

*  The  Rev.  Joseph  Metcalp  was  at  thia  time  officiating  at  Fal- 
mouth, and  was  continued  the  minister  and  pastor  until  his  death  in 
1723. 

^  Eev,  John  Cotton  was  bro.  of  Rev.  Roland  of  Sandwich,  and 
son  of  Rev.  John  of  Plymouth,  who  was  a.  of  Rev.  John  of  Boston, 
who  had  been  the  minister  of  Boston  in  Lincolnshire,  Eng.,  and  came 
over  IGS3. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY.  345 

to  provision  made,  tlie  town  was  organized.  It  was  ex- 
pressly provided  as  a  condition  of  its  assuming  its  new 
position,  "  that  they  procure  and  settle  a  learned  godly 
minister,"  '■ 

A  petition  being  preferred,  in  1710,  by  Simon  Pop- 
menot,  Joseph  Prior  and  others  of  Mashpee,  "  complain- 
ing of  the  town  of  Barnstable  for  taking  and  appropri- 
ating Indian  lands  that  were  conveyed  to  the  Indians 
by  Wepeepwish  and  Tookenshashon,  sachems,  and  con- 
firmed by  the  General  Court  at  Plymouth/'  Nathaniel 
Thomas,  Isaac  Winslow,  James  Warren  and  Samuel 
Thaxter  were  appointed  to  visit  Barnstable,  and  "  make 
enquiries  about  encroachments  on  the  Indians'  lands 
lying  about  Mashpee  and  Sautult  Pond,  f)y3ter  Islands, 
and  adjacent,  or  elsewhere." 

The  "  sinews  of  war  "  being  required  notwithstand- 
ing the  embarrassments  of  the  times,  the  General  Court 
determined,  in  1711,  on  a  "new  issue  of  bills  of  credit 
to  the  amount  of  £40,000,  to  be  loaned  to  merchants 
and  others  "  for  a  term  of  yeai's.  This  system  of  legis- 
lative financiering  having  been  once  initiated  was,  we 
shall  find, "  like  the  letting  out  of  water  "  over  an  em- 
bankment. 

Again  an  effort  was  made  to  secure  for  Monamoiett 
incorporation  as  a  township ;  and,  Oct.  19,  on  the  peti- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  selectmen  and  others,  order  of 
notice  was  served  on  the  town  of  Harwich.  The  Rev. 
Jonathan  Russell  of  Barnstable  died  the  present  year, 
Feb.  20,  aged  55." 

'  The  licv.  JoHS  AvfiKY  v/aa  settled  liere,  Nov.  1,  1711,  and  <1.  in 
office,  1754. 

'  The  family  of  the  EusSELts  (ancient  and  distinguished  —  tJie 
VOL.  I.  44 


vGooglc 


346  THR   HISTOEY    01'    CAPE   COD. 

In  1712j  June  11,  Monamoiett  Avas  incorporated  with 
full  powers  as  a  township  by  the  name  of  CiiAraAJi. 
The  Rev.  Jonathan  Kiissell,  Jr.^  this  year  succeeded  his 
reverend  father  of  the  same  name  as  minister  of  Barn- 
stable. 

In  1713,  upon  a  representation  made,  Jiine  8,  £40 
wan  voted  "  to  the  town  of  Falmouth  towards  building 
a  meeting  house ;  one  half  to  be  paid  when  the  frame 
ahall  have  been  raised,  and  the  balance  wben  the  edi- 
fice shall  have  been  completed." 

The  peace  negotiated  at  Utrecht  this  year  pnt  an 
end  to  the  French  and  Indian  war,  which  during  twenty- 
five  years,  with  an  exception  of  only  four  or  five  after 
the  peace  of  Eyswick,  had  occasioned  continual  ex- 
pense, sacrifice,  and  alarm,  and  which  had  greatly  di- 
minished the  resources  of  the  countrv.'     The  emission 


lineage  in  long  line  of  ancestral  descent  embracing  many  nolle  men 
813(1  clmllenging  a  full  sliai-e  of  England's  best  blood)  it  does  not  com- 
port with  our  plan  to  notice  in  this  place  fui'tlier  tlian  to  say :  Rev. 
JONATHAif  Rt;3Sei,l  was  son  of  Eev.  John,  who  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College  1645,  was  1st  min.  at  "Wcthersfield,  Ct.,  and  then,  1659, 
lit  Hadley,  Mass.,  and  who  d.  in  Hadley,  Dec.  10,  1G92,  k.  85,  whose 
father  was  John  of  Cambridge.  The  minister  of  Barnstable  was  ibe 
elder  son  of  the  former;  graduated  at  Ilarvai-d  College  1G75;  or- 
dained Sept  19,  1G83;  m.  Martha,  daughter  of  Ecv.  Joshua  JMoody, 
of  Portsmoutli,  B.  H. ;  and  had  Rebecca,  July  7, 1681 ;  Martha,  Aug. 
29,  1683,  who  d.  168G ;  John,  Nov.  3, 1685 ;  Abigail,  Oct.  2,  1C87, 
who  m.  Nathaniel  Otis,  1710  ;  Jonathan,  Feb.  24, 1G89-00  ;  EleaKcr, 
April  12,  1692;  Moody  and  Benjamin,  gem.,  Oct.  11,  1702,  both 
of  whom  d.  Feb.  12,  1712-13,  the  same  day;  and  Hannah,  Sept.  12, 
1707.     Mrs.  R.  d.  Sept.  28. 1729. 

^  It  has  been  estimated  tliat  for  some  yeai-s,  not  less  than  one  fifth 
part  of  all  tiie  inhabitants  able  to  bear  arms  were  in  the  actual  ser- 
vice, whilst  tliose  left  at  home  were  subject  to  consf.ant  alarms.  Many 
otherwise  pvoduclive  fields  lay  waste,  and  navigation  was  impeded ; 


vGooglc 


ANSAL8    OF   BARNSTABLE   COTINTY.  347 

of  bills  of  cvedit  had  afforded  but  temporary  pecuniary 
relief  and  had  ultimately  "  worked  the  ruin  of  many." 
Embarrassed  by  a  heavy  public  debt,  various  expedi- 
ents "were  proposed  and  were  here  on  the  Cape,  as  else- 
where, the  cause  of  great  anxiety  and  contention  for 
many  years.  The  party  for  a  public  bank  finally  pre- 
vailed, and  a  new  loan  of  £50,000  was  the  result' 


the  pecaniaiy  resources  of  the  country  were  crippled,  and  the  aspect 
of  affairs  became  exceedingly  gloomy  It  has  heen  computed  that 
during  these  wai-^  as  manj  as  8000  young  men  the  ilo\  er  of  the 
country,  fell  bv  tl  p  swoid  ot  the  enemy  ol  bj  thf  h^irl  hip  of  i!ie 
war,  in  New  Lnjjlind  and  New  "ioik  Ftmilies  neii"  eve  j  where 
called  fo  momn  for  fiicnds  fallen  oi  coined  into  ciptiM  j 

'  Paper  money  hid  lecome  the  sole  instiument  and  mci^ure  of 
commerce  ior  tin  meJium  which  was  negotiable  in  (hi,  province 
only,  and  here  of  metelj  ideal  value,  was  ^ll  thit  lemiined  —  that 
which  ouIy  was  adipted  to  tmnaTction?  with  the  whole  commurcial 
world,  had  is  might  have  been  foreseen  di^apppiied  Still  the  evil 
was  not  generally  attiibuted  to  the  true  cause  and  it  w  is  thought 
that  increasing  the  circulition  ly  a  new  emi  sion  ot  paper  would  en- 
liven and  reform  the  tnde  Paities  engaged  in  anf,iy  contentioa,  was 
the  I'esult  of  diffeiing  opinioni  Oi>e  jMvity  quite  a  fiactunal  minor- 
ity, were  for  calbng  in  all  thi,  papei  emission  and  depending  on  a  specie 
currency  alone — being  utterly  opposed  fo  a  depreciating  medium,  on 
the  principle,  ancient  but  too  little  influential,  "Mil  utile  (juod  non 
U&iieshim;"  another  party,  very  numerous,  was  in  fiivor  of  a  private 
hank  authorized  to  issue  bills  of  credit  secured  by  mortgages  on  real 
estate  ;  the  third  party  was  in  favor  of  a  loan  of  bills  hy  the  govern- 
ment to  any  who  would  mortgage  their  estates  as  security  for  the 
i-epayment  of  the  bills  —  the  interest  to  be  applied  annually  to  the 
support  of  government.  The  controversy  every  where  divided  towns 
and  even  families.  The  £o0,00l)  loan,  in  bills  of  credit,  being  de- 
creed, the  bills  were  put  into  the  hands  of  trustees,  and  lent  for  five 
years  at  five  per  cent,  interest  —  one  fifth  part  of  the  principal  to  be 
returned  at  the  end  of  each  year.  Great  resentment  was  manifested 
on  the  part  of  the  disaffected  ;  and  a  general  fear  of  the  consei^uences 
of  adhering  rigidly  to  the  terras  of  tlie  loan  postponed  the  composing 
of  the  difficulty  for  many  years. 


vGooglc 


348  THE    HISTORY    OF    CAPE    COD. 

In  1714,  Uic  Indians  living  on  the  borders  of  East- 
liam  and  Harwich  preferred  a  complaint  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  of  trespass  on  their  lands,  on  the  part  of 
these  towns  ;  and  an  investigation  was  ordered. 

The  "  Province  Lands,"  hitherto  in  some  sense,  for 
municipal  convenience,  regarded  as  a  part  of  Truro, 
were  constituted  a  distinct  "precinct,"  entitled  "the 
Precinct  of  Cape  Cod."  No  public  act  of  legislation  in 
express  reference  to  this  part  of  the  Cape,  except  that 
indicated  above,  was  had  until  the  present  time.  Ap- 
prehensions now  being  entertained  that  the  harbor  at 
this  place  would  be  injured  by  tlie  destruction  of  trees 
and  bushes  which  were  indispensable  in  staying  the 
drifting  of  the  sands,  an  act  was  passed  to  prevent  the 
apprehended  calamity.^     It  was  subsequently  ordered, 

'  "  An  Act  for  preserving  the  liafbor  at  Cape  Cod,  and  regulating 
the  inbabitants  and  sojourners  there,"  was  passed  as  follows  :  — 

"  Whereas,  the  harbor  at  Cape  Cod,  being  very  u.^eful  and  com- 
modious for  fishing  and  the  safety  of  shipping,  both  inward  and 
outward  bound,  is  in  danger  of  being  damnified,  if  not  made  wholly 
unseryicaable,  by  destroying  tbe  trees  standing  on  (he  said  Cape,  (if 
not  timely  prevented,)  the  trees  and  bushes  being  of  great  service  to 
keep  the  sand  from  being  driven  into  the  harbor  by  the  wind,  — 

"  Be  it  enacted,  by  his  excellency  the  govemor,  council,  and  repre- 
sentatives in  General  Court  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same,  that  from  and  after  the  publication  of  this  act,  no  person  or  pei'- 
sons  may  presume  to  bark  or  box  any  pine  tree  or  ti-ees,  standing  upon 
any  of  the  province  lands  on  the  said  Cape,  for  the  drawing  of  turpen- 
tine, on  pain  of  forfeiting  and  paying  the  sum  of  ten  sbillings  for  each 
tree  so  barked  or  boxed,  and  the  turpentine  drawn  from  them,  if  to 
be  found ;  one  moiety  thereof  to  her  majesty  for  the  support  of  her 
majesty's  government  within  this  province,  and  the  other  moiety  to 
him  or  them  that  shall  mform  or  sue  for  the  same  in  any  of  bar 
majesty's  Courts  of  Record  within  this  province. 

'-  Ani  he  it  further  enacted,  by  the  aatbority  aforesaid,  that  whereas 
a  number  of  inhabitants  are  settled  npon  the  said  Cape,  and  many 
others  resort  thither  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  to  make  fishing 


yGoogle 


AKNALS    OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTY.  349 

May  26,  that  the  Hne  be  settled  })etween  the  Province 
Lands  and  Truro  ;  -which  was  done,  Sept  24.^ 

The  following  year,  1715,  the  people  of  Truro  be- 
came restive  under  the  frequently  recurring  difficulties 
which  grew  out  of  the  anomalous  position  or  municipal 

voyages  there,  which  has  not  hitherto  been  under  the  government  of 
any  town  or  regulation  among  themselves,  —  that  henceforth  all  the 
province  lands  on  the  said  Cape  be  a  district  or  precinct ;  and  the  in- 
habitanta  there  are  obliged  to  procure  and  support  a  learned  orthodox 
minister  of  good  coavei-safion  to  dispense  the  word  of  God  among 
them,  and  to  allow  faim  sixty  pounds  a  year  mainlenaMce. 

"And  for  the  better  enabling  them  to  raise  and  pay  the  said  yearly 
maintenance,  with  the  assistance  of  aueh  as  sojourn  amongst  them 
at  the  fishing  seasons,  and  have  the  privilege  of  the  audience  with 

"Be  it  further  enacted,  that  all  and  every  person  or  persons  coming 
to  abide  or  sojourn  there  on  fishing  or  whaling  voyages,  during  his  and 
their  continuance  and  abode  there,  shall  pay  fourpence  a  man  per 
week  weekly,  to  be  paid  by  the  master  of  the  voynge  or  boat,  for  his 
whole  company,  to  Ebenezer  Dean,  who  is  hereby  appointed  and  im- 
powei-ed  to  be  the  first  collector  and  receiver  of  the  said  rate  or  duty, 
on  behalf  and  to  llie  use  of  the  minister  of  the  precinct.  And  upon 
neglect  or  refusal  of  any  person  or  persons  to  make  payment  as  afore- 
said, to  levy  the  same  by  distress,  by  wivrrant  to  him  directed  from  the 
next  justice  of  peace,  said  justice  being  also  hereby  impowered,  upon 
complaint  to  him  made,  to  issue  forth  a  warrant  of  distress  aecord- 
bgly. 

"  And  the  said  district  or  precinct  is  hereby  annexed  and  put  under 
the  constablerick  of  Truro,  until  this  court  lake  further  oider ;  and 
the  selectmen  or  assessors  of  Truro  are  hereby  directed  and  impow- 
ered to  assess  and  apportion  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  precinct,  from 
time  to  time,  such  sum  and  so  much  as  the  duty  as  aforesaid  iiiid  upon 
the  fiiihermen  shall  fall  short  of  making  up  sixty  pounds  per  annum 
for  the  minister,  directed  as  aibresaid,  and  to  make  out  a  warrant,  as 
the  law  directs,  for  the  gathering  of  the  said  assessment." 

^  An  extract  from  the  record  is  as  follows  :  "  Beginning  at  the  east- 
erly end  of  a  cliff  near  the  Cape  harbor,  called  by  the  Indians  Het- 
sconoyet,  and  by  the  English  Cormorant  Hili,  at  the  jawbone  of  a 


vGooglc 


350  THE   HISTOliY   01'   CAPE   COD. 

character  of  the  Precinct  of  Cape  Cod ;  and,  on  a  pe- 
tition being  presented  to  the  General  Court  by  Con- 
stant Freeman,  the  representative  of  Truro,  praying 
"  that  Cape  Cod  (i.  e.,  Precinct)  be  declared  either  a 
part  of  Truro,  or  not  a  part  of  Truro,  that  the  town 
may  know  how  to  act  in  regard  to  some  persons,"  an 
order  of  notice  was  issued  summoning  the  inhabitants 
of  the  precinct "  to  show  cause  why  they  do  not  enter- 
tain a  learned  orthodox  minister  of  the  gospel  to  dis- 
pense the  word  of  God  to  them  as  required  by  law." 
The  decease  of  the  Eev.  Samuel  Tkeat  of  Eastham,  oc- 
curring this  year,  was  much  lamented.^ 

A  petition  was  also  presented  from  Elisha  Hedge, 

\\hi\i  'iPt  111  tlie  ground  by  t!ie  side  of  a  rod  oak  stump  ;  and  thence 
iTmning  b)  mai  ked  range-trees  nearly  on  ii  north  and  west  line,  about 
Inlf  point  mote  iveatei'iy,  to  a  marked  pine  tree  standing  by  a  reedy 
pond  i,j.lled  by  the  Indians  "Weocknotehcoyissett ;  and  from  thence  by 
maiked  langc  trees  to  a  high  bill  on  the  back  side  near  the  North 
Sea  with  i  led  cedar  post  set  in  the  said  hill ;  and  tbeace  to  run  in 
the  sime  hue  to  the  sea ;  and  running  back,  on  the  contraiy  line,  to 
the  harbor  '  The  document  from  which  this  is  an  exti'act  was  signed 
by  John  Otis  and  William  Bassett,  committee  appointed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  and  by  Thomas  Molford,  Thomas  Paine,  Joseph  Doan, 
liuzekiah  Furhigton,  Zedediah  Lambert,  and  Samuel  Knowles  -,  in- 
dorsed, "Thomas  Paine,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Zedediah  Lambert,  agents  for 
the  proprietors,  consentiog." 

'■  Kev.  SiMtiGT.  Treat,  the  eldest  son  of  Gov.  Robert  Trent  of 
Milford,  Ct.,  was  one  of  21  children  by  the  same  father.  In  1 674,  he 
m.,  1st,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Eev.  John  Mayo,  who  in  1655  had 
been  called  from  Eastham  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Second  Church  in 
Boston.  By  this  m.  he  bad  11  children.  Mi-s.  Treat  having  died  in 
1696,  he  at.,  2d,  Abigail,  being  "  tbe  widow  Easterbrook,"  daughtt^r  of 
Kev.  Samuel  Willard  of  Boston.  By  this  last  ra.  he  had  3  children, 
one  of  whom  was  Eunice,  the  mother  of  Robert  Treat  Paine,  one  of 
(he  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Another  daughter  m.  Joseph 
Greeuleaf,  Esq.,  of  Boston.  Several  of  his  descendants  m.  in  East- 
ham, but  the  name  has  not  been  continued  on  tlie  Cape. 


yGoogle 


ANSALS    OP   BARNSTABLE   COUKTY.  351 

Jolm  Svnitli,  son.  and  heir  to  Samuel  Smith  late  of  Ejist- 
hani,  deceased,'  David  Meloit,  and  Hugh  Stuart,  "of 
Monomoy,  alias  Chatham,"  asking  that  lands  "pur- 
chased of  the  Indians,  John  and  Josephus  Quason,  in 
1694,  called  Monomoy  Beach,  with  some  pieces  of 
meadow,  &c.,  may  be  confirmed  to  them."  This  pe- 
tition, however,  seems  not  to  have  been  received  with 
favor. 

Gov.  Dudley,  whose  administration  had  been  not  a 
little  disturbed  by  various  prejudices  and  conflicts  — 
especially,  in  the  later  period,  by  the  annoying  contro- 
"versy  respecting  the  currency  of  the  province,  whicli 
controversy  was  wide-spread  and  agitated  the  whole 
community  —  was,  soon  after  the  death  of  the  queen 
and  the  accession  of  George  I.,  superseded ;  and  Willlvm 
Tah-er,  lieutenant  governor,  acted,  ex  officio,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  an  appointee,  in  his  placc.^ 

'  It  was  at  this  early  period  necessary  thus  to  clistinguisii  amongst 
the  numerous  John  Smiths.  We  find  the  name  uhiquitous  in  the 
early  days,  rendering  it  very  difficult  to  trace  the  genealogy. 

^  Gov.  Dudley,  who  was  superseded  in  November,  was  the  son  of 
Thomas  Dudley,  lieutenant  governor  of  Massa«busetf?  in  1630,  and 
afterwards  governor.  Gov,  Joseph  Dudley,  above,  d.  in  Eoxhurj-, 
April  2, 1720,  ffi.  72.  "  He  was  an  humble  Christian  and  an  honor  to 
his  country,"  says  one ;  says  another,  "  He  was  defpotic  and  dicta- 
torial, and  under  his  administration  the  people  began  to  feel  the 
change  of  their  charter ;  but  he  was  learned,  and  pious,  and  had 
rnany  friends."  He  certainly  was  a  man  of  maeh  address,  allaying  in 
good  degree  storms  that  would  have  overwhelmed  most  others.  The 
means  by  which  he  won  popular  favor,  are  suggested  in  a  publication 
of  that  day,  on  this  wise :  "  Besides  the  caresses  of  bis  tabic,  which 
are  enough  to  dazzle  an  honest  countryman  who  thinks  every  body 
means  what  ho  speaks,  the  iufiuence  which  prefennents  and  commis- 
sions have  upon  little  men  is  inexpressible." 


yGoogle 


THE   HiaTOltV    OF   CAPE    COD, 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


Gov.  Sliute.  —  A  Singular  Project. —  A  New  Toivn.  —  Governor's  Salary. — 
Bills  of  Credit.  —  Gov.  Burnet. —Ecdesiaslieal  Discontents.  —  Proyince- 
town  mcoi"porated.  —  Courts  in  Barnstable.  —  Sjieoiilations.  —  Difflciil- 
iies  with  Goyernmeiit.  —  Gov-  Belcher.  —  Expedition  to  Cuba.  —  Land 
Bank.  —  Gov.  Shirley.  — Great  Aivakening. 

Samuel  Shute,  ■who  had  been  appointed  to  succeed 
Gov.  Dudley,  did  not  arrive  in  Boston  uatil  Oct.  4, 
1716.  His  first  and  great  effort  was  directed  to  the 
promotion  of  trade,  to  effect  which  he  recommended 
another  emission  of  paper  money ;  the  final  resiilt  of 
which  was  of  course  a  depreciated  currency  and  still 
greater  embarrassment  than '  before  existed.  Popular 
tion,  according  to  official  reports,  had  greatly  increased 
since  the  colonial  charter  had  been  exchanged  for  the 
provincial  —  the  Bay  State  containing  94,000  white  in- 
habitants, 2000  slaves, "  and  1200  Indians  who  professed 
Christianity  and  tilled  their  lands  in  peace."  Com- 
merce had  also  increased  —  "about  160  vessels,  of  the 
aggregate  burden  of.  6000  tons,  being  annually  built 
and  forming  a  good  part  of  the  remittance.^  to  England. 
Tlie  province  owned  at  least  190  vessels  of  the  aggre- 
gate burden  of  8000  tons,  navigated  by  1100  men ; 
besides  which,  150  boats  employed  GOO  men  in  fisheries 
on  the  coast. 

lu    1717,  February  6,  John  Bacon,^  agent  for  the 

'-  The  name  of  Bacon  was  early  associated  with  tlie  town  of  Barn- 
stable.    The  recoi-da  show  tliat  Mr.  Nathaniel  Bacoh  was  one  of 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUHTT.  353 

town  of  Barnstable,  presented  a  petition  to  the  General 
Court  "  for  a  division  of  the  town  into  precincts ; "  and, 
February  10,  "  on  the  petition  of  Mr.  Joseph  Crocker 
and  others,  Mr.  Samuel  Sturgis,  Melatiah  Bourne,  Esq., 

tiie  first  settlers  in  that  town,  his  name  appearing  ia  the  list  of  eariy 
settlers  in  1 640.  Himself  a  prominent  and  influential  man,  his  descend- 
ants have  ever  been  distinguished  for  probity  —  no  name  standing 
higher  for  integrity  and  moral  worth  ;  and  among  his  posterity  liave 
been  those  of  prominence  in  public  affairs.  There  is  reason  to  infer 
that  he  was  from  Stratton,  Rutland  Co.,  England.  A  deputy  evpry 
year  excepting'  two,  from  1652  to  1667,  from  the  town  of  Barn- 
stable to  the  General  Court,  he  was  then  elected  an  a-jsistant  m  the 
government  of  tlie  Plymouth  Colony,  and  continued  in  that  oifice  by 
successive  elections  until  his  demise  in  1673.  By  his  marriage  with 
Hannah,  dr.  of  Eev.  John  Mayo,  Dec.  4,  1643,  were  Hannah,  b.  Sept. 
4,1643;  Nathaniel,  Feb.  5,  1645;  llary,  Aug.  12,  1648;  Samuel, 
Feb.  25,  1650-1,  who  m.  Mary  Jacob  of  Hingham  and  d.  Feb.  18, 
1680-81,  leaving  drs.  Hannah  and  Mary  ;  Elizabeth,  Jan.  28, 1 65J-4, 
who  d.  1676;  Jeremiah,  May  8,  1657;  Mercy,  Feb.  28,1669-60, 
who  m.  Mr.  John  Otis,  July  18,  1683  ;  and  John,  June,  1664.  The 
eldest  son  of  the  preceding,  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  2d  gen.,  m.  Sarah,  dr.  of 
.Gov.  Thomas  Hinckley,  Jlarch  27,  1673,  and  had  Nathaniel,  Sept.  9, 
1674,  who  m.  Ruth  Dagget  of  the  Vineyai-d,  Nov.  11,  1696  j  Maiy, 
Oct.  9, 1677,  whom.  John  Croclier,  Nov.  6, 1702,  and  d.  1710;  Eliza- 
beth, April  7,  1680,  who  m.  Israel  Tupper,  Aug.  31,  1704;  and 
Samuel,  Jan.  20,  1682.  The  father  d.  Dec.  31,  1691;  the  mother, 
Feb.  16, 1686-7.  Jeremiah,  the  3d  son  of  the  let  Nathaniel,  and  bro. 
of  the  preceding,  m.  Elizabeth  Hawes,  Dee.  10,  1686,  and  had  Sarah, 
Oct.  16,  1687;  Anne,  1688;  Mary,  1689;  Samuel,  April  15,  1692; 
Jeremiah,  Oct.  2,  1694;  Joseph,  June  15,  1695;  Ebenezer,  March 
11,  1698;  Nathaniel,  Sept.  11,  1700;  Job,  March  23,  1703;  and 
Elizabeth,  Aug.  6,  1705.  John,  the  youngest  son  of  Nathaniel  1st, 
m.  Mary  Hawes,  June  17,  1686,  and  had  Hannah,  1687;  Deaire, 
1689;  Nathaniel,Jan.  16,1691-2;  Patience,  1694;  John,  March  24, 
1697;  Isaac,  March  29,  1697;  Solomon,  April  3,1701;  and  Jude, 
Dec.  9,  1703.  (We  must  omit,  our  note  requiring  brevity,  some 
branches  of  the  fsmily  ;  and  defer  to  the  genealogy  to  be  resumed  in 
the  annals  of  Barnstable.)  Samuel,  of  the  3d  gen.,  son  of  Nathaniel, 
Jr.,  b.  Jan.  20,  1682,  m.  1st  Mary,  dr.  of  Thomas  Huckins,  March 
■VOL.  L  45 


vGooglc 


354  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAl'E   COJJ. 

and  Mr.  Samuel  Jennings,  were  appointed  "a  com- 
mittee to  determine  the  controversy  and  settle  the 
bounds  between  the  said  town  and  the  Indians," 
which  was  accordingly  done.     A  grant  was  made  of 

30,  1704 ;  and  2d  Sarah,  wid.  of  Samuel  Allyn  and  dr.  of  Edward 
Taylor,  Jan.  26,  1708,  who  d.  Sept.  25,  1753.  He  had  by  1st 
m.  Ebenezer,  March  15,  1705,  who  d.  July  17,  1706 ;  and  hy  2d  m. 
Ebenezer,  Dec.  4, 170y,  who  m.  Lydia  Lothrop,  and  removed  with 
his  family  to  Coonecticut ;  Merey,  May  22,  1710,  who  m.  Jonatlian 
Hailet,  Aug.  4,  1744;  aad  Edward,  Jan.  23,1715.  Edwaed,  the 
last  mentioned,  the  youngest  son  of  Samuel,  and  of  the  4th  gen,,  m. 
1st  Patience,  dr.  of  Benjamin  Maraton,  Sept.  2,  1740,  who  d.  Oct.  21, 
1764,  se.  44 ;  and  2d  Rachel  Doane  of  Wellfleet,  Dec  21,  1765.  He 
had  Edward,  Oct.  19,  1742,  who  m.  Lydia  Gorham,  Jan.  28,  17G4, 
and  d.  Aug.  20,  1811 ;  Lydia,  Feh,  5,  1744,  who  d.  April  28,  1745  ; 
Nymphas,  June  2,  1746,  who  d.  Dec  6,  1746  ;  Samuel,  Oct.  17, 1747, 
who  d.  Nov.  7,  1747  ;  James,  Oct.  30,  1748,  who  m.  Joanna  Hamblen 
and  removed  with  his  family  to  Frefeport,  Me.,  and  d.  1803 ;  Susan- 
nah, Dec.  IS,  1750,  wlio  d.  March  24,  1753 ;  Sai-ah,  Dee.  25,  1752, 
who  d.  April  H,  1776 ;  Susanna,  Feb.  14,  1755,  who  d.  infant ;  and 
Ebenezer,  Aug,  30,  1756.  Tde  father  of  these,  Edwai-d  Bacon,  Esq., 
d.  March  16,  1783,  te,  68,  having  occupied  for  many  years  a  promi- 
nent position  in  the  town,  county,  and  colony,  and  performed  his 
various  public  duties  with  ^gnal  ability.  He  was  some  time  town 
clerk,  8  years  selectman,  a  representative  fo  the  General  Court  1773, 
4,  8,  9,  and  80,  a  delegate  for  fonnicg  a  new  const.,  in  1779,  and  con- 
.  tinned  in  office  as  a  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  and  General  Sessions 
from  his  appointment  in  1764  to  the  revolution.  Ebenezeh,  of  the 
5th  gea.,  son  of  Edward,  Esq.,  b.  1756,  m.  1st  Abigail,  dr.  of  Daniel 
Carpenter,  May  28,  1779,  who  d.  July  1,  1781,  eg.  22 ;  2d  Rebecca, 

dr.  of Jenkins,  Sept.  21,  1782,  who  d.  June,  1791,  se.  28;  and 

Sd  Abigail,  dr.  of  Daniel  Crocker,  May,  1792,  who  d.  Jan.  18,  1859, 
IB.  89  yeai^,  2  months,  12  days,  having  been  48  years  a  widow  —  and 
regarded  as  a  woman  of  much  intelligence  and  exalted  worth.  The 
issue  by  the  1st  m.  was  Abigail,  Juno  23,  1781,  who  d.  infant ;  by  the 
2d  m.  Abigail  Carpenter,  Sept.  23,  1783,  who  d.  Dec.  30,  I80I ;  Re- 
becca Jenkins,  Dec  7,  1784,  who  m.  Roland  T.  Crocker,  Esq.,  and 
d.  June  16,  1348;  Lydia,  March  16,  1786,  who  d.  Jan.  ID,  1802; 
Daniel  Carpenter,  May  23,  1787,  who  m.  Desii'e  Taylor,  dr.  of  Ed- 


vGooglc 


AKNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  6b-J 

£150  "towards  the  expense  of  building  a  meeting 
house  at  Provincetown,  alias  Cape  Cod  "  —  the  money 
to  be  expended  imder  the  direction  of  Thomas  Payne, 
Esq.,  Capt.  Ebenezer  Doane,  and  Mr.  John  Snow  —  the 
edifice  "to  be  32  ft.  by  28  stud,  and  to  have  galleries 
on  3  sides,"  the  inhabitants  to  sustain  the  balance  of 
expense  and  keep  the  premises  in  repair. 

This  year  also  the  singular  project  of  building  "  a 
high  fence  of  palisades  or  of  boards,  from  Picket 
Cliff, "  ^  the  north-east  boundary  between  Sandwich 
and  Plymouth, "  to  "Wayquauset  Bay  in  Wareham,  to 
keep  wolves  from  coming  into  the  county,"  was  the 
theme  of  general  discussion.  The  town  of  Sandwich 
took  action  on  the  subject^  regarding  the  enterprise  as 
not  only  feasible  but  highly  important,  but  Falmouth 
alone  acceded  to  the  proposition.  The  other  towns, 
with  all  which  conferences  were  had,  were  backward  in 
agreeing  to  furnish  an  equitable  proportion  of  the 
means  to  meet  the  expense,  and  thus  the  project  failed 
of  accomplishment.     Some  beyond  the  county  limits 

ward  Gorbam,  Esq,,  and  d.  Nov.  13,  18.'i6;  Temperance,  Dec.  24, 
1783,  who  d.  eiugle,  Nov.  13,  1843 ;  Kacliel,  Jan.  5,  1791,  who  m. 
David  Crocker,  Esq.,  and  d.  June  17, 1848;  and  hy  3d  m.,  Ehza, 
Feb.  7,  1793,  who  m.  Elisba  Scudder,  Esq. ;  Ebenezer,  Aug.  28, 
1794,  who  m.  Phebe  Davis;  Edward,  April  10,  1796,  who  d.  single, 
June  17, 1853  ;  Mary  Ann,  Ang.  7,  1800,  who  m.  Horace  Scudder, 
and  d.  July,  1845 ;  David  Crocker,  May  29,  1802  ;  Francis,  Dec.  21, 
1804,  who  m.  Eliza  B.  Debon  ;  Abigail  Lydia,  Oct.  26,  1806,  who  m. 
Barnabas  Davis,  and  d.  Aug.  13,  1840  ;  Sarah,  Oct.  11,  1808,  wbo  A. 
June  23, 1823  ;  and  Ellen,  April  11,  1811,  who  m.  Kev.  E.  H.  Sears. 
The  father  of  this  numerous  family  filled  a  large  space  in  public 
affairs ;  was  one  of  the  jusfices  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  county 
treasurer,  register  of  deeds,  selectman  of  Barnstable,  &e.  He  d.  Nov. 
28,  1811,  re.  55,  deservedly  honored,  highly  esteemed,  and  affection- 
ately lamented. 

^  Perhaps  intended  for  PecJced  Cliff,  which  is  the  modem  name. 


vGooglc 


356  THE   HISTOKY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

were  opposed  to  permission  being  granted  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  as  they  did  "  not  wish  all  the  wolves  to  be 
shut  out  of  the  county  upon  their  own  limits."  ^ 

In  1718,  "in  the  month  of  April,  a  pirate-ship,  the 
Whidah,  of  twenty-three  guns  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty  men,  Samuel  Bellamy  commander,  ventLiced 
upon  the  New  England  coast  near  Cape  Cod,  and,  after 
having  taken,  seven  vessels,  seven  of  the  piratical 
crew  were  transferred  to  one  of  the  prize  ships.  The 
men  soon  became  drunken  and  slept.  The  master  of 
the  captured  vessel  ran  her  ashore  on  the  back  of  the 
Cape  and  the  seven  pirates  were  secured.  Soon  after, 
the  pirate-ship  itself  was  forced  ashore  by  the  winds, 
near  table-land,  and  the  whole  crew,  except  one  Eng- 
lishman and  an  Indian,  were  drowned.  Six  of  the 
pirates,  upon  trial  before  a  special  court  of  admiralty, 
were  pronounced  guilty,  and  were  executed  in  Boston, 
Nov.  15."  ■' 

'  This  fence  would  have  been  a  little  N,  and  "W".  of  the  projected 
canal  intended  to  unite  "  Bai-nstahle  and  Slanomet  Bays."  The 
starting  of  snob  a  project  shows  how  troublesome  wolves  foi-  a  long 
lime  were.  But  probably  at  this  date  more  correct  views  prevailed  in 
regard  to  the  anatomy  of  this  destructive  animal,  than  those  expressed 
by  Woods  at  an  earlier  period,  ia  his  account  of  New  England:  he 
says  of  the  wolf,  "  One  of  them  makes  no  more  bones  to  run  away 
with  a  pig,  than  a  dog  to  run  away  with  a  marrow-bone.  It  is  ob- 
served that  tliey  have  no  joints,  from  their  head  to  their  tail,  which 
prevents  them  from  leaping  or  sudden  turning,  as  may  appear  by  what 
I  shall  shew  you.  A  certain  man  having  shot  a  wolf,  aa  he  wa-*  feed- 
ing upon  swine,  breakiog  his  leg  only,  he  knew  not  how  to  devise  liis 
death.  On  a  sudden,  the  wolf  being  a  black  one,  he  was  loath  to  spoil 
his  fur  with  a  second  shot,  his  skin  being  worth  five  or  six  pounds 
sterling,  —  wherefore  he  resolved  to  get  him  by  the  tail,  and  thmst 
hint  into  a  river  that  was  bard  by,  which  effected,  the  wolf,  nut  being 
able  to  turn  his  jointless  body  to  bite  him,  was  taken." 
^  See  annals  of  the  towns. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAKHSTAJJLE   COUNTY.  357 

A  hearing  waa  had,  Nov.  1,  on  the  petition  of  Peter, 
Thomas  and  Josiah  Oakes,  agents  foe  that  part  of  East- 
ham  called  Billingsgate,  and  it  was  ordered  by  the  court 
"  that  it  be  a  town  called  by  the  name  of  Pool."  ^  The 
settlement  of  Rev.  Samuel  Oseoen  in  Eastham,  and  tlie 
transfer  of  his  pastorate  to  the  South  Church  exclu- 
sively soon  after,  is  a  matter  of  record.^  The  Rev. 
Thomas  Prihce,  of  Sandwich,  son  of  Samuel,  &q.,  was 
ordained,  Oct.  1,  as  associate  pastor  of  the  Old  South 
Church  in  Boston.^ 

^  The  bounds  were  to  be  "  from  tbe  bouiid-iine  of  Truro  across  tlie 
neck  from  sea  to  sea ;  extending  S.  to  a  valley  called  Bridge  Valley, 
and  so  running,  as  the  valley  and  brook  runs,  across  the  neck  from  the 
backside  sea  to  the  moutli  of  sd.  hi-ook,  and  from  the  mouth  of  sd. 
brook  to  the  Point  of  Billingsgate  Beach."  It  was  ordered  "  that  the 
salt  marsh  that  will  fall  within  the  line  of  Billingsgate  be  not  taxed  to 
sd.  place  until  improved  by  oivaers  living  within  the  line;"  also  "that 
the  whaling  and  oyster  fish  ng  be  n  comnon  as  fo  merly,"  &c. 

"  Mr,  OsBORH  was  a  man  of  n  h  le'wn  ng  —  omewhat  versatile 
—  by  some  censured  for  h  tenets  and  p  i  tices  i  y  others  approved 
generally.  His  labors  in  sev  al  pla  s  1  e  a  schoolmastei  oi 
minister,  will  be  in  succe  d  n  p  ea  s  bject  of  notice  as  aho  his 
demise  at  a  very  advanced  a^e.  beveial  of  his  desLendants  weie 
highly  talented  and  left  their  mark  upon  the  a„e  lo  which  the}  lived 
"  This  eminent  divine,  whose  portrait  we  aie  enabled  through  the 
courtesy  of  Mr.  Drake,  to  present  to  the  rc-u!  i  and  l^  hose  lineage 
will  appear  in  connection  with  a  note  touobing  his  excellent  father  and 
distinguished  brother,  was  truly  an  honor  to  his  native  town  Bom 
in  Sandwich,  May  15,  1687 ;  grad.  H.  C,  1707  he  stud  ed  lor  the 
ministry.  In  1709,  March  29,  he  sailed  for  Barhadoeo  anl  went 
tJience  fo  England.  From  England  he  went  to  Madeira  ind  igam  to 
Barbadoes,  but  returned  to  London,  Oct.  17,1710  During  tII  this  time 
he  kept  a  journal,  which  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Rev  Chandlei 
Bobbins,  D.  D.,  of  Boston.  The  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  was  accident 
ally  burned  at  London,  and  he  took  up  for  a  time  his  residence  m  Eng., 
preaching  several  years  at  Coombs,  Sutfolk  —  receiving  also  invita- 
tions to  Battersford  and  other  places.  His  mind,  however  constantly 
reverted  to  America;  and,  May  15, 1717,  he  sailed  fram  London  for 


vGooglc 


i558  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

A  country  road  was  laid  oat,  in  1719,  from  -Harwich 
to  Truro.  On  the  petition  of  John  Yeats  and  Nathan- 
iel Gould,  representing  "  that  the  easternmost  end  of 
Harwich,  bordering  on  Eastham,  ia  7  miles  from  the 
meeting  house  in  Harwich,  obliging  them  to  go  to 
Eastham  to  meeting ;  and  that  now  a  place  of  worship 
is  erected  in  the  S.  part  of  Eastham,  but  2  m.  distant ; 
and  desiring,  tlierefore,  to  be  set  off  from  H.  to  E.,"  the 
prayer  was  granted. 

A  jealous  guardianship  of  the  rights  of  the  people 
of  the  province,  and  that  determined  adherence  to 
principle  once  adopted  which  distinguished  the  colo- 
nists and  runs  through  their  whole  history,  was  still 

Boston,  With  him  eame  his  friends  the  Dennys  and  Soul.hgates,  who 
were  partial  to  his  ministry.  Arriving  July  20,  he  was  cordially  wel- 
comed and  invited  to  the  charge  severally  of  churches  at  Hingham, 
Bristol  and  Boston.  Accepting  the  invitation  from  the  Old  Soiitli 
Church  to  succeed  the  lamented  Pemberton  as  colleague  with  the  ven- 
erable Dr.  SewaU,  he  was  ord.  Oct.  1,  1718.  He  m.,  Oct.  SO,  1719, 
Deborah  Denny,  10  yrs,  his  junior,  and  who  was  of  the  company 
accompanying  him  from  England,  She  d.  June  J,  1766,  aged  67. 
They  had  Thomas,  Feb.  27,  1721-2,  who  grad.  at  H.  C.  1740,  a 
young  man  of  great  promise,  who  d.  Sept.  30,  1748,  aged  26  ;  Debo- 
rah, Dec  23, 1723,  who  d.  July  20,  1744  ;  Mercy,  Deo.  6,  1725,  who 
d.  May  18,  1752 ;  Sarah,  July  IG,  1728,  who  m.  Lt,  Gov,  Thomas 
GHll,  Apra,  1759,  and  d.  Aug.  5,  1771 ;  and  Grace,  Teb.  16,  1742-3, 
who  d.  in  infency.  Eev,  Mr.  Prince  d.  Oct.  22,  175S.  Besidea  liis 
other  labors,  he  was  author  of  that  mo^t  invaluable  work,  "  New  Eng- 
land's Annals  and  Chronolofj  It  has  been  truly  said  of  liira,  "He 
wag  a  man  of  fine  genius  improi  ed  by  d  hgent  study,  and  polished  by 
an  extensive  aequamtanee  witli  minkmd  an  ornament  to  his  profes- 
sion and  a  rich  lile  img  to  the  church."  In  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
Chauncey,  "  No  one  1 1  New  Enghn  1  had  more  learning,  except  Cot- 
ton Mather."  Hi  collection  of  public  and  private  papers,  unpub- 
lished, relating  to  the  civil  and  religious  history  of  New  England,  and 
other  valuable  Mbb  it  is  ever  to  be  regietted,  were  destroyed  by  the 
vandalism  of  the  British  troops  occupying  llie  Old  South  meeting 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


ANNAI.9   OF   BAENSTABLE    COUxNiTY.  859 

manifested  in  regard  to  the  requisition  of  Queen  Anne 
in  former  years  and  still  pressed  by  the  parent  gov- 
ernment, that  the  system  of  donations  and  free  gifts 
to  the  governor  should  cease,  and  that  a  salary  as 
named  by  the  throne  should  be  permanently  estab- 
lished. The  people  continued  to  resist  it,  and  it  was  a 
subject  of  contention  as  often  as  it  was  bi'oaclied,  in- 
volving successive  governors  and  the  councE  and  legis- 
lature in  misunderstanding. 

If  we  except  the  annoyances  that  were  experienced 
in  relation  to  the  fisheries,  and  which,  having  continued 
a  long  time,  were  now  becoming  intolerable,'  there  is 
nothing  to  record  in  which  the  Cape  is  particularly 

hoaae  ivhere  those  papers  were  deposited  in  a  pvivaLe  apartment.  He 
published,  in  addition  to  that  notable  relic  of  his  labors  alvpady  men- 
tioned, a  sermon  on  the  death  of  his  father,  17'28 ;  another  on  the 
death  of  Mrs.  Deborah  Prince,  IIH,  and  other  similar  pvoduetions. 
Atler  his  decea.'*,  a  seiiaon  that  be  liad  preached  on  occasion  of  the 
death  of  his  son  Thomas  was  published  in  Edinburgh,  with  others  of 
his  sermons,  by  bis  friend  Eev.  Dr.  Erskine.  Other  sermons,  numer- 
ous and  valuable,  remain.  His  books,  which  he  culled  ''  the  New 
Eng.  Library,"  are  i-etained  by  the  corporation  of  the  Old  South 
Church — a  portion  being  ia  the  temporary  keeping  of  the  Mass. 
Hist.  Soo.  A  catalogue  of  (hem  was  printed  in  1847.  In  1838,  a 
"  Prince  Society  for  Publication  "  was  founded  in  Boston  and  named 
in  honor  of  him,  which  Society  celebrated  the  centennial  of  his  death 
by  listening  to  a  eulogy  pronounced  by  "W,  H.  WLifmore,  Esq.,  to 
the  courtesy  of  which  gentleman  the  writer  is  indebted  for  data  tend- 
ing to  the  correction  and  fulness  of  the  present  note. 

'  The  peace  of  Eyswick,  more  than  twenty  yeai-s  before,  was  scarcely 
obtained,  when  the  inhabitants  of  N.  Eng.  were  made  sensible  of  the 
designs  of  the  French  to  make  themselves  sole  proprietors  of  the  fish- 
eries to  the  eastward  of  the  Kennebec.  The  French  asserted  an  ex- 
clusive i-ight  to  the  fishery  upon  the  sea-coasts  and  in  all  the  inland 
waters.  All  English  vessels  found  fishing  on  the  coasts  were,  by 
order  of  the  king  of  the  French,  to  be  seized. 


vGooglc 


S60  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

interested,  as  occurring  in  1720,  unless  it  be  the  settle- 
ment of  Rev.  Joseph  Lord  in  Chatham,  and  of  Rev, 
Benj.  Webb  over  the  South  Church  in  Easthani. 

In  1721,  the  General  Court  which  had  passed  an  act 
to  issue  £50,000  in  bills  of  credit,  resolved  on  another 
issue  —  the  desired  effect  of  the  former  not  having  been 
realized ;  and  to  loan  the  amount  in  just  proportions  to 
the  several  towns,  as  a  means  of  remedying  the  scarcity 
of  money — thus  increasing  the  amount  in  circulation 
to  £100,000.  The  effect,  instead  of  bringing  perma- 
nent relief  proved  far  otherwise.^ 

The  small-pox  wa^  at  this  period  devastating  and 
alarming.^ 

'  The  people  seem  not  to  have  generally  uuderatood  the  necessary 
consequence  of  these  emissions,  viz. :  the  greater  the  quantity  of  the 
fictitious  substitute  for  money,  llie  less  its  value.  For  more  than 
.  thirty  years  the  evils  of  such  legislation  were  every  where  feit ;  and 
they  especially  whose  depenlenue  wts  on  a  fixed  income  for  soppoi-t, 
(and  among  these  were  the  dergy  generally,)  wei'e  reduced  lo  a  state 
of  great  deprivation  mJ  an'^ietj  Ti-ade  was  indeed  reduced  10  a 
state  of  barter.  The  nch  tt  is  true,  were  becoming  richer,  but  the 
poor  were  inevitably  becoming  j  oorer  under  tho  financial  systems  of 
the  day,  and  the  piovmcu  beeraed  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy  and 

^  This  disease  hal  been  biought  into  the  harbor  of  Boston  by  the 
Saltovtugas'  fleet.  Of  5880  pei-oons  who  took  the  infection,  8i4  died. 
Inoculation  was  introduced  but  such  was  the  prejudice  of  the  peo- 
ple against  thte  resort  that  even  the  lives  of  those  who  proposed  it 
were  insecure  from  the  popuKr  lagp.  Both  Dr.  Cotton  Mather  and 
Dr.  Boylston  were  obnoMoua  to  tht,  resentmcEt  of  the  inuttitude.  So 
much  horrified  by  the  lemedy  j.iojosed  were  many,  even  ordinarily 
sober-minded  people,  tliat  the  opmion  prevailed  that  if  any  of  the  in- 
oculated should  die  the  physician  should  be  treated  as  a  murdei-er. 
Dr.  Boylston's  family  were  hardly  safe  in  his  house,  and  he  often  met 
with  affronts  and  insults  in  the  streets.  The  faculty  generally  disap- 
proved of  his  conduct,  although  to  show  his  confidence  of  success  he 


yGoogk' 


ABNAL8   OF   BASHSTABLE   COTOTY.  361 

In  1722,  the  people  of  Billingsgate  having  erected  a 
meeting  house,  applied  to  be  set  ofi'  as  the  third  parish 
in  Eastham ;  but  with  a  proviso  that  the  ministers  of 
each  of  the  three  precincts  shall  be  supported  by  the 
town  jointly.  The  prayer  "was  successful,  and  the  pre- 
cinct was  the  next  year  "  allowed."  The  inhabitants  of 
a  portion  of  Yarmouth  also  desired  to  be  erected  into 
a  new  precinct,  the  result  of  which  was  that  the  east' 
em  part  was  set  oif  making  the  western  and  eastern 
precincts.  An  application  from  Melatiah  Bourne,  Esq., 
of  Sandwich,  to  be  allowed  to  purchase  lands  of  Nar 
than  Wicket,  Indian,  viz.,  "an  island  of  15  acres  in 
Monumet  Bay,"  was  granted,  and  John  Otis,  Esq.,  Col. 
William  Bassett  and  Mr.  Eldad  Tupper  were  appointed 
to  act  for  the  Indians  to  insure  justice.  Eev.  Roland 
Cotton,  the  minister  of  Sandwich,  died  March  29,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Kev.  Bes.tamin  Fessendek.^ 

began  with  his  own  children  and  servants.  Kev.  Dr.  Mather,  the 
first  proposer  of  the  remedy,  was  reproached  and  vilified  in  pamphlets ; 
and  a  grenado-,shell  waa  thrown  in  at  his  window,  with  a  scurrilous 
menace  fastened  to  tlie  fuze.  It  was  alleged  that  "  ihe  machination 
of  men "  was  "  preferred "  by  him  "  to  the  all-wise  providence  of 
God." 

^  Eev.  RoLAKD  Cotton,  ord.  Nov,  28, 1694,  g.  s.  of  the  learned  and 
Rev.  John  of  Boston,  and  s.  of  Eev,  John  of  Plymoutb,  was  b.  Dec. 
27,  1667,  and  grad.  H.  C.  1685.  By  his  m.,  1689,  with  Elizabeth, 
wid.  of  Eev.  J.  Denison  of  Ipswich,  and  sister  of  Gov.  Saltonatall,  he 
liad  John,  July  15,  1690,  who  grad.  H.  C,  1710,  was  ord.  minister 
at  Newton,  Nov.  S,  1714,  and  d.  May  17,  1757,!eaving  published  sei-- 
moita  preached  on  occasion  of  the  death  of  Nath'l  Cotton  of  Bristol, 
1729,  and  at  the  ordination  of  his  bro.  Ward,  1734 ;  Joanna,  Aug.  1 6, 
1691,  who  m.  John  Brown  of  Haverhill,  Sept.  17,  1719,  was  the 
mother  of  4  s.  educated  at  H.  C,  3  of  whom  were  ministers,  and  whs 
maternal  ancestor  of  Peter  C.  Brooks  of  Boston;  Elizabeth,  1G93; 
Sarah,  1696  ;  Nath'l,  June  IS,  1697,  who  A.  at  Bristol,  1729 ;  Abigail, 
1699  1  Maria,  1700  ;  Eoland,  Nov.  13,  1701,  wEo  d.  Mar.  18, 1725  ; 
VOL.   I.  46 


vGooglc 


362  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

In  1723,  Jan,  1,  Gov.  Shute,  whose  administration 
had  become  quite  unpopular,  embarked  for  England/ 
and,  until  his  successftr  arrived,  Lt,  Gov,  William  Dum- 
mer  presided.  The  24th  of  February  became  memora- 
ble as  the  date  of  "a  dreadful  storm," ^  The  Hev. 
Josiah  Oakes  this  year  became  the  minister  of  Hie 
Eastham  parish  subsequently  known  as  Wellfleet. 

The  year  1724  was  marked  chiefly  by  the  settlement 
of  Rev.  JosiAH  Masshall  as  minister  of  Falmouth,  whose 
pastorate  continued  to  1730  ;  and  1725  appears  to  have 
been  barren  of  events  of  interest  for  the  pen  of  the 
historian,  if  we  except  the  settlement  of  Rev.  Joseph 
'Green  over  the  east  church  in  Barnstable.  The  year 
1726  was  chiefly  memorable  for  its  indications  of  ec- 
clesiastical discontent.  Rev.  Mr.  Greenleaf,  the  minister 
of  the  western  precinct  of  Yarmouth,  felt  constrained  to 
enter  a  complaint  to  the  Court  of  General  Sessions  re- 
lating to  his  salary ;  but  the  appeal  of  the  people  to 
the  General  Court,  through  Mr.  Samuel  Sturgis,  their 
agent,  was  sustained.  The  people  of  the  Billingsgate 
precinct  were  also  before  tlie  General  Court,  represent- 
ing that  their  minister.  Rev.  Mr.  Oakes,  had,  for  some 

Jo.iia!i,  June,  1703  !  Eiith,1710;  aad  Ward,  Sept.  8, 1711,  ord.  1734. 
One  of  bis  drs.  m.  Eev.  Silaa  Bourne  of  Seituate. 

'  He  went  to  prefer  coiaplaiata  against  tlie  province,  Tlie  matter 
of  salary  had  continned,  as  before  and  after,  the  vexed  quesljoa.  Be- 
sides this,  he  charged  that  his  power  as  governor  was  assumed  by  the 
General  Court.  In  consequence  of  his  complaints,  an  explanatoiy 
charter  was  procured  the  next  year,  which  coniirmed  the  preragative 
for  which  he  had  contended.     He  d.  in  Eng.,  April  15, 1742. 

^  Elder  Faunce  of  Plymouth  said,  "  It  raised  the  tide  3  or  4  ft. 
higher  thaa  had  been  known  aforetime."  An  account  of  this  storm 
was  furaished  to  the  Eoyal  Society,  London,  hy  Cotton  Mather.  A 
similar  storm  occurred  in  1770,  and  agtun  in  1785. 


vGooglc 


ANNA1.S   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUMTY.  363 

cause,  become  very  unpopular,  and  that  they  tad,  for 
that  reason,  invited  another  minister;  but  that  Mr. 
Oakes,  assisted  by  John  Doane,  Esq.,  and  eight  or  ten 
others,  had  possession  of  the  meeting  house,  thus  mak- 
ing it  necessary  for  the  disaffected  majority  to  worship 
in  private  houses — the  precinct  being  involved  by  the 
existing  state  of  things  in  great  confusion  and  distrafr 
tion.  Their  petition  for  relief  was  considered  by  the 
court,  and  it  was  "  ordered  that  Mr.  Oakes  proceed  no 
farther  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  sd.  parish ;  but 
that  he  shall  be  paid  for  the  past  at  the  rate  of  £80 
per  annum." 

From  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  "  Province 
Lands,"  at  the  extremity  of  the  Cape,  into  a  precinct, 
thirteen  years  since,  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  that 
part  of  the  county  has  become  much  increased ;  and 
now,  June  14, 1727,  the  precinct  of  Cape  Cod  was  in- 
corporated as  a  township  by  the  name  of  Pkovince- 
rowK.^     Its  location  being    peculiar,  and  its    relative 

'  The  act  of  incorporation,  was  oq  this  wise  ;  "  Be  it  enacted,  ^c, 
that  all  the  lands  on  s^d  Cape  (bemg  Province  Lands)  be,  and 
hereby  arc,  constituted  a  Township,  by  the  name  of  Provincctoivn,  and 
that  the  inhabitants  thereof  be  vested  with  the  powers,  privileges  and 
immunities  tliat  the  inhabitants  of  any  of  the  towns  withm  the  Prov- 
ince by  law  are,  or  ought  to  be  vested  with,  saving  always  the  right  of 
this  Province  to  said  lands,  which  is  to  he  in  no  wise  prejvdiced.  And 
provided  that  no  person  or  persons  be  hindered  or  obstmcted  in  build- 
ing such  wharves,  stages,  work-houses  and  flakes,  and  other  things  as 
shall  be  necessary  for  the  salting,  keeping  and  packing  their  fish,  or  in 
cutting  down  and  taking  such  trees  and  other  materials,  growmg  on 
the  said  Province  Lands,  as  shall  be  needful  for  that  purpose,  (without 
making  any  wilful  waste,  or  spoil,  or  barking,  or  boxing  any  pine 
trees  standing  or  growing  on  the  said  land,)  or  in  any  sort  of  fishing, 
whaling,  or  getting  of  bait,  at  the  said  Cape,  but  that  the  same  be  held 
3  heretofore,  with  all  the  privileges  and  advantages  there- 
wise  belonging."' 


yGoogle 


dfj4  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

position  hitherto  in  many  respects  anomalous,  the  inhab- 
itants, though  allowed  the  right  of  representation,  were 
to  be  exempt  from  taxation  except  for  municipal  pur- 
poses, and  from  military  duty.  The  provincial  govern- 
ment also  continued  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the 
clergyman  of  the  place. 

The  General  Court  proposing  another  issue  of  bills 
of  credit,  £60,000,  the  former  bills  of  the  £50,000 
loan  having  greatly  depreciated,  there  was  again  much 
difference  of  opinion  throughout  the  province  in  re- 
gard to  the  policy  of  the  measure.  In  this  diversity 
of  sentiment  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cape  partook,  and 
were  much  involved  in  the  political  contentions  grow- 
ing out  of  it. 

The  representatives  of  the  several  towns  sot  forth  in 
petition  to  the  General  Court, "  the  great  inconvenience 
and  expense  incurred  by  the  people  of  the  Cape,  es- 
pecially by  those  more  remote,  in  being  obliged  to 
attend  the  Superior  Court  of  Judicature  and  Court  of 
Assize  in  the  County  of  Plymouth ;  and  asked  that 
such  order  might  be  had  that  the  courts  miglit  sit  once 
a  year  in  the  County  of  Barnstable.  The  application 
was  successful.  —  The  Indian  proprietors  of  Oyster 
Island  at  the  same  time  asked  and  obtained  leave  to 
sell  their  land ;  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
assist  them  in  negotiating  a  sale  of  the  same. 

On  the  29th  of  Oct.  was  another  shock  of  earth- 
quake.^    The  Kcv.  Daniel  Grcenloaf  this  year  ceased  to 

'  It  occm-red  at  10  o'clock  i  m.,  at  night,  and  was  mucii  more 
violent  than  that  occurring  just  a  century  previous.  Thi'oughout  New 
England  it  caused  great  alarm.  Its  noise  was  compared  to  that  of  ten 
tliousand  carriages  driven  over  pavements.  WalU  of  cellars  were  pros- 
trated ;  chimneys  were  thrown  down  ;  and  seamen  upon  tlie  coast  sup- 
posed their  vessels  had  strack  on  some  shoal.     In  New  York  it  was 


yGoogle 


ANKAT,3  OP  BARNSTABLE  COUKTY.  305 

be  the  minister  of  Yarmouth  ;  the  East  church  in  that 
town  wtis  gathered,  and  the  Rev.  Josiah  Dennis  became 
the  pastor. 

The  fresh  issue  of  the  loan,  £60,000,  intended  "to 
reheve  the  decline  of  trade,"  led,  in  1728,  to  specula- 
tions, especially  in  Eastern  lauds,  which  became  now 
for  the  first  time  almost  a  mania: — we  say,  for  the 
first  time  ;  not  the  last,  as  the  memory  of  many  now 
living  will  sadly  attest. 

Gov.  William  Burnet,  appointed  on  the  accession  of 
Geoege  II.,  arrived  in  Boston  July  13.  Owing  to  certain 
instructions  he  had  received  from  his  sovereign,  a  sub- 
ject by  no  means  new  was  soon  broached  that  proved 
not  very  flattering  to  his  hopes  of  a  quiet  and  pros- 
perous administra,tion.'     The  governor  failed  to  make 

as  sensibly  felt  as  in  Massaeliu setts.     It  happily  proved  "  reformatory 

rf>       A                             m  ly  devout  pcn- 

din           h                              m     p    m  divines  of  the 
d 

Th      dm                        L         G        D      m      h  d  hitherto   given 

b                 w  g               h  d  no  sooner  com- 

m            d          k                                        q            fi  alary,  ihan  the 

dmdasd                 Tpp                    d  ea  competent 

m                                   b                  fl      b  y  ot  to  establish 

a               h             d                                        d  p     d  of  their  wishes. 

T          d             h                                mp  R  vernors  shouid 

m        g                            p        d    h  alary  should  be 

p    m             —  b                 h             p  g  salai'ies  from 

m            m                          d  b     h     p    p  ovince  only  to 

a  g  ca  G         m       d      landings,  there- 

f         m     d                          p                    h     g  aad   the   court. 

Th  b  B  kdwhh      pposition,  the  gov- 

d       m     d                       h       p                     a  roe  place  where 

ti          b               dmhpes              B  nfiuetice.     Tlie 

CO                          d              m      d         S     m    Ap  729,   and,   still 

p                                                      d           d        m  Cambridge   in 

AupUfet.     Itvias  a  defect  m  the  chaitei  o     V      i  d  Mary  that  the 


vGooglc 


dbb  THli   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

the  impression  he  desired,  and  felt  severely  the  difficul- 
ties of  his  position.  He  sickened  and  died  before  the 
expiration  of  the  year/  and  the  lieutenant  governor 
was  again  in  power.* 

Samuel  Prince,  Esq.,  who  had  been  a  prominent  and 
inQuential  citizen  of  the  town  of  Sandwich,  died  July 
3  in  Middleboro',  whither  he  had  gone  to  enjoy,  as  the 
solace  of  age,  the  kind  attentions  of  his  daughter,  in 
the  family  of  Rev.  Mr.  Thacher.'    The  Eev.  Thomas 

governors  of  the  provinces  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  king  instead 
of  being  chosen  by  the  people  ■  and  it  wa.s  on  this  ground  that  the 
-  legislat  re    efused  to  s     lot     go  ernora  fixe  1    ^l 

^  Gov  E  RVCT  va3  e  den  ly  a  m  n  of  supe  or  lent,  gentle- 
manly, he  del  ^1 1  of  all  II  e  ual  c  le  -^n  1  as  d  from  his 
official  reli  on  un  ver  Uy  e  me  1  He  was  b  10  >8,  son  of 
Bishop  B    nettheh     or    n  and  d  Sep    17    bepeentjear. 

*  The  lieutenant  govei'nor  had  the  credit  of  being  governed  by  a  due 
regard  for  the  public  good.  As  he  will  not  be  further  conspicuous 
iipon  our  pages,  we  may  remark  that  he  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  be- 
ing a  liberal,  pious,  benevolent  man.  Lieut.  Gov.  Dummer  d.  Oct. 
10,  17G1. 

"  Mr.  Samuel  Pkince  was  son  of  tlie  Elder,  Jolin  of  Hull,  who 
came  over  in  1G33,  b.  at  E.  Sheiford  1610,  eldest  son  of  Eev.  John, 
rector  of  E.  Shefford,  Berkshire,  who  m.  Elizabeth,  dr.  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Tolderburj'.  The  father  of  Mr.  Samuel  Prince  was  in  "SVatertown, 
New  England,  about  1033;  tlieo  at  Hingham,  and  settled  at  Nan- 
tasket  1G38.  In  1644  he  waa  first  ruling-«lder  at  Hull,  and  d.  there 
Aug.    IG,  1G7G,    m.    66.     His    1st  m.  was  with   Alice   Honour  of 

Watertown,  and  the  2d  with  Anne  .     By  the  last  m.  was  no 

issue.  By  the  former  were  John  1038;  Elizabeth  1G40;  Joseph 
3642;  Martha  1645;  Job  1647;  and  Samuel,  b.  at  Boston  May, 
1649,  d.  1728.  This  last,  whose  name  stands  at  the  head  of  this 
note,  was  admitted  a  towasman,  in  Sandwich  in  1G32.  He  m.  1st 
Martha,  dr.  of  Wm.  Barstow,  Dec  9,  1674,  who  d.  Dec.  IS,  1C84; 
and  2d  Mere}',  dr.  of  Gov.  Hinckley.  By  the  fonner  m.  the  issue 
was  Samael  Sept.  20, 1675 ;  Marlha  Mar.  15,  1677-8,  who  m.  Ezra 
Bourne,  Esq.,  of  Sandwich,  Dec.  27,  1698;  John  Oct-.  1, 1680,  who 
d.  young;  Anne  Feb.  1682-3,  who  d.  inft. ;  and  Nathan  Sept.  17, 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BARK3TABLE    COTIKTY.  367 

Smith  became,  in  1729,  the  minister  of  the  first  chnrch 
in  Yarmouth. 

Lieut  Gov.  Wm.  TAiLER-was  at  tlie  head  of  the  province 
in  1630,  until  Jonathan  Belchek,  appointed  to  succeed 

1G84,  ivlio  d.  1685.  By  the  2d  m.  were  Thomas  Hay  15,  1687, 
who  became  the  disiinguishetl  pastor  of  the  Old  South  Church  in  Bos- 
ton; Mary  Jan.  8,  1688,  who  m.  Eey.  Peter  Thacher  of  Middle- 
boro',  Jan.  24,  1710-11,  and  d.  Oct.  1,  1771 ;  Ecoch  Sept.  19,  1690, 
who  d.  Aug.  31,  1713 ;  John  Nov.  20,  1692,  who  m.  Eliz.  Wooden 
Nov.  30,  1713,  and  was  lost  at  sea  Feb.  1716-17;  Joseph  Ap.  1, 
1695,  who  m.  Hannah  Beach  July  4,  1732,  and  d.  at  Stratford,  Ct., 
Dec.  4,  1747  ;  Moses  Feb.  22,  1696-7,  who  m.  Jane  Bethune  Feb, 
1,  1737-8,  and  d.  in  Antigua  July  6,  1745,  his  wid.  surviving  him  in 
Newburyport  until  Mar.  9,  1795;  Nathan  Nov.  30,  1698;  Mercy 
Dec.  21,  1700,  who  d.  at  Middleboro'  Aug.  9, 1748 ;  Alice  Aug.  13, 
1703,  who  m.  Samu  1  G  y  f  H  "  h  S  pt  13  1731,  and  d.  at 
Little  Compton,  July  3        d  B    j     F  b  1  05-6,  who  d. 

early.     Of  this  nume  f  m  ly  S  )     1       11        had  farms  in 

Milford  and  Coventry  C  Id  EhM  12,  before  his 
father's  demise ;  Joh       h     6 1  h  d       d      El      who  m.  Seth 

Ames  of  Bridgwr.,     73       M  m  1  le  Saml.  and 

others ;  Thomas  is  p  1    ly  mei  1  d  Nathan,  the 

9tli  son,  a  grad.  H.  C    1  m  d  ac       [  1  shed  scholar, 

also  deserves  more  th         i  g  — 

A  Tutor  in  H.  C,  after  graduating,  14  yeare;  and  a  Fellow,  5 
yrs. ;  for  causes,  evidently,  that  redound  to  his  credit  at  the  present 
day,  he  was  removed  in  1742.  Declining  lo  assist  in,  or  sanction, 
certain  practices  indicated,  and  his  removal  being  conseciuent,  it  led 
to  an  able  "  Review  of  (he  constitution  and  govt,  of  Ilarvai-d  College 
from  its  foundation  in  1636  to  the  year  1742."  In  this  document, 
which  he  caused  to  be  published  in  self-defence,  he  coutended  that 
the  General  Court  alone  have  power  to  dismiss  members  of  the  cor- 
poration, and  are  the  only  legitimate  visitors  ;  complained  of  the  man- 
agement of  the  treasury;  and  reprobated  the  injustice  which  le 
belieTcd  resulted  from  the  practice  of  arranging  students  in  cla  'ei 
and  their  names  in  the  catalogue  according  to  the  supposed  d  gnity  of 
their  family  or  connections.  —  It  will  be  observed  thit  thealil  Let 
ical  arrangement  of  names  did  not  prevail  till  1773  We  )  ave  le 
ferred  to  evident  causes  of  the  removal;  and  we  think  we  aie   ustimed 


yGoogle 


.J(J8  THE   mSTOKY    Oli"   CAPE   COD. 

Gov.  Buraet,  arrived  in  August ;  and,  the  controversy 
in  regard  to  the  salary  being  again  renewed,  fortu- 
nately a  present  compromise  was  effected. 

Additional  legislation  was  had  in  regard  to  Provinee- 

in  this,  not  only  by  the  n  u  f  1  d  f  and  by  the  position 
which,  he  subsequently  p  ed  b  1  by  1  fact  that  his  eminent 
brother,  Rev.  Thomas  P  k  p  !  1  m  against  the  pi-oceed- 

inog a  course  to  which  fa       al    fl        n  would  not  otherwise 

have  impelled  him.  Th  di  n  1  d  ua  R  .  Nathan  Pkibce, 
was,  in  the  view  of  comp      n    jud  d  emporary  witnesses, 

even  "  a  greater  mathem  an  and  f  1  1  [  I  and  a  better  classical 
scholar  and  lo^cian,  tlia    1      b     1  d  ked  among  the  great 

men  of  the  country."  Al  h  h  b  h  p  n  deep-footcd  aversion 
to  the  Episcopal  Church     t      la  g  d         fi    Uy  led  to  other  con- 

clusions ;  and,  taking  o  d  n  h  I  h  he  became  finally  a 
faithful  and  devot«d  m         a  y      d  a    Euatan,  W.  Indies, 

where,  highly  honored,  h  d  J  !y  2  174a  I^of  knowledge  of  the 
position  he  thus  occupied,  and  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held,  we 
must  have  reference  to  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Society  in  England 
for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,"  A  sermon  is  before 
us,  preached  before  that  venerable  society,  in  Ixindon,  1747,  "by 
the  Et.  Rev.  Father  in  God,  Samuel,  lord  Bp.  of  St.  Asaph,"  and  also 
an  "  Abstract  of  Proceedings,"  1745-7,  in  which  mention  is  made  of 
"  Mr.  Prince,  missy,  to  the  Moskito  Indiuns,  Bahama  Islands,"  also 
of  "  Mr,  Bewsher,  catechist  to  the  Negroes  on  the  Plantations  in  Bar- 
badoes."  The  Abstract  says,  "At  length  they  have  found,  ns  they 
charitably  hope,  in  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nathan  Prince,  (a  native  of  New 
England,  bred  to  learning,  and  for  several  years  Fellow  of  H.  C,  in 
that  country,  who,  after  having  joined  himself  to  the  Ep.  Church  in 
New  Eng.,  and  done  service  in  it  as  a  schoolmaster,  came  recom- 
mended to  the  society  by  their  missionaries  in  New  Eng.,)  a  proper 
person  to  be  employed  in  the  instruction  of  the  Moskito  Indians  who 
inhabit  that  part  ot  the  continent  ot  N  Amenta  which  lies  neaie-.t  to 
the  Island  of  Jamaica,  and  is  from  them  called  the  Moakito  Shore 
These  Indians  are  the  descendants  of  those  who  fled  befoie  the 
Spaniiids  in  the  bloody  conquests  in  tho-.e  p  ut'5,  and  they  have  put 
themsehcs  undei  the  protection  of  the  king  of  Gt  Biitain,  ^nd  caU 
themselves  his  subject?,  and  show  an  earnest  desire  to  be  united  to  us 
both  m  go\t  and  leh^ion     Whcr  fore  the  eolj     ifti.i  Mi    Piince's 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   BAllNSTABLE    COUKIY.  369 

town.^  The  town  had  continued  to  advance  in  wealth 
and  population ;  and  such  was  the  value  of  its  harbor 
to  the  commercial  world,  that  the  provincial  author- 
ities were  duly  mindful  of  its  importance.    The  Rev. 

having  been  ordained  Deacon  and  Priest  by  the  lord  Bp.  of  Loudon, 
have  appointed  him  their  missy.,  and  directed  him  to  settle  at  Black 
River,  the  chief  place  of  resort  on  the  Moskito  Shore ;  and,  under 
God's  providence,  Mr.  Prince  is  now  on  his  voy^e  thither."  Again, 
"  Rev.  Mr.  Boschi,  the  socy's.  missy,  to  St,  Bartholomew's  Parish,  in 
his  letter  from  thence,  Aug.  22,  1747,  acquaints  the  socy.  that  he  be- 
ing appointed  a  chaplain  to  the  garrison  lately  established  in  the 
Island  Ruatan  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Moskito  Shore,  was  pre- 
paring to  remove  thither;  and  they  have  directed  Mr.  Prince,  their 
missy.,  to  hold  a  corresponde.  Tvith  Mr.  Boschi,  for  their  mutual  com- 
fort and  assiste.  iu  the  evangelical  work,  (the  socy.  having  accepted 
Mr.  Boschi's  offer  to  instruct  the  neigbg.  Indians.)  May  God  give  a 
blessing  to  it,  till  in  due  time  we  shall  all  become  cue  fold  under  one 
shepherd,  Jesus  Christ  our  liord."  That  Mr.  Prince  fell  a  sacrifice 
to  his  zeal  in  his  Master's  work  in  an  unpropitious  chme,  is  clearly 
evident;  and  leaves  a  presumption  that,  like  his  revered  brother 
Thomas,  he  was  not  simply  a  learned  man,  hut  a  man  of  God,  —  Be- 
sides the  work  before  mentioned,  which  shows  him  to  have  been  in 
advance  of  the  age,  he  published  in  1734,  "An  Essay  to  solve  the  dif- 
ficulties attending  the  accounts  of  the  Resurrection,"  a  work  that 
"  discovers  great  profundity  of  learning  and  masterly  argument." 

'  "  An  Act  to  prevent  damage  being  done  to  the  harbor  of  Cape 
Cod,  by  cattle  and  horaekind  feeding  on  Provincetown  land. 

"Whereas  many  persons,  not  inhabitants  in  Provincetown,  fre- 
qnently  drive  down  great  numbers  of  neat  cattle  and  borsekind  to 
feed  thereon,  whereby  the  beaches  there  are  much  broken  and  damni- 
fied, which  occasions  the  sands  blowing  into  Cape  Cod  Harbor,  to  the 
great  damage  thereof,  — 

"Be  it  therefore  enacted  hy  ids  excellency  the  governor,  council, 
and  representatives  in  General  Court  assembled,  and  by  the  authority 
of  the  same,  that  from  and  after  the  publication  of  this  act,  no  per- 
son or  persons  not  being  inhabitants  of  Provincetown,  shall  presume 
to  turn  or  drive  any  neat  cattle  or  borsekind  to  or  upon  the  lands  of 
Provincetown,  so  called,  to  feed  thereon,  upon  the  penally  of  forty 
shilhngs  a  head,  for  all  neat  cattle,  and  for  every  horse  or  mare  that 
VOL.  L  47 


vGooglc 


370  THE   HISTORY    OE   CAPE   COD. 

Samuel  Palmer  was  this  year  settled  in  the  ministry  at 
Falmouth;  and  the  Rev.  Isaiah  Lewis  in  the  second 
parish  of  Eastham. 

The  only  local  historical  incident  that  we  find  to 

shall  be  turned  or  found  feeding  on  Provincetown  land ;  which  pen- 
alty shall  be  recovered  by  the  selectmen  or  constable  of  the  said 
town,  or  any  other  person  who  shall  inform  and  sue  for  the  same ; 
the  one  half  of  tbe  said  forfeiture  to  be  to  him  or  them  who  shall 
inform  and  sue  for  the  same,  and  the  other  half  to  be  to  and  for  the 
use  of  the  poor  of  the  said  (own. 

"  And  he  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  if  any 
neat  cattle  or  horsekind  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  be  found  feeding 
on  the  land  or  beach  of  the  said  township  of  Provincetown,  other 
than  such  as  are  owned  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  town,  that  it 
shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  any  person  to  impound  the  same,  and  to 
give  public  notice  thereof,  in  the  said  town,  and  the  two  next  adjoin- 
ing towns,  and  the  impounder  shall  relieve  said  creatures,  while  im- 
pounded, with  suitable  meat  and  water ;  and  if  the  owner  thereof 
appear,  he  shall  pay  ten  shillings  damage  to  the  impounder  for  each 
head  of  neat  cattle  or  horsekind  so  impounded,  and  costs  of  impound- 
ing and  providing  for  the  same;  and  if  no  owner  appear  within  the 
space  of  six  days  to  redeem  the  said  caftle  or  horsekind  so  impounded, 
and  to  pay  the  damage  and  cosla  occasioned  by  impounding  the  same, 
then  and  in  every  such  case  the  person  or  persons  impounding  such 
cattle  or  horsekind,  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  sold  at  public  vendue, 
for  payment  to  the  town  of  the  damage  su';tMned  by  i-eason  of  such 
cattle  or  horsekind  feeding  upon  the  land  of  the  smd  township ;  as 
also  to  pay  the  costs  and  charges  arising  about  the  same  to  the  im- 
pounder, (publie  notice  of  the  time  and  place  of  such  sale  to  be  given 
in  the  said  town  of  Provincetown,  and  in  the  town  of  Truro,  forty- 
eight  hours  befoi-ehand,)  the  overplus,  if  any  there  be,  arising  by 
such  sale,  to  be  returned  to  the  owner  of  such  cattle  or  horsekind,  at 
any  time  within  twelve  months  next  after,  upon  his  demanding  the 
same ;  but  if  no  owner  appears  within  the  said  twelve  months,  then 
the  said  overplus  shall  be  one  half  to  the  party  impounding,  and  the 
other  half  to  the  use  of  the  poor  of  the  '^aid  town  of  Provincetown. 

"  This  act  to  continue  and  to  be  in  force  for  the  space  of  five  yeai's 
from  the  publication  thereof,  and  from  thence  to  the  end  of  the  next 
session  of  the  General  Court,  and  no  longer." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  371 

mention  of  1731,  is  that  of  a  record  of  ecclesiastical 
discontent  in  Sandwich.  A  petition  of  Jireh  Swift  and 
others,  representing  "  that  great  dissatisfaction  was 
conceived  at  the  conduct  of  the  minister,  Mr.  Fessen- 
den ;  that  the  aggrieved  had  called  in  council  seventeen 
churches  to  advise,  which  said  council  had  laid  Mr. 
Fessenden  under  censure,  and  advised  his  removal, 
but  that  he  and  the  church  refused  to  submit ;  and 
that  the  petitioners  not  being  able  with  a  good  con- 
science to  sit  under  his  ministry,  pray  for  a  division  of 
the  parish,  the  petitioners  to  be  allowed  the  right  of 
one  half  of  the  parsonage,"  Their  grievances  seem  not 
to  have  been  viewed  by  the  court  in  the  same  light  as 
by  themselvesj  and  their  petition  was  "  dismissed." 

The  record  is  sufficient  for  the  year  1732,  that  Divine 
Providekce,  watching  ever  over  the  destinies  of  the 
country,  and  seeing  the  end  from  the  beginning,  be- 
nignly ordered  the  birth  in  Westmoreland  County,  Vir- 
ginia, February  22,  of  him  who  was  in  after  years  to  be 
called  the  Benefactoe,  the  Fatheii  op  his  Countey. 

In  1733,  the  complaint  of  "the  scarcity  of  money" 
had  become  general,  ay,  universal.  It  was,  of  course, 
an  artificial  scarcity,  arising  from  the  depreciation  of 
paper  which  from  being  too  abundant  had  become,  in 
value,  of  little  worth.  Every  new  emission  was  thus 
doomed  to  depression,  embarrassing  trade  and  doing 
great  injustice  to  the  honest  and  industrious  portions 
of  the  community  who  were  creditors.^     The  inevitable 

'  The  flooding  of  the  country  with  the  £100,000  of  Rhode  Island 
bilk  of  credit,  and  the  issuing  of  £110,000  by  an  organized  company  of 
merchants  in  Boston,  served  to  increase  the  already  existing  evils.  A 
fluctuating  and  deceitful  medium,  notwithstanding  all  past  experience, 


vGooglc 


372  THE   HISTOKY   OF    CAPli   COD. 

operation  seemed  to  be  inadequately  understood.  The 
aiinals  of  the  towns  will  show  the  effect  of  these  fluc- 
tuations in  the  currency,  upon  the  interests  of  the 
Cape. 

An  effort  was  made  in  1734  in  behalf  of  the  towns 
on  the  lower  part  of  the  Cape,  to  have  the  said  towns 
set  off  from  the  county  of  Barnstable  as  another  and 
distinct  organizatioir.  Failing  in  this  attempt  to  be 
erected  into  a  separate  county,  those  towns  renewed 
their  application  to  the  General  Court  for  an  act  lessen- 
ing the  number  of  courts  held  at  Barnstable.  Sylvanus 
Snow  and  others  of  Eastham  petitioned  "  to  be  released 
from  paying  rates  at  Billingsgate." 

In  1736,  May  26,  Judge  Peter  Thacher  of  Yarmouth 
died.'  The  detail  of  doings  and  events  for  several 
years  embrace  only  matters  of  minor  importance.  Pe- 
cuniary controversies  growing  out  of  the  wise  instruc- 
tions Hie  governor  had  received  from  the  crown  not  to 
consent  to  the  issue  of  bills  of  credit  to  remain  current 
beyond  a  short  period,  and  a  disposition  on  the  pEut 
of  many  to  expand  paper  issues,  occupied  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  public  mind.    "With  the  exception  of  the 

it  will  appear  was  still  destined  to  tax  all  classes  of  people  —  insen- 
sibly but  unequally  —  drawing,  by  a  kind  of  magic  stealth  real  prop- 
erty fi-om  its  possessors,  and  substituting  fictitious  and  imaginary 
weallli  in  its  place  —  disaffecting  the  people,  alienating  neighbors, 
and  threatening  to  overwheim  posterity  with  its  curse,  antil  the  cause 
which  contributed  to  its  increase  proved  the  means  of  its  abolition. 

'  Judge  Thacher  was  a  man  of  note,  and  son  of  Col.  John  by  his 
1st  mar.  Early  a  representative ;  justice  of  the  peace  1718  ;  justice 
of  the  Common  Picas  1720,  and  chief  justice  172?  ;  overseer  of  the 
Indians  1729  ;  some  time  of  the  Council.  He  was  a  humble  Christian, 
and  d.  a;.  71. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAliHSTABLE   COUNTY.  373 

comparatively  unimportant  items  of  the  establishment 
of  a  ferry  between  Falmouth  and  Martha's  Vineyard.' 
in  1736 ;  the  petition  of  John  Knowlea  and  others, 
agents  of  the  towns  of  Eastham,  Harwich,  Truro,  Chatr 
ham  and  Provincetown,  in  1737,  "for  a  law  requiring 
the  courts  to  be  held  a  part  of  the  time  in  Eastham  ; " 
the  "choice  of  jm-ymen"  in  1738  "for  Barnstable  and 
Dukes  Counties  "  —  Martha's  Vineyard  having  been  as- 
sociated with  this  county ;  and  the  evidence  furnished 
of  the  increasing  attention  to  domestic  manufactures  ^ 
and  the  extension  of  facilities  therefor ;  ^  absolutely 

1  Joseph  Parker  and  otiiei's  were  the  grantees ;  "  the  grant  that 
had.  previously  been  made  to  Barker  was  annulled." 

^  The  climate  aad  pasturage  were  both  favorable  to  the  rearing  of 
sheep ;  the  one  contributing  a  peculiar  richness  to  the  meat,  the  other 
to  the  fleece.  The  woollens  used  in  families  were  now  manufactured 
chiefly  under  the  domestic  roof.    Flax  also  succeeded  well. 

^  An  important  move  in  this  direction  was  the  granting  of  extended 
mill  privileges  to  Mr.  Benjamiu  Marston  of  Barnstable,  which  privi- 
leges were  efficiently  improved  through  a  long  course  of  years  and 
especially  devoted  to  the  dressing  of  the  faithfully-made  and  enduring 
fabrics  so  abundantly  supplied  from  the  spinning  wheels  and  looms 
then  as  indispensable  accompaniments  in  the  dwellings  of  all  well- 
ordered  families  as  are  piano-fortes,  &c.,  at  the  present  day  in  families 
where  the  music  of  the  spindle  and  the  shuttle  are  never  heard. 
From  this  date,  1738,  the  cognomen  "Maeston's  Mills  "became 
the  designation  of  the  locality,  and  so  continues  to  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Benjamik  Marston  it  is  understood  came  from  Salem,  and 
was  the  first  of  the  name  in  Barnstable.  He  was  an  energetic,  prom- 
inent and  influential  citizen.  By  his  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Good- 
speed  April  26,  1716,  he  had  John  Feb.  25,  1716-17;  Patience 
Jan.  1,  1720,  who  m.  Edward  Bacon,  Esq.  1740;  Benjamin  Jan.  2, 
1725  ;  Nymphas  Feb.  12, 1727-8  ;  Lydia  Mai-cii  1731,  who  m.  James 
Alien  1715  (from  whom  were  James  1752,  Benjamin  1754,  Marston 
1759,  Thomas  1760,  Nymphas  1764, and  John  1767  who  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  1785,  S.  T.  D.  1813,  and  was  the  minister  at  Dux- 
bury;)  Prince  March  24,1735-6;  and  John  Dec.  3, 1730,  who  d.  Feb. 
22, 1817.    Of  this  issue,  Kyhphas  Makston,  Esq.,  the  3d  son,  was 


vGooglc 


374  THE   HISTOEY    OF   CAPE   COD, 

nothing  appears  upon  the  public  records  worthy  of 
mention  until  the  year  1739  when  the  war  with  Spain 
began  to  exert  an  iniiuence  on  the  destinies  of  New 
England.  Men  were  enlisted  on  the  Ca^e  as  elsewhere 
for  the  expedition  to  Cuba ;  many  of  these,  including 
some  of  the  most  active  young  men  of  the  province, 
soon  fell  victims  to  an  uncongenial  climate,  and  the 
war  proved  impoverishing  to  the  country,  greatly  in- 
creasing its  former  financial  embarrassments.  The  only 
items  of  merely  heal  interest  this  year,  are  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Kev.  Joseph  Crocker  as  the  minister  of  the 
third  parish  in  Eastham  ;  and  the  grant  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  land  to  Matthias  Ellis  of  Sandwich  "  in 

especially  distinguished ;  was  very  prominent  in  public  affairs,  and  filled 
a  large  space  in  society.  A  graduate  of  Tate  1749,  he  was  from 
1760  for  a  long  course  of  years  an  active  magistrate.  He  also  repre- 
sented the  town  in  General  Court  as  eavly  as  1765,  and  was  with 
Shearjashub  Bourne  elected  Nov.  19, 1787,  a  member  of  the  conven- 
tion "to  take  into  consideration  and  act  upon  the  constitution  or  frame 
of  government  for  the  United  States  of  America."  At  the  lime  of  the 
suspension  of  the  courts  prior  to  the  revolution,  he  sat  with  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  and  General  Sessions  ;  but  his  patriotism  was,  like 
that  of  Col.  Otis,  Daniel  Davis,  and  others  of  high  position,  ap- 
proved, as  his  prompt  acquiescence  in  the  measures  of  the  liberty 
party  and  the  high  appreciation  of  his  public  services  in  subsequent 
time,  testifies.  Indeed,  bis  zeal  in  the  cause  of  his  country  was  man- 
ifest by  many  unostentatious  acta.  Not  only  a  large  landholder,  but  a 
man  of  ready  means,  large  advances  were  made  by  him  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  war,  as  receipts  among  his  papers  show.  On  one  oc- 
casion, the  soldiers  called  out  from  below  for  the  defence  of  Falmouth, 
on  their  return  to  their  homes  intending  due  honor  to  the  generous 
friend  whose  doors  were  always  open  and  his  table  bounteously  spread 
for  the  enjoyment  of  patriotic  guests,  gave  vent  to  their  enthusiasm 
by  firing  a  saluto  in  his  house.  The  plastering  in  the  dining  room 
was  of  course  somewhat  shattered  by  the  explosion,  and  the  marks  of 
it  have  been  suffered  to  remain  to  the  present  time  —  a  relic  of  the 
past.     The  patriotic  host  concluded  that  the  damage  done  was  "  quite 


yGoogle 


^^yrrihyncu  ^Ha^/er^ 


BoEanaeiBiTfia, 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


ANNALS,  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  375 

consideration  of  the  great  services  rendered  by  liim  in 
the  expedition  to  Port  Royal  —  especially  in  guarding 
the  artillery  at  the  great  hazard  of  his  life." 

In  1Y40,  the  harbor  at  Provincetown  again  received 
the  attention  of  the  General  Court,  complaint  being 
made  that  "many  persons,  not  inhabitants  of  the  town, 
were  in  the  habit  of  driving  down  great  numbers  of 
neat  cattle  and  horses  to  feed  upon  the  lands,  whereby 
the  beaches  were  much  broken  and  damnified,  occor 
sioning  the  moving  of  the  sands  into  the  harbor  to  tlie 
great  damage  thereof."  A  grant  of  £50  was  also  made 
to  Provincetown  for  the  mini;:;iry.     The  Eev.  Samuel 

pardonable "  if  Ms  guests  would  "  carry  out  their  zeal  in  shattering 
and  scattering  the  ranks  of  the  common  enemy."  Mi:  Marston  mar- 
ried an  Alljn,  but  had  no  children  who  survived  to  adult  age;  and 
left  his  house  and  homestead  to  his  nephew,  I>ea.WinslowMai'ston,from 
whom  it  descended  to  the  present  ownere  and  the  occupant  Judge 
Nymphas.  Of  this  honored  citizen,  Nyraphas,  Esq.,  b.  1727-8,  d. 
Feb.  11, 1788,  on  the  anniversary  of  his  birli,  £e.  60,  we  are  enabled, 
through  the  courtesy  of  members  of  the  family,  whose  position  proves 
them  not  unworthy  of  their  descent,  to  present  an  excellently  en- 
graved likeness.  The  lithograph  is  taken  from  a  painting  executed 
by  Copley.  From  Prince,  the  4th  son  of  Benjamin  1st,  who  m.  a 
"WTmalow,  and  who  succeeded  his  father  in  the  management  of  the 
mills,  was  Ismah  who  went  to  "Waterville ;  Njmphas  who  removed  lo 
Plymouth ;  and  Winslow,  John,  Benjamin,  and  Prince,  all  of  whom 
resided  on  or  near  the  old  homestead,  and  Lydia  w!io  m.  Ansel 
Goodspeed  and  went  to  Vermont.  From  Winslow,  the  son  of  Prince 
1st,  was  the  Hon.  Nymphas  who  graduated  at  Har\'ard  College  1807, 
some  time  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate,  judge  of  pi-ohate,  &c.,  —  an 
eminent  counsellor,  happily  surviving,  and  at  present  the  father  of  the 
bar  in  Barnstable  County  ;  Mary  who  m.  Luther  Hinckley,  Esq. ;  Hon. 
Charles,  some  time  of  the  Senate,  executive  Council,  and  high  sheriff, 
and  now  commissioner  for  the  Indian  plantation  of  Mashpee  ;  Pi-en- 
tiss  who  d.  before  majority ;  and  Phebe  who  d,  young.  From  Hon. 
Charles  is  Hon.  George,  late  judge  of  probate,  and  counsellor  at  law. 


vGooglc 


,376  THE   UISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

Spear  who  had  for  some  length  of  time  officiated  as  the 
minister,  ceased  from  his  charge  about  this  time.  In 
the  annals  of  Provincetown  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr. 
Solomon  Limibert  officiated  there  at  different  periods. 

The  opposition  of  Gov.  Belcher  to  the  general  cur- 
rency-policy of  the  province,  and  especially  to  the 
scheme  of  a  " Land  Bank"  having  called  forth  an  ex- 
tensive hostility  to  his  administration,  was,  doubtless, 
the  cause  of  his  removal/  and  the  appointment  of  Wil- 
liam Shibley,  who  was  destined  as  his  successor  to  act 
a  conspicuous  part  for  a  long  time  in  American  affairs. 
The  land-bank  project  prevailed ;  for  banks  had  be- 
come from  supposed  necessity  favorite  objects  with  the 
majority.  The  professed  aim  now  being  to  supplant  a 
paper  currency  by  silver  coin,  and  the  very  remedy 
suggested  supposing  the  want  of  the  precious  metals, 
LAND  was  regarded  as  the  most  permanent  substitute  on 
which  credit  could  be  effected.  The  design  seemed 
plausible,  and  in  the  view  of  many  the  land  bank  was 
the  very  ne  plus  tiUra  for  removing  the  great  incon- 
veniences that  otherwise  must  necessarily  follow  the 
withdrawing  from  circulation  all  the  various  emissions 
of  paper  money  without  providing  any  other  medium 
than  that  of  gold  and  silver ,  ^  but  the  result  was  only 

'  Gov.  Belcher  had  been  a  princely  merchant  ind  retireil  from 
commercial  tranBOctions  on  his  being  appointed  goi  ernov.  He  was  a 
man  of  integrity,  of  piety,  of  graceful  and  digniiied  demeanor,  given 
to  hospitality,  and  stood  high  in  the  estimation  of  all  who  were  not 
his  political  enemies.  He  was  b.  16bl  graduated  it  Harvard  College 
lG9a ;  and  d.  governor  of  New  Jersey  1757 

^  The  Company  was  authorized  to  issue  notes,  or  bills  of  credit,  on 
land  security,  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  £150,000.  The  subscribers 
of  stock  were  to  receive  the  sums  by  them  severally  subscribed,  in 
bank  notes,  —  and,  as  security,  were  to  mortgage  to  the  directors  real 
estate  to  entire  satis faolioii,  with  the  condition  to  pay  anniially,  for 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  377 

troubles  multiplied  to  the  many,  tlie  utter  prostration 
of  many  families,  and  the  pecmiiary  ruin  of  numerous 
individuals  ^  on  the  Cape.^ 

In  1742,  the  provincial  court  ordered  that  boxes  be 

twenty  years,  five  per  cent,  of  the  principal  loaned,  and  three  per  cent, 
interest  eillier  in  the  notes,  or  hemp,  flax,  cordage,  bar  iron,  huen,  wool, 
copper,  leather,  flax  seed,  beeswax,  sail  cloth,  naiJs,  tallow,  cord  wood, 
&c.,  which  articles  were  to  be  delivered  to  the  directors  or  their  agents, 
to  be  employed  in  trade.  The  company  consisted  of  800  persons, 
about  400  of  whom  belonged  in  Boston,  the  others  being  scattered  in 
diiferent  towns  over  the  province, 

'  The  scheme  was,  from  its  first  inception,  regai^ded  as  very  ob- 
noxious by  many  influential  citizens  who  made  the  utmost  exertion  to 
suppress  it.  The  matter  was,  however,  utterly  uneontioUable  by  any 
means  within  the  province ;  for,  besides  the  numeraus  subscribers, 
great  numbers  of  those  whose  pecuniary  circumstances  were  embar- 
rassed favored  the  project  of  a  land  bank  —  and  every  vote  told  alike, 
the  vote  of  the  most  opulent  and  the  vote  of  the  most  needy,  in  a  pop- 
ular election ;  aud  the  great  majority  of  the  representatives  chosen, 
and  engaged  in  cbartei-ing  the  bank,  were  either  subscribers  to  or 
expectants  of  personal  beoefits  from  the  scheme ;  so  notorious  was 
this  that  the  General  Court  for  that  year  was  long  honored  with  the 
sobriquet,  "the  Land-bank  House."  The  authority  of  Parliament 
was  finally  invoked;  and,  in  1743,  by  special  act,  the  Land  Bank 
Company  was  fortunately  dissolved,  —  not,  however,  until  the  extent 
of  the  issue  had  reached  £49,000,  in  sums  alone  of  20s.  down  to  3d. ; 
and  although  the  General  Court  took  the  settlement  of  the  bank's 
affairs  fi-om  the  directors  and  vested  it  in  a  board  of  commissioners,  the 
winding  up  of  the  business  required  about  thirty  years,  and  was  finally 
effected  by  means  of  an  assessment  on  the  several  partners,  and  by  a 
lottery.  Had  not  Parliament  interposed  declaring  the  law  which  pro- 
hibited similar  institutions  in  England,  applicable  to  the  British  plan- 
tations, the  province  would  have  been  entirely  under  the  control  of 
the  Company. 

^  We  might  add  here,  were  it  not  too  ridiculous,  the  memorable 

event  of  '■  Wampum's  War."     The  alarm  and  disasters  of  this  "  war  " 

occun-ing  at  this  period,  seem  to  have  been  chiefly  confined  to  a  town 

bordering  on  the  County  of  Barnstable.     Joe  Wampum,  a  native  of 

VOL.  I.  48 


vGooglc 


378  TJIE   HISTOIIV    OF   CAPE   COD. 

provided  in  each  town  for  the  drawing  of  jurors.  The 
"  great  awakening,"  a  religions  movement  that  in  its 
progress  affected  more  or  less  the  whole  length  and 
breath  of  the  land,  also  began  about  this  time. 

In  1743,  Solomon  Briant  of  Mashpee,  Indian,  asked 
leave  to  sell  lands ;  and  Silvanus  Bourne,  Esq.  was  ap- 
pointed to  supervise  the  sale  and  render  said  Briant  all 
needed  a^istance.  A  memorial  from  William  Rotch 
and  others  of  Provincetown  showed  "  that  by  reason  of 
the  removal  of  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  the 
town  was  in  great  measure  broken  up,  so  that  not  one 
of  the  selectmen  chosen  remained."  Legislation  was 
asked,  to  give  relief 

the  old  Comassekumkanet,  or  Herring  Pond,  tribe,  aiTived  at  the 
former  seat  of  government  of  "  the  Old  Colony,"  March  30,  during  the 
time  of  divine  service,  —  direct  from  Buzzard's  Bay  ;  and  gave  the 
.astounding  iuformation  tliat  the  Spaniarda  had  effected  a  landing  in 
considerable  numbers  near  the  "  Head  of  the  Bay."  As  war  existed 
between  England  and  Spain,  the  intelligence  seemed  plausible,  and  the 
panic  waa  great.  Drums  beat  to  arms,  and  the  militia  were  ordered 
oat  It  proved,  we  hardly  need  say,  to  be  an  "  Indian  story : "  but 
Wampum  gained  by  it  ikis  immortality. 


vGooglc 


ANMAL8   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  379 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

The  French  Wat.  — Eey.  George  Whitefield.  — Cape  Breton.  — Peace.— 
England  and  France  again  at  Variance.  ^  Union  of  the  Colonies.  —  Ex- 
peditions to  NoTa- Scotia,  Crown,  Point,  and  Niagara.  —  Gov.  Pownal 
succeeds  Shirley.  —  Sir  Francis  Bernard  cornea  into  Power.  —  The  Cape 
Towns  desire  fewer  Courts.  —  Wellfleet  is  incorporated,  also  Mashpee, 
as  Districts.  —  England  becomes  arrogant. 

Ahother  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France  was 
begun  in  1744 ;  and  the  Indians,  through  French  in- 
fluence, again  assaulted  some  of  the  New  England 
towns,  being  offered  a  reward  for  scalps.  This  war 
proved  to  be  a  great  calamity,  for  it  extended  through 
a  period  of  nineteen  years.  Some  inhabitants  of  the 
Cape  suffered  by  being  taken  prisoners  ;  and  the  towns 
were  often  called  upon  for  men  and  money. 

The  Rev,  George  "Wibtfifield's  movements  were  about 
this  time  the  subject  of  much  animadversion.  An 
English  Episcopal  clergyman,  now  only  about  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  whose  powers  of  oratory  were 
very  great,  his  ministry  in  his  itinerating  course 
through  the  country  was  sought  ■  by  many,  but  by 
some  opposed.  In  the  estimation  of  his  opponents, 
his  preaching  was  "wildfire;"  in  the  view  of  his 
admirers,    it    was  "  apostolical."  ^     The    ministers    in 

'  Before  taking  orders  in  the  Church  of  England,  in  1736,  his  be- 
nevolent zeal  had  led  him  constantly  on  visits  of  mercy  to  the  poor,  to 
soothe  the  sufferings  of  the  distressed,  and  to  administer  religious  iii- 
Ktruetion  to  the  imprisoned.  His  earliest  efforts  in  the  ministry  had 
been  attended  with  surprising  eifects.    Embarking  for  America,  w 


vGooglc 


380  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

this  county  ^?ere   generally  averse  to  his  encoura.gc- 
ment.' 

In  1745,  Lieut.  Gov.  Spencer  Phipa  was  for  a  time 
at  the  head  of  affairs.    Many  persons  from  the  Cape 

1788,  his  labors  were  incessaat ;  and.  wherever  he  tmvelled,  throtigli 
the  middle  and  southern  colonies,  he  dispensed  the  word  of  life  to  throng- 
ing multitudes.     Returniag  to  Europe  in  1739,  he  received  priests' 
orders  from  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  and  then  again  returned  and  resumed 
his  itinerant  labors  in  America,     pt  may  not  be  understood  by  every 
reader  that,  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  whether  m  England 
or  in  this  country,  or  elsewhere,  evciy  candidate  for  holy  orders  is  at 
first  admitted  to  the  diaconate  only  —  that  having  served  for  a  stipu- 
lated time  in  this  degree,  he  may  ia  due  time  be  advanced,  if  ap- 
proved, to  the  full  orders  of  the  priesthood.     In  both  offices  they 
preach  and  baptize ;  but  only  when  admitted  to  the  priesthood  may 
administer  al!  the  ofSces  that  appertain  to  that  degree.]     From  Sa- 
vannah to  the  remotest  New  England  his  voice  was  heard,  and  the 
power  of  his  eloquence  was  acknowledged.     The  Orphan  House  in 
Savannah,  and  numerous  converts  every  where  he  y\ient,  attested  his 
zeal,  energy,  and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  attending  his  minis- 
trations.    His  popularity  and  influence  continued  to  the  lime  of  his 
decease  in  Newburyport,  Sept.  30,  1770,  at  the  age  of  55.     Indeed, 
few  men  since  the  apostolic  times,  had  labored  more  iudefatigably  in 
preaching  tJie  gospel  of  salvation,  or  had  been  more  instrumental  in 
imparting  the  Christian  hope  to  multitudes.     His  power  over  the  feel- 
ings of  his  auditory  was  universally  acknowledged  to  be  wonderful ; 
and  when  places  of  public  worship  were  not  opened  to  hiin,  thousands 
were  addressed  by  him  in  the  streets,  or  fields,  or  groves.     In  a  word, 
liberal  and  catholic  in  his  spirit,  his  whole  life  was  spent  ia  most  dis- 
interested and  benevolent  exertion.     Cowper  has  truly  said  of  him, — 
"  He  loved  tlie  ivotld  that  hated  him.    The  tear 
That  dropped  upon  his  Bible  was  sincere. 
Assailed  by  scandal  Jind  the  tongue  of  strife. 
His  only  answer  was  a  blameless  life;- 
And  he  that  forged  and  he  that  threw  the  dart 
Had  each  a  brother's  interest  in  his  heart. 
Like  Paul,  he  labored ;  aifll  like  him,  content 
To  bear  it,  sufferer!  shame  where'er  he  went." 

'  Mr.  Whitefield  having  been  invited  to  Boston  by  distinguished 
pastors  of  that  town,  on  one  occasion  preached,  it  has  been  said,  to  an 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  381 

towns  were  now  in  the  service  of  the  colonies  against 
Cape  Breton  and  at  the  taking  of  Louisburg,  then 
called  "  the  Gibraltar  of  America."  ^  Some  greatly 
distinguished  themselves.^ 

audience  of  20,000  persons.  This  waa  probably  on  tlie  Common. 
Hailed,  wherever  he  went,  as  a  champion  of  the  cross,  the  places  for 
public  worship  often  became  so  crowded  as  not  to  accommodate  all 
who  thronged  to  hear  him.  The  opposition  to  his  itineracy  first  ai-ose 
in  Connecticut,  where  severe  laws  were  enacted  restraining  itinerants. 
But  the  feeling  soon  diffused  itself  in  other  directions.  A  large  num- 
ber of  ministers  on  the  Cape  united  in  a  protest  against  his  itiner- 
ating influence  the  result  of  which  it  was  no  doubt  honestly  thought 
had  been  strife  in  churches  tending  to  divisions.  It  has  been  sug- 
gested, however,  not  without  good  reason,  that  had  not  some  of  his 
converts  attempted  in  the  ardor  of  their  zeal  to  follow  his  example  by 
injudicious  measures,  the  evils  imputed  to  him  had  never  existed. 

^  The  reduction  of  Louisburg  was  considered  an  object  of  the  ut- 
most importance  in  a  commercial  respect  It  had  been  fortified  by 
the  French  at  a  Vast  expense  The  news  of  the  brilliant  achievement 
of  its  capture  caused  great  exultation  jn  the  colonies  inH  encouraged 
the  attempt  to  conquer  all  the  Fiench  possessions  in  North  America. 
It  also  aroused  the  ire  of  Tnnce  for  re-^enge  and  drtennmed  the 
French  government  to  attempt  the  conque  t  of  the  vhol  of  !New 
England. 

*  III  Niles's  Wouder-workiiig  Providence,  1745,  appeal  the  names 
of  leading  officers  of  the  army  who  wei-e  at  the  reduction  of  tliis  for- 
tress. Some  of  fliose  attached  to  Col.  Gorham's  regiment  are,  with 
himself,  thus  mentioned  :  — 

"  Whilst  we  in  honor  these  commandei's  have, 
Let's  turn  our  thoughts  to  Col'nel  Goriiam's  grave, 
Who  with  hia  ancestors  distinguished  ate 
As  men  of  courage,  mighty  in  the  war ; 
Ha  lies  imerr"!!  in  that  new-conquered  soil  — 
The  fruit  of  his  and  others'  warlike  toil. 
Lieutenant  CoVnel  Gohham,  nigh  of  kin 

To  his  deceased  Head,  did  honor  Tfin ; 

Unite  in  nature,  name,  and  trust,  they  stood  — 

TJnitedly  have  done  their  country  good. 

May  Major  TiLVCHEa  live,  in  rieing  fame 

Worthy  of  ancestors  that  bear  his  name, 

And  copy  after  TJrtuous  telaUons 

Who  BO  well  filled  their  eivil,  aaci-ed,  military  stations. 


yGoogle 


382  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

An  aclditional  act  was  passed  this  year  for  the  pro- 
tection of  Cape  Cod  harbor ;  ^  also  for  the  protection  of 
East  Harbor  in  Truro.  The  petition  of  John  Hallet,  in 
behalf  of  the  town  of  Yarmouth,  showed  that "  by  reason 
of  the  interruption  and  failure  of  their  whale-fisheries, 
the  inhabitants  were  much  impoverished ; "  for  which 
cause  they  asked  to  be  excused  from  sending  a  repre- 
sentative to  the  General  Court.  James  Ned,  Indian,  of 
Sandwich,  asked  permission  to  sell  land,  and  Mr.  Tup- 
per  was  appointed  to  assist  him  in  making  the  sale. 

The  year  1746  was  the  time  when  the  French  arma- 

Now  Capt.  Cahe^,  seized  with  sickijesB  sore. 
Resigned  to  death  when  touched  Ma  native  Bhore ; 
And  Capt.  DemjiIOK  alaiii  by  heathen's  hand 
As  was  Ms  father  undei;  lilie  command." 

The  captains  of  this  regiment  mentioned  in  a  note  appended,  a,re 
Jonathan  Carey,  Edward  Dimmick,  Elisha  Doane,  Silvanua  Cobb, 
Israel  Bailey,  Geraliom  Bradfoi-d  and  Samuel  Lombard.  Among 
those  mentioned  as  attached  to  Maj.  Gen.  Wolcott's  regiment  of  the 
Ct.  forces,  we  recognize  the  names  of  Capt.  Daniel  Chapman,  and 
also  of  Lt.  Lothrop,  a  descendant  from  the  Rev.  John  Lothrop  of 
Barnstable: — 

"LoTiiKOP  likewise,  in  his  lieutenancy, 
Gives  pledges  of  his  skill  and  loyalty." 

And  further;  — 

"  Some  reverend  pastors'  minds  deeply  impressed 
With  glowing  warmth,  to  see  our  foes  suppressed, 
To  act  their  part,  are  ivilling  forth  to  go 
With  Christiaii  courage  and  heroic  too." 

And  among  these  are  mentioned  Orocher  and  Hawky. 

^  One  of  tbe  provisions  of  this  act  was,  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Provincetown  were  "allowed  to  keep  and  snffer  to  feed  on  the  lands, 
one  bull  and  3  yoke  of  oxen  for  the  inhabitants  in  genera!,  and  one 
horse  and  one  cow  for  each  family  in  particular  ;  also  such  person  as 
shall  have  license  to  keep  a  house  of  entertainment  was  to  have  lib- 
erty to  keep  two  cows."  Tlie  act  forbade  "  the  cutting  down  of  trees 
growing  within  160  poles  from  bigh-water  mark."  Tliis  act  was  re- 
vived and  continued  by  successiye  legislation  to  1775. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAEKSTABLE   COUNTY.  383 

ment,  under  tke  Diike  d'Anville,  was  despatched  for 
America  —  the  most  formidable  that  was  ever  sent; 
and  as  the  object  was  not  only  to  aid  the  movements 
of  the  Canadians  and  Indians  and  recover  Louisburg, 
but  to  distress  and  conquer  New  England,  the  intelli- 
gence spread  consternation  abroad  on  every  side.^ 
Some  of  the  Cape  towns  are  found  at  this  period  peti- 
tioning and  protesting  against  impressments  for  the 
public  service.  The  inhabitants  of  Truro  also  memo- 
rialized the  court,  showing  the  exposure  of  that  place 
to  the  ravages  of  the  enemy,  their  impoverished  con- 
dition, and  asking  for  means  of  defence.  A  supply  of 
small  arms,  a  four  pound  cannon,  and  ammunition  were 
granted  them.  Josiah  Ellis  and  others  of  Harwich 
also  petitioned  to  be  constituted  a  distinct  precinct, 
which  was  granted. — The  Rev.  Benjamin  Fessenden, 
the  minister  of  Sandwich,  died,  Aug.  7.  —  The  following 
year,  1747,  the  impressment  of  seamen  was  again  de- 
nounced, and  its  continued  outrage  severely  felt  in  all 
parts  of  the  county.  —  The  Rev.  Edward  Pell  was  now 
the  first  pastor  of  the  south  precinct  of  Harwich,  which 
parish  was  organized  the  previous  year. 

By  act  of  the  General  Court  in  1748,  provision  was 

^  This  armament  consisted  of  11  ships  of  the  line  and  30  smaller 
vessels  of  wai-,  with  transports  besides  containing  3000  i-egnlai-  troops 
and  40,000  stands  of  arms  for  the  use  of  the  Canadians  and  Indians. 
The  fleet  had  a  long  and  disastrous  passage,  sustaining  much  damage 
by  storms  and  great  losses  by  shipwrecks,  so  that  before  ifs  ariival  it 
was  reduced  more  than  half.  A  mortal  sickness  then  set  in,  carrying 
off  a  great  portion  of  the  troops.  The  two  principal  commanders 
died  suddenly,  one  or  both  by  suicide  induced  by  despair  of  success, 
and  the  remaining  ships  returned  one  by  one  to  France.  Tlie  colo- 
nists acknowledged  the  hand  of  Providence  in  this,  and  regarded  it  as 
a  great  deliverance. 


yGoogle 


384  THE   mSTOEY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

made  for  calling  in  the  outstanding  "  bills  of  cT'cdit," 
and  determining  the  rates  of  coined  silver.  The  bills 
were  to  be  redeemed  at  the  treasury,  in  silver,  at  the 
rate  of  £2  6  old  tenor,  and  £0  11  3  middle  and  new 
tenor,  by  one  piece  of  8  —  that  is,  a  Spanish  dollar.^ 
The  funds  to  redeem  the  bills  were  the  money  voted 
by  Parliament  to  reimburse  the  expenses  incurred  by 
the  province  in  the  reduction  of  Cape  Breton,  and  a 
provincial  tax  of  £75,000. 

The  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  this  year  caused  much 
joy,^  and  was  hailed  by  the  Cape  towns  as  the  precur- 
sor of  better  times.^ 

1  "Old  tenor,  middle  tenor, and  new  lonor,"  liad  each  slid  dowiithe 
lapse  of  depreciation.  At  first  they  were  very  Iktle  below  par;  hut 
in  1702  an  oz.  of  silver  was  equal  to  6s.  lOd.  in  bills  of  credit ;  in 
1705  to  7s.;  1713  to  8s.;  1716  to  9s.;  1717  to  123.;  1722  to  lis,; 
1728  to  18s. ;  1730  to  £1 ;  1737  to  £1  6 ;  1741  to  £1  8 ;  and  1740 
to  £3. 

^  By  this  treaty,  Louishurg  was  given  up  to  France  very  much  to 
the  chagrin  of  the  Mass.  colony  Th  nq  t  had  heen  emphati- 
cally the  people's  enterprise  —  i  nd  f  k  n  tl  sir  solicitation,  fitted 
out  from  their  resources,  and  ace  mpl  h  d  1  y  fheir  courage  and  per- 
severance—  audit  was  regarded  aa  pi  mportantto  he  held  for 
the  protection  of  commerce  and  th    fi  h 

'  "  Military  glory  is  usually  f  11  w  I  bj  t  al  debt."  The  sum 
of  depreciations,  like  those  of  1749  and  bubsequent,  is  not  to  be  esti- 
mated by  figures  alone.  The  poverty  and  distress  of  those  depending 
on  the  income  of  moneys  loaned ;  the  decay  of  public  institutions  be- 
cause of  the  diminution  of  their  vested  funds ;  the  price  of  depreciation 
paid  by  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army  in  most  injurious  dispropor- 
tion ;  the  discouragement  to  the  clergy,  paid  in  an  almost  valueless 
currency,  and  the  demoralizing  temptation  every  man  was  under, 
almost  in  self-defence  oftentimes,  to  avail  him=elf  of  any  advantage  in 
hia  contract  not  guarded  against  at  the  time  of  its  being  made,  were 
most  serious  evils;  but  perhaps  more  than  all  the  remedies  proposed: 
—  the  community,  like  the  envenomed  adder  which  under  the  opera- 
tion of  an  invisible  scourge  stings  its  own  body,  increasing  the  cause 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   BAllNSTABLE   COUNTY.  385 

The  excessive  heat  and  drought  that  occurred  at  this 
period  was  a  memorable  event.  A  scarcity  of  proviso 
ions  followed,  and  even  hay  and  other  provender  for 
cattle  were  imported  from  Europe.  Fortunately  the 
succeeding  autumn  displayed  the  happy  adaptation  of 
nature  so  often  remarked  —  the  renovation  of  the 
earth  and  a  profusion  equal  to  the  distressing  deficit. 
The  Rev.  Joseph  Lord  of  Chatham  died  this  year ;  and 
the  Rev.  Isaiah  Dunster  was  settled  in  Harwich  as  col- 
league of  Mr.  Stone. 

In  174:9,  lit.  Gov.  Phips  was  once  more  commander- 
in-chief,  Gov.  Shirley  going  again  to  England.  A 
large  amount  of  money  provided  by  act  of  Parliament, 
was  received  at  Boston  and  placed  in  the  provincial 
treasury,  amounting  to  the  sum   of  £183,694  2s,  7|d. 

of  their  ririn  by  similar  experimenis.  Had  the  laws  for  supporting 
tlie  credit  of  bills  been  strictly  adhered  to,  the  effect  ivould  have  been 
the  salvation  of  all,  and  the  mutual  reproaches  which  follow  misfor- 
tune would  not  have  been  heard.  For  such  misfortunes  no  one  feels 
exclusively  in  fault,  either  individually  or  in  a  party  aspect.  The 
indiscreet  use  of  foreign  luxuries  is  always  alleged  on  the  one  part; 
the  fatuity  of  the  people's  own  representatives  in  issuing  a  currency 
in  its  nature  unstable  and  incapable  of  supporting  credit,  is  the  re- 
proach cast  on  the  other  part  even  by  such  as  at  the  time  were  well 
pleased  and  consenting.  And  yet  the  remedy  which  all  again  demand 
is  some  similar  experiment  sure  to  reproduce  the  same  evils  —  the 
emissions  again  sliding  down  in  a  little  lime!  A  fluctuating  and  de- 
ceitful medium,  taxing  in  fact  all  classes  insensibly,  is  sure  to  draw 
away,  as  if  by  ma^c  stealth,  real  property  from  its  possessors  and 
substitute  imaginary  wealth  in  its  place,  until  sooner  or  later,  as  it 
must  needs  ho,  the  bubble  bursts,  disaffecting  friends  with  each  other 
and  threatening  posterity  with  the  evils  which  such  a  course  propa- 
gates. The  ideas  of  a  people  l(.ng  accustomed  to  such  a  currency 
become  fixed  —  they  think  they  caitnol  do  without  it,  and  their  fears 
perpetuate  the  evih 

VOL.  T.  49 


vGooglc 


386  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

One  object  of  this  act  was  to  suppress  the  circulation 
of  paper  money  and  establish  for  the  future  a  silver 
currency.''  It  provided,  therefore,  that  after  the  Slst 
of  March,  1750,  all  debts  shall  be  paid  in  coined  silver. 
This  is  said  to  be  the  origin  of  the  term  "lawful 
money."  Notwithstanding  the  interests  of  the  public 
and  the  principles  of  justice  were,  by  this  act,  promoted 
and  settled  on  a  firm  basis,  and  a  sound  and  stable  cm-- 
reney  was  established,  many  persons  were  opposed  to 
it,  and  some  even  attempted  forcible  resistance, 

Joseph  Freeman,  Jr.  of  Harwich, "  for  his  services 
and  sufferings  in  the  late  war,  he  having  been  griev- 
ously wounded  by  the  enemy,"  was  considered  as  en- 
titled to  pecuniary  relief.  The  town  of  Sandwich 
received  a  pastor  in  the  person  of  Eev.  Abraham  Wil- 
liams ;  and  Chatham  by  the  settlement  of  Rev.  Stephen 
Emery. 

In  1750,  an  excise  act  laying  a  duty  on  wine  and 
spirits  was  passed,  but  the  assent  of  the  governor  was 
refused. 

The  country,  like  ancient  Rome,  has,  we  have  all 
along  seen,  enjoyed  repose  only  at  short  intervals.  In- 
ternal discord,  troubles  with  the  Indians,  or  foreign  hos- 
tility, have  often  convulsed  the  state.  Still  the  people 
are  honest,  frugal,  industrious.  As  in  the  ancient  Ro- 
man commonwealth,  so  here  the  first  magistrates,  the 
greatest  generals,  and,  we  may  add,  the  most  useful  and 
eminent  divines,  were  more  or  less  engaged  in  indus- 
trious, laborious,  and  productive  pursuits.     The  same 


^  This  money  was  in  215  chests  of  abont  $3000  each,  with  also 
100  casks  of  copper.  There  were  17  cart  and  truck  bads  of  silver, 
and  10  truck  loads  of  copper. 


yGoogk' 


ANKALS   OF   BUIKSTABLB   COUNTY.  387 

hand  that  had  become  hardened  by  conducting  the 
plough  was  often  selected  to  guide  the  affairs  of  state 
or  wield  the  sword  in  battle.  Quintius  CiucinnatuSj  M. 
Curius,  Scipio  Africanus,  have  each  had  noble  repre- 
sentatives among  our  progenitors.  Labor  was  not  then 
degrading.  It  remained  for  the  extension  of  com- 
merce and  the  acquisition  of  plethoric  wealth,  here,  as 
in  Rome,  to  introduce  those  opposites  to  our  pristine 
simplicity  and  virtue  —  avarice,  luxury,  and  the  con- 
comitant evils  —  private  and  public  corruption.  There 
have  always,  however,  even  to  the  date  of  this  present 
writing,  been  left  among  us  some  of  the  old  Romans.^ 

In  1751,  Rev.  Edward  Cheever  was  settled  in  East- 
ham;  and  in  1752,  Rev.  Edward  Pell  of  Harwich  died. 

In  1753,  troubles  agahi  occurred  between  England 
and  Prance.  The  latter  was  charged  with  a  violation 
of  treaties.  "VVar  seemed  inevitable ;  and  it  was  at  this 
juncture  that  we  find  "WAsmsGTON  for  the  first  time  in 
public  service  —  called  in  his  22d  'year,  in  his  own 
state,  as  Major  Washington,  to  execute  a  most  impor- 
tant mission  to  counteract  certain  -movements  of  the 
French  among  the  Indians  of  the  far  west. 

In  1754,  the  British  ministry  perceiving  war  to  be 
unavoidable,  suggested  the  expediency  of  the  colonics 
uniting  in  some  scheme  for  their  own  common  defence. 

'  Of  this  we  are  forcibly  reminiJed  by  some  remarks  in  tbe  Siinate 
of  the  TJ.  States  made  by  a  descendant  from  Cape  Cod,  now  u  senator 
from  Maine,  who,  alluding  with  becoming  self-respect  as  well  as  indig- 
nant scorn  at  the  jeers  of  a  southron  against  "  the  white  laborers  of  the 
north,"  says,  "The  senator  has  entirely  misapprebended  the  character 
of  northern  laborers.     I  am  myself  a  laboring  man.     Educated  in  a 


vGooglc 


388  TnE  HISTORY  OF  C.VPE  COD. 

The  proposal  of  a  union  came  first  from  Gov.  Shirley, 
It  will  be  seen  how  suggestive  was  this  of  future  unions 
for  purposes  not  so  well  approved  by  royal  authority. 
Left  thus  to  bear  the  evils  of  war  almost  without  a^ist- 
ance  in  the  defence  of  their  coast,  frontier  and  fire- 
sides, the  colonies  were  most  effectually  taught  to  rely 
on  their  own  energies.  They  had  already  learned 
something  of  the  art  of  war ;  they  now  learned  what 
was  their  own  strength.^ 

Among  the  most  remarkable  legislative  occurrences 
of  the  present  year  was  the  passage  of  a  bill  proposed 
for  granting  an  excise  on  wines  and  other  spirituous 
liquors.  A  similar  bill,  but  less  obnoxious,  had  once 
been  rejected  by  the  governor.  This  provided  for  put- 
ting, if  necessary,  every  householder  under  oath  as  to 
the  quantity  fjonsumed  in  his  family.  And,  it  must  be 
remarked,  tlie  tax  was  not  imposed  to  prevent  the  con- 
sumption of  these  articles,  but  to  relieve  polls  and 
estates  from  what  was,  in  contradistinction,  called  the 
"  di\y  iaxr  ^     Ecclesiastical  changes  this  year  occurred  in 

printing  otBce,  I  now  toil  in  the  fields  earning  the  bread  I  eat  by  the 
sweat  of  my  brow.     I,  sir,  am  a  represeDtative  of  '  the  laborers  of  the 

^  The  plan  of  confederation  was  drawn  by  Benj.  Frankv.in,  July 
4,  ju3t  twenty-two  years  before  that  distinguished  philosopher  and 
statesman  affixed  his  name  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

^  The  provision  in  the  bill  being  regarded  as  a  regulation  intended 
to  invade  the  sanctity  of  private  life,  subjecting  all  persons  not  only 
to  the  oath,  but  to  search  and  examination  by  inferior  officers  at  dis- 
cretion— which  officers  are  not  always  of  the  finest  sensibilities  or  the 
mast  approved^  manners,  the  governor  denounced  the  plan.  He 
held  it  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  natural  rights  of  private  iamilica ; 
aad  further  expressed  bis  disapprobation  of  it  as  having  been  "  tacked 
by  way  of  condition  to  the  ordinary  excise  bill."  (There  was  "kite- 
flying," it  will  be  perceived,  even  in  those  days.)  The  bill  was  re- 
garded by  oae  portion  of  the  cojjrimunity  as  tmconstitvtional,  inasmuch 


yGoogle 


AUNALB   OF    BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  389 

the  decease  of  Eev.  John  Avery  of  Truro,  the  reth-e- 
ment  of  Eev.  Thomas  Smith  of  Yarmouth,  iind  the 
settlement  of  the  Rev.  Benj.  Crocker  in  Harwich,  south 
precinct 

Troops  were  raised  in  1755,  throughout  the  colonics; 
naval  and  land  forces  arrived  from  England ;  and  expe- 
ditions were  sent  against  Nova  Scotia,  Crown  Point, 
Niagara,  and  Fort  Du  Quesne.^  "A  terrible  earthquake 
occurred  in  America,  Nov.  18,  —  the  most  violent  ever 
known  in  the  country."  Traces  of  it  now  exist  after  a 
lapse  of  more  than  a  century. 

The   Rev.  Nathaniel    Stone,   pastor  of  the    ancient 

as  it  descended  into  the  private  economy  of  families,  obliging  persons 
to  exculpate  themselves  from  an  innocent  act,  contraiy  lo  the  spii'it  of 
that  maxim  in  law  that  do  man  is  held  to  convict  himself.  It  was 
also  charged  that  it  was  calculated  to  produce  perjury  and  bribery, 
and  diminisli  the  foix*  of  oaths.  By  some  the  virtiies  of  spirituous 
liquors  were  celebrated,  and  the  bubbling  springs  of  the  settlements 
were  berated  as  loaded  with  danger  flowing  from  mineral  hills  and 
through  marshes  and  fens  filled  with  the  spawn  of  noxious  reptiles. 
Mobs  also  were  deprecated  as  the  inevitable  result  of  the  passage  of 
the  bill.  The  bill  was  however,  after  all,  finally  a  law,  with  some 
amendment,  and  signed  by  the  governor.  The  town  of  Boston,  there- 
upon, chose  an  agent  to  proceed  to  England  to  prevent,  if  possible, 
the  act  receiving  the  royal  assent.  Although  the  question  had  been 
submitted  to  the  towns  for  their  opinions  on  the  bill,  and  the  returns 
showed  that  the  people  were  much  divided  on  the  subject,  the  Cape 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  greatly  agitated  by  the  matter,  nor  did 
the  dismal  predictions  of  many  seem  to  be  fulfilled, 

'  Now  Pitisbui^.  Braddock,  the  officer  in  command,  was  slain. 
Of  eighty-five  officers,  sixty-four  were  killed  or  wounded,  as  were  also 
about  half  the  whole  number  of  privates.  Washington  had  two  horses 
shot  under  him,  and  four  balls  passed  successively  through  his  clothes, 
but  remained  unhurt,  and  led  off"  the  remaining  troops  from  this  dis- 
astrous battle,  the  result  of  which  might  have  been  different  had  Gen. 
Braddock  and  his  men  known  more  of  the  mode  of  Indian  warfare. 


yGoogle 


390  TIIE   mSTOEY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

church  of  Harwich,  died  this  year,  aged  88,  after  a  long 
and  successful  ministry,  greatly  honored  and  lamented.^ 
The  Rev.  Caleb  Upham  was  settled  in  Truro,  and  the 
Rev.  Grindal  Eawson  in  Yarmouth. 

'  Eev.  Nathaniel  Stone  was  dcseendecl  from  Mi.  Siinon  ytone 
of  Waterlown,  who,  b.  m  Eng.  about  1575,  enjigriited  in  1C35,  in 
company  with  his  bro.  Gregory,  their  respective  families  and  other 
friends,  to  America.  They  embarked  Apr.  15  of  that  year  in  the 
ship  Increase.  The  records  of  the  Plantation  Office.  Lond.,  show 
that  the  above  Mr.  Simon  was  a  husbandman,  and  acred  about  50  yr?. 
Tradition  says,  "  Simoa  and  Gregory  were  sons  of  Ecv,  Timothy  of 
the  west  of  England;"  also  that  there  was  "another  bro.,  Rev.  Sam- 
uel, who  went  to  Ct."  The  two  former  settled  on  the  bordera  of  Cam- 
bridge and  Watertown,  near  the  present  Mf.  Auburn —  Simon  on  the 
south  in  W.  and  Gregory  oa  the  east  in  C,  ihe  dividbg  line  of  these 
towns  mailing  very  nearly  the  division  of  their  estates,  their  respec- 
tive houses  standing  near  the  line.  Mr.  Simon's  was  but  recently,  and 
ia  perhaps  still,  standing  on  ihe  bank  of  the  river  in  the  rear  of  Mt. 
Auburn,  a  curious  relic  of  olden  times,  and  occupied  more  than  200 
years  by  linenl  descendants.  He,  Simon,  was  twice  m.,  both  wives 
dying  before  him.  His  will  mentions  2  s.  and  2  drs.,  but  bis  children 
seem  to  have  been  Frs.,  agnii  IG  yrs.  when  he  embarked ;  Anne,  aged 
11;  Simon,  aged  4;  Maria,  aged  3;  Joe,  aged  5  weeks;  John,  b. 
after  Iiis  parents  arrived  hci'e,  viz.,  6  mo.  15,  1636,  as  per  Watertown 
records;  and  Elizabeth,  2  mo.  1,  1639.  His  w.  Joan  (Joanna  Clark) 
mentioned  in  the  certificate  in  the  Pkuitation  Office,  put  down  as 
"Joan,  UKor,  te.  38,  d.  Sept.  22,  1685,  te.  80.  Mr.  Sihon,  the  3d  of 
these  eh.,  b.  1631,  d.  Feb.  27,  1708,  se.  77,  of  Watertown,  m.  Mary 
Whipple  of  old  Ipswich,  and  Lad  12  eh.,  including  2  who  d.  in  infan- 
cy, viz.,  Simon,  b.  16o6-7,  d.  22,  7  mo.  1665,  ^.8;  John,  July  23, 
1658,  who  d.  at  Groton,  m.  80 ;  Matthew,  Feb.  16,  1659,  who  d.  at 
Sudbury,  1743,  ic.  84 ;  Nath'I,  Feb.  1661,  who  d.  2  days  old;  Eben'r, 
Feb.  27,  16G2,  who  d.  in  Newton,  Oct.  4,  1754,  as.  92 ;  Mary,  1664, 
who  m.  Starr  of  Dedham ;  Nath'I,  April,  1667,  who  settled  in  Hai-- 
wich;  Elizabeth,  1670,  who  m.  Stearns  of  Stoaghton ;  David,  Oct, 
19,  1672,  who  d.  at  Watertoivn,  1750,  £e.  78  ;  Susanna,  Nov.  4,  1675, 
who  m,  Goddard,  and  d.  1754,  te.  78 ;  and  Jonathan,  1677,  who  d.  on 
the  paternal  estate,  1754,  as.  76. 

Rev.  Nathaniel   (3d  gen.)  b.  in  Watertown,  1G67,  grad.  H.  C. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BAENSXABLE   COUNTY.  891 

The  year  Bext  ensningj  1756,  the  Erench  and  Indian 
war,  "wliich  had  in  fact  been  carried  on  ivithout  any 
formal  proclamation  of  hostilities,  was  recognized  by 
declaration.    Pitt  being  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Eng- 

1690,  m.  EeHonce,  dr.  of  Gov.  Hinckley,  Dec.  15,  1698,  and  was  ord. 
at  Harwicli,  Ocl.  16,  1700 ;  his  wid.  Reliance  d.  May  24, 1759,  k.  84  ; 
Jie  d.  Feb.  8,  1755,  te.  87  yrs.  and  10  mo.  They  had  Mary,  Sept  10, 
1699,  who  m.  Barnabas  Freeman  of  Eastham,  Dec.  10,  1734;  Zezia, 
Apr.  8,  1701,  who  xa.  Isaac  Lincoln,  Apr.  10,  1729,  and  d.  Nov.  2, 
1763,  le.  62;  Eeliance,  Apr.  26,  1703,  who  m.  Joseph  Paddock  of 
Yavmouth,  Mar.  17,  1725-6,  and  d.  1734,  le..  31 ;  Heman,  Sept.  4, 
170S,  who  m.  Temperance  Sturgia  of  Tai-mouth,  June  21,  17S7,  and 
<1.  Apr.  26,  1779,  le.  75  ;  Nathan,  Feb.  18, 1 707-8,  who  m.  1st  Judith 
Fox  of  Wobiim,  2d  Mary  Thaclier  of  Attleboro' ;  Thankful,  Mar.  2, 
1708-9,  aud  d.  May  S,  1781,  se.  73  ;  Eunice,  June  23,  1711,  who  m. 
David  Bangs  of  HaTOicb,  Sept.  23, 1731 ;  Nathaniel,  Nov.  29,  1713, 
who  m.  Mary  Bourne  of  Bamsfable,  1742,  and  d.  Jan.  7,  1777,  ts. 
63  ;  Achsah,  Sept.  1, 1715  ;  Hannah,  June  30,,1718,  andd.  soon;  Han- 
nah, May  26,  1720,  who  d.  soon;  and  Huldah,  July  6,  1722,  who  d. 
1727,  [The  genealogy  will  be  resumed  at  a  later  dale.]  Kev.  Na- 
thaniel was  ancestor  of  most  of  those  of  the  name  of  Stone  in  Barn- 
Stable  county.  [The  exception  is  a  descendant  of  Gregory  of  Cam- 
bridge, b.  1590,  m.  in  Eng.  1st  Margaret  Garrad,  2d  wid,  Lydia  Coop- 
er; "the  deacon,"  who  had  John,  "the  elder  of  Sudbury,"  1619,  d.in 
Cambridge,  now  Framingham,  May  5,  1683,  te.  44;  Daniel,  David, 
Samuel,  Elizabeth  and  Sarah,  all  of  whom  m.  and  settled  in  C,  then 
including  Lexington  and  W.  Cambridge  on  the  N,,  and  Newton  and 
Brighton  on  the  S.  The  above  "  Elder  "  was  about  16  yra.  old  when 
he  came  over,  and  m.  Anne  How,  dr.  of  Elder  Edw.  H.  of  Water- 
town,  and  bad  Nath'l  of  Sudbuiy,  youngest  s.,  1660,  who  m.  Sarah 
"Wait,  Apr.  25, 1684,  of  Maiden,  and  d.  in  Framingham.  1732,  as.  72 ; 
who  had  Hezekiah,  youngest,  of  Framingham,  1710,  who  m.  Buth 
How  of  Sudbury,  and  d.  July  18,  1771,  a:.  60,  from  whom  was  Eliph- 
alet,  eldest,  of  Oxford,  Sept.  5, 1735,  m.  Lydia  Goddard,  and  d.  Feb. 
!),  1817,  fe.  81 ;  who  had  "  Capt."  SImhael,  3d  s.,  of  Marlboro',  N.  H., 
176-,  who  m.  Polly  Rogers,  and  bad  Jeremiah,  4th  s.,  Nov.  2,  1798, 
who  m.  Esther  Wildes  of  Topsiield,  and  is  now  a  prominent  physician 
at  Provincetown,  and  bro.  of  Rev.  Cyrus,  some  time  miss'y  of  the  A. 
B.  F.  M.  at  Bombay.]    Rev.  Nathaniel  Stone,  mentioned  at  the  head 


vGooglc 


392  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

land  addressed  a  circular  to  the  provincial  and  colonial 
governments  assuring  them  that  an  effectual  force 
should  be  sent  by  the  crown,  and  calling  on  each  to 
raise  the  utmost  force  that  the  population  would  allow.' 
Massachusetts  was  not  backward  in  her  duty,  as  facts 
too  numerous  to  be  recorded  here  attest ;  nor  had  the 
Cape  been  an  unconcerned  spectator  of  these  move- 
ments even  before  this  crisis.  Many  of  its  citizens  had 
been  actors  in  the  events  that  occurred  in  Nova  Scotia 
the  previous  year. 

One  of  the  incidents  of  the  expedition  of  the  pre- 
vious year  is  of  painful  interest  In  July,  the  20th,  of 
this  present  year,  a  large  company  of  French  people 
arrived  at  Sandwich,  coming  in  at  Monumet,  in  seven 
two-mast  boats.  Of  these  strangers,  Silas  Bourne,  Esq. 
said  in  a  letter  communicating  the  fact  to  Col.  Otis, 
then  in  Bbston,  "  They  profess  to  be  bound  to  Boston, 

of  the  present  note,  although  pastor  of  the  Ist  church  in  Harwich, 
was  resident  in  that  part  of  the  town  since  called  Brewster,  the  meet- 
ing house  standing  about  half  a  mile  from  the  !N,  shore.  The  ancient 
church  in  H^  by  subsequent  changes,  came  to  be  known  as  ths 
BrewHfer  church,  the  2d  or  South  church  of  the  ancient  Hai-wich, 
formed  in  17i7,  becoming  oa  the  division  of  the  town  the  1st  Congre- 
gational church  of  the  latter  place.  Mr.  Stone  "  was  a  man  of  piety, 
of  talents,  and  of  firmness,  much  revered  and  beloved  by  the  people  of 
his  charge."  He  held  a  prominent  position  among  the  clergymen  of 
his  day,  and  published  a  volume,  1731,  entitled  "  The  Wretched  Stat© 
of  Man  by  the  Fall,"  &c  ;  also  a  sermon  preached  before  the  first 
Supreme  Judicial  Court  holden  ia  the  county.  He  was  tenacious  of 
high  literary  and  other  qualifications  for  the  ministry,  and  ri^dly  op- 
posed to  the  inti'odnction  of  an  itineracy.  He  received  an  assistant  as 
colleague  in  1748,  in  the  person  of  Itev.  Mr.  Dunster. 

'  The  number  of  men  brought  into  the  service  was  50,000,  of  whom 
20,000  were  furnished  in  America.  Three  expeditions  were  resolved 
upouj  and  Louisburg,  Tieonderoga  and  Fort  Ha  Quesne  were  the 
points. 


yGoogle 


ANNAL3   OF   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY.  393 

and  want  their  boats  carted  across  to  the  opposite 
bay.  They  have  their  woraen  and  children  with  them,. 
and  say  they  were  last  from  Khode  Island,  but  pre- 
viously from  Nova  Scotia."  Their  business  and  char- 
acter being  unknown,  Mr.  Bourne  expresses  a  "fear 
that  they  may  continue,  when  once  in  the  bay,  to  miss 
Boston,  and  go  to  strengthen  the  enemy."  He  thought 
it  "safe,  tlierefore,  to  detain  them."  They  were,  ac- 
cordingly,  "ninety  in  number,  distributed  among  the 
several  towns  for  safe  keeping  until  the  matter  could 
be  better  understood."  Subsequently  we  find  the  Gen- 
.  eral  Court  ordering  "  that  the  canoes  left  at  Sandwich 
by  the  Frmch  neutrals  who  deserted  from  the  southern 
government,  shall  be  sold,"  To  many  the  character 
of  this  people  was  for  a  long  time  a  profound  mys- 
tery. It  can  be  hardly  necessary  now  to  say,  they 
were  Acabi^ins  who,  in  obedience  to  advices  from  Eng- 
land, had  been  banished  from  their  homes  consequent 
upon  the  successes  in  Nova  Scotia  —  thousands  of 
whom  had  been  scattered  abroad  heart-broken  and  be- 
reft of  hope,  who  finally  through  manifold  hardships 
became  extinct.' 


^  LoNGrELxow.  in  "Evangeline,"  \\\\s  a  Ijeautiful  (ribnle  lo  their 
memory ;  and  others  have  written  touching  tales  of  the  sufferings  of 
these  earliest  European  occu|jants  of  the  country.  The  story  of  this 
people  i^  peculiar.  "  Frugal  in  their  habits  and  of  a  mild  disposition, 
their  attention  had  been  fnmed  fi-om  hunting  and  fishing,  the  delight 
of  their  ancestors,  to  the  cullivation  of  the  soil,  and  by  diligent  eflbrt 
had  reclaimed  from  the  forest  and  the  ocean  the  farms  on  which  they 
dwelt.  By  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  howevfr,  they  bad  been  brought 
under  the  dominion  of  England ;  but  still  loved  the  language  and 
usages  of  their  fathers,  and  the  religion  of  their  childhood  was  en^ 
graven  upon  their  souls.  For  forty  long  years  they  wa-e  totally  neg- 
lected by  the  English,  but  pro'ipered  and  their  substance  increased. 
Xhe  cropa  of  their  wdl-cnltivated  fields  were  rich ;  flocks  and  herds 
VOL.  I.  50 


vGooglc 


394  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

The  town  of  Truro  again  petitioned  for  arms  and 
military  assistance,  representing  their  privations  and 
their  exposed  situation.  Provincetown  harbor  "was, 
thereupon,  ordered  to  be  "  fortified  by  a  battery  of  sis 

giazpl  tliLir  meadows  and  roamed  over  the  hill  dome  tic  fowl 
abounded  ind  the  ihiekly  clu-^tcied  villages  of  neit  thatch  roofed 
cottages  sheltered  an  industiious  hiimless  fiugal  and  hnppy  people 
The  8p  nning  wheel  and  tht,  loom  were  bu&Jy  phed  and  from  mora 
to  night  mairona  ml  maideDS  jouig  men  ind  then  sues  toiled  for 
the  bread  which  they  ate  m  peiLe  and  content  This  gentle  jeople 
dislJi  guished  fot  their  bene^olenLO  and  kindnew  to  stiaigei>>  weie 
known  aa  the  neutnl  Fiench  beuiu  e  ot  tht,  obhgition  which  they 
had  subscribe  1  Happy  m  their  secluaion  they  conducted  tlitir  af 
fair-!  in  the  simplest  mannei  each  family  provided  for  its  own  wants 
no  locks  were  weeded  for  their  doors  ;  'no  tax  giitherer  counted  their 
folds ;  no  ms^istrntes  dwelt  in  their  bamlels.'  They  were  too  inof- 
fen^ive  to  refiuire  the  interference  of  the  arm  of  the  law,  and  their 
cUsputes  were  amicably  settled  by  their  elders.  Poverty  was  rare ; 
early  marriages  were  encouraged,  and  fathers  delighted  in  settling 
their  children  in  a  cottage  of  tlieir  own.  Living  in  love,  llieir  lives 
glided  on  '  like  rivers  that  water  the  woodlands,  reflecting  the  image 
of  heaven.'  Since  the  English  had  settled  around  tliem,  they  had 
been  grievously  oppressed;  —  and  now  the  advices  from  England 
were  that  they  should  be  driven  from  their  homes.  Even  the  liberty 
of  transmigration  was  denied ;  they  must  be  treated  as  captives  and 
seut  out  and  scattered  over  th^  continent  to  live  among  the  English. 
Averse  to  esile,  voluntaiy  obedience  was  not  to  be  expected ;  artifice 
was  the  resort ;  they  were  entrapped  and  kidnapped  ;  Aug.  30,  1755, 
a  proclamation  was  issued  ordering  all  the  male  inhabitants  of  the 
settlements,  of  10  years  of  age  and  over,  to  assemble  at  the  church  at 
Grand  Pr4  on  Friday,  Sept.  2,  pros,,  at  3  o'clock,  P.  M.,  then  and 
there  to  hear  his  majesty's  orders,  and  no  excuse  was  on  any  pretence 
whatever  to  be  admitted  '  on  pain  of  forfeiting  goods  and  chattels  in 
default  of  real  estate.'  Some,  through  fear,  fled  to  the  forests ;  but 
418  men  unarmed  came  to  the  church  which  they  found  occupied  by 
English  iroups  aa  their  head  quarters.  The  doors  were  at  once 
closed,  and  these  poor  men  stood  to  hear  —  what  ?  '  It  is  his  majes- 
ty's orders,  and  they  are  peremptory,  that  the  whole  French  inhab- 
itants of  these  districts  be  removed.     Your  lands  a;id  tenements,  cattle 


yGoogle 


ANHM£    OF   BAllNSTABLE   COUSTl".  395 

gims,  viz,,  two  niiiea,  two  sixes,  and  two  foiir  pound- 
ers," &c.  We  cannot  learn  that  this  was  ever  done : 
indeed  tlie  very  next  year  we  find  tlie  General  Court 
directing  that  "  all  these  proceedings  be  stayed." 

In  1757,  Thomas  Pownal  who  had  been  appointed  to 
succeed  Gov.  Shirley  ^  not  arriving  to  assume  tlie  gov- 

of  all  kinds,  and  live  stock  of  all  sorts,  are  forfeited  to  the  crown,  witli 
all  your  other  effects,  saving  your  money  nnd  household  goods ;  and 
you  yoHrijelyei  aie  to  be  removed  from  this  province.'  Sad  was  the 
aonouneement  to  the  lmpll^oned  captives,  —  received  at  first  with 
speechless  amizement,  m  unbroken  silence  as  each  gazed  on  the 
countenances  of  the  ollieia  ,  —  anon,  a  loud  wail  of  anguish  echoed 
through  thp  aisles  and  arches  of  the  building.  It  was  a  cruel  sentence, 
and  e\eiy  heart  ached  that  night  in  Grand  Pre  and  throughout  tbe 
district  of  Minas  aa  the  intelligence  reached  the  inhahitaats  from  the 
lips  of  the  20  men  who  were  permitted  to  go  forth.  At  the  appointed 
day,  tlie  inhabitants  met  for  the  last  time  —  in  all  1923  souls.  The 
prisonere  in  the  church  were  drawn  up  six  feet  deep,  and  the  young 
men,  141  in  number,  were  ordered  to  march  first  on  board  the  trans- 
poits.  With  frenzied  despair,  they  refused  to  be  separated  fmm  their 
parents  and  companions,  and  were  forced  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 
Women  and  children  knelt  by  the  way  through  which  they  passed, 
weeping  and  praying  for  blessings  on  their  heads.  Next  the  fathers, 
109,  embarked.  Mothers'  and  little  ones  were  to  wait  until  fresli 
transports  arrived.  The  removal  of  the  women  and  children  was  not 
effected  until  the  cold  of  December  came.  A  large  number  of  these 
Acadians  in  the  different  districts  escaped ;  the  rest,  7000  in  all, 
were  scattered  from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia.  Many  scattered 
abroad  would  have  perished  from  hunger  and  cold,  hut  for  the  chari- 
ties of  the.  humane.  Some  went  to  Ilispaniola  and  there  died,  llany 
died  elsewhere  of  broken  hearts.  That  people  are  extinct  —  unless, 
peradvenfure,  a  few  of  their  descendants  survive  unknown  as  such 
and  oblivious  themselves  to  the  sufferings  of  their  ancestors."  —  See 
Barry's  ISsiory. 

'  Gov.  William  SnntLET  enjoyed  a  liigh  reputation  as  a  civilian, 
but  not  as  a  militaiy  man.  The  abolition  of  the  paper  currency  was 
owing  in  a  great  degree  to  his  firmness  and  perseverance.  He  died 
March  24,  1771. 


vGooglc 


396  THE  HISTORY  of  gape  cod. 

ernment,  the  council  administered.  Provineetown  was 
allowed  £20  for  the  support  of  the  gospel.  The  In- 
dians of  Eastham  and  Harwich  complained  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court "  that  their  lands  were  encroached  upon  and 
taken  from  them,"  referring  particularly  to  "  a  certain 
neck  or  beach  in  or  near  Eastham  called  Billingsgate 
Point  or  Island,  the  place  most  convenient  for  the 
whale  fishery  in  the  whole  coimty,  and  always  before 
so  improved."  They  asked  the  interposition  of  the 
authorities  in  their  behalf. 

In  1758,  of  the  7000  men  raised  "for  the  reduction 
of  Canada,"  the  Cape  furnished  its  full  quota  ;  and  this, 
it  may  well  be  supposed,  was  no  inconsiderable  num- 
ber when  it  is  said  that "  nearly  one  third  of  the  ef- 
fective men  of  Massachusetts  was  enrolled."  Other 
northern  provinces  lent  effiicient  aid ;  the  southern 
were  crippled  by  "  peculiar  circumstances  which  made 
it  inexpedient  to  enlist  many  whites." 

The  campaign  in  1759  had  for  its  object  the  entire 
conquest  of  Canada ;  and  Quebec,  Ticonderoga,  Crown 
Point,  and  Niagara  were  the  places  destined  to  attack.^ 

^  It  was  during  tliis  campaign  that  Gen.  "Wolfe,  who  conceived  the 
bold  design  of  scaling  the  "  Heights  of  Abraham,"  and  had  reached 
the  "Plains"  whore  a  bloody  liatlle  ensued,  having  received  a  fatal 
wound  requested  that  he  might  be  lifted  up  still  at  least  (o  witness  the 
engagement,  and  on  heaving  the  words,  "They  fly!"  cried  out,  though 
faint  with  the  loss  of  blood  and  his  eyes  dimmed  by  the  approach  of 
death,  "Who  fly?"  —  and  on  being  told,  "The  enemy,"  exclaimed, 
"  Then  I  die  content,"  and  at  once  expired.  It  is  but  justice  to  add 
that  the  French  commander,  Montcalm,  being  also  fatally  wounded 
and  lold  by  his  surgeon  that  death  was  inevitable,  replied,  "It  is 
so  much  the  better }  I  shall  not  then  live  to  see  the  surrender  of 
Quebec." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARKSTABLE    COUNTY.  397 

In  1760,  Gov.  Pownal  having  solicited  his  recall  and 
been  appointed  governor  of  New  Jersey/  Thomas 
Hutchinson,  lieutenant  governor,  presided  until  Sir 
Francis  Bernard,  appointed,  arrived,  August  2.  One  of 
Bernard's  first  offences  was,  in  his  inaugural  address,  to 
refer  to  "the  blessings  of  subjection  to  Great  Britain." 
The  House,  in  reply,  instead  of  acknowledging  their 
mbfedion,  were  careful  to  express  simply  their  "  rela- 
tion "  to  that  country. 

Another  effort  was  now  made  by  different  parts  of 
the  county  acting  in  unison,  to  induce  the  General 
Court  to  lessen  the  number  of  coui'ts  in  the  county. 
The  Eev.  Oakes  Shaw  was  this  year  settled  over  the 
"West  parish  in  Barnstable ;  and  Kev.  Mr.  Rawson  re- 
tired from  the  charge  of  tlie  Yarmouth  church. 

The  conquest  of  Canada  leaving  England  at  liberty 
to  listen,  insinuations  were  made  touching  the  danger 
that  America  might  at  some  day  throw  olf  its  alle- 
giance. Among  the  prerogative  party  in  America  were 
some  always  aspiring  to  royal  favor,  ready  to  fan  the 
flames  of  suspicion.  It  was  now  too,  that  foremost 
among  the  opposite  or  liberal  party,  a  noble  son  of 
Cape  Cod  began  to  be  prominent  —  an  orator  of  su- 
perior power,  of  large  heart,  of  enthusiastic  daring ; 
bred  in  the  school  of  true  patriotism,  and  inheriting 
those  virtues  that  were  personified  in  the  venerable 

^  Gov.  Pownal's  measures  were  accommodated  with  great  address 
to  the  state  of  the  people.  Having  solicited  his  recall,  lie  was  ap- 
pointed lieutenant  governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  subsequently  govern- 
or of  South  Carolina.  To  1768  he  became  a  member  of  Parliament, 
and  m  that  position  strenuously  opposeii  the  measures  of  the  adminis- 
tration ogamst  the  colonies,  declaring  that  the  Reople  of  America  were 
niiwenally,  unitedly,  and  unalterably  resolved  never  to  submit  io  any 
internal  tax  imposed  by  any  legislature  in  which  they  were  not  repre- 
sented.    He  died  Feb.  25,  1805,  m.  83. 


vGooglc 


398  THE   HISTORl'   OF   CAPE   COD. 

member  from  Barnstable  —  then  speaker  of  the  Housed 
The  exigencies  of  the  day  began  to  call  for  noble  men, 
and  noble  men  appeared. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  King  George  II.  was  re- 
ceived in  New  England,  Dec.  17,  and  events  soon  trans- 
pired significant  in  tlieir  influence  upon  tlie  freedom  of 
America.  The  people  were  becoming  more  and  more 
sensitive  in  regard  to  any  attempted  or  supposed  in- 
vasion of  their  rights.^ 

^  That  BarnstaUa  sliouM  liavo  tlic  liouor  of  ticing  the  native  place  of 
two  sueii  men  as  the  tkler  and  younger  James  Otis,  father  aad  son, 
both  now  prominent  on  tlie  side  of  Ihe  people,  ia  a  circnmstance  of 
which  that  town  may  well  be  pioud.  Other  sona  also  of  the  venerable 
Jamea  Otia  Sr.,  were,  ao  will  be  seen,  greatly  distinguished, 

^  A  notable  verification  of  this  was  aa  occurrence  the  following 
year,  1761,  transpiring  on  a  trial  of  a  most  important  question,  —  the 
legality  of  writs  of  assisifance  which  the  officers  of  the  cnstoms  had  ap- 
plied for  to  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  It  was  this  event 
particularly  that  began  to  give  to  James  Otis  Jr.  a  world-wide  and 
enduring  reputation.  Whilst  the  chief  justice,  Thomas  Hutchinson 
(who  was  also  lieutenant  governor)  and  Lis  four  associates  sat  upon 
the  ti'ial,  in  the  crowded  council-chamber  of  the  old  town-house  in 
Boston ;  after  "  the  leirned,  talented,  majestic  Gridley,"  as  king's 
attorney,  —  allowed  by  all  to  be  at  the  veiy  head  of  his  profession, — 
had  opened  the  ca'se  in  a  masterly  manner;  and  after  Oxenbridge 
Thaclier,  a  lawyer  of  great  learning  and  distinction,  had  replied  witli 
signal  ability  ;  Otis,  then  a  young  man,  who  had  been  a  pupil  in  the 
law-office  of  the  king's  attorney,  arose  to  speak  in  bclialf  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Boston,  whoso  houses  if  the  application  of  the  crown  officers 
M'as  sustained,  those  officers  would  be  authorized  to  enter  at  discretion 
—  and  said, "  I  am  determined  to  my  dying  day  to  oppose  with  all  tlio 
powers  and  faculties  God  has  given  me,  all  such  instruments  of  slavery 
on  the  one  hand  and  villany  on  the  other  as  this  writ  of  assistance  is, 
I  argue  in  favor  of  British  liberties  at  a  time  when  we  hear  the  great- 
est monarch  upon  earth  declaring  from  his  throne  (hat  he  glories  ia 
the  name  of  Briton  and  that  the  privileges  of  his  people  are  dearer  to 
him  than  the  most  valuable  prerogatives  of  Iho  ei-own.  1  oppose  the 
hind  of  poiver  the  exercise  of  which  in  former  periods  of  English  his- 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OIF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  399 

In  1761,  the  "French  neutrals"  still  remained  in 
Barnstable  County,  as  appears  by  various  records.  The 
Indians  of  Mashpee  seem  to  have  partaken  of  the 
spirit  of  the  times  :  they  complained  of  their  political 
condition,  and  asked  for  larger  liberty  ;  and  the  planta- 
tion was  erected  into  a  District.  By  the  report  of  the 
committee  who  brought  in  the  bill,  the  plantation  was 

lory  cost  one  King  of  England  his  head  and  another  his  throne.  Let 
the  -consequences  be  what  they  will,  I  am  determined  to  j)roceed  and 
to  the  call  of  my  country  am  ready  to  facriflce  estate,  ease,  health,  ap- 
plause, and  even  life.  The  patriot  and  hero  will  ever  do  thus.  And 
if  brought  to  the  trial,  it  will  then  be  known  how  far  I  can  reduce  to 
practice  principles  which  I  know  to  be  founded  in  truth."  His  whoie 
plea  was  most  able,  and  was  poured  forth  and  listened  to  with  almost 
breathless  attention  for  over  four  hours  —  a  stream  of  eloquence, 
patriotism,  and  legal  acumen,  creating  most  intense  excitement.  Well 
did  John  Adams  say,  in  reference  to  that  plea  and  occasion,  "  Otis 
was  a  flame  of  fire  ;  with  a  promptitude  of  classical  allusions,  a  depth 
of  research,  a  rapid  s«mmai-y  of  historical  events  and  dales,  a  profusion 
of  legal  authorities,  a  prophetic  glance  of  his  eyes  into  futurity,  and  a 
rapid  torrent  of  impetuous  eloquence,  he  horned  away  all  before  him. 
American  independence  was  then  and  there  born.  Every  man  of  an 
immense  crowded  audience  appeared  to  me  to  go  away,  as  I  did, 
ready  to  lake  up  arms  against  wriU  of  assistance."  The  same  year 
the  gifted  orator  and  patriot  waa  chosen  a  representative  of  Boston. 
We  are  quite  willing  that  Boston  should  claim  him  as  her  adopted  son, 
as  she  has  claimed  many  of  Cape  Cod  origin  ;  but  we  submit  whether 
the  county  of  his  nativity  and  where  he  grew  up  to  manhood  may  not 
indulge  a  laudable  pride  in  the  conlributions  it  has  made  from  lime  to 
time  to  the  renown  of  the  metropolis.  It  might  to  the  cynic  appear 
like  vaunting  io  emiraerate  the  long  catalogue  ;  and  we  may  well  be 
content  to  name  only  the  Rev.  Thomas  Prince  and  the  younger  Otis  ; 
although  whether  we  survey  the  list  of  eminent  divines,  distinguished 
statesmen,  accomplished  scholars,  learned  jurists,  and  others,  or  scan 
the  columns  of  commercial  enterprise,  we  are  not  soon  restricted. 
The  fact  may  have  been  ignored  in  history  and  the  Cape  passed  by 
as  a  terra,  incognita ;  but  the  peninsula  of  Cape  Cod  has  been  in 
more  senses  than  one  "  the  right  arm  of  the  commonwealth."  A 
statue  of  Olis  has  recently  been  erected  at  Mount  Auburn. 


vGooglc 


400  TSIE   HISTORY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

represented  as  eight  miles  by  five  or  six  in  extent,  con- 
taining sixty-three  wigwams  and  two  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  inhabitants. 

In  1762,  the  Eev.  Joseph  Green,  3v.  became  the  pas- 
tor at  Yarmouth  first  church. 

In  1763,  by  the  peace  of  Paris,  Canada,  Nova  Scotia, 
and  Capo  Bretoii  were  conceded  to  the  Enghsh. 
Glorious  as  the  result  was  deemed  in  England,  it  was 
still  more  a  cause  of  congratulation  here  as  affording 
to  the  colonies  an  interval  of  repose.  Hon.  Sylva- 
nus  Bourne  of  Barnstable  died  September  18,  aged 
seventy.^ 

Wellfleet  which  had  continued  hitherto  a  part  of 
Eastham,  and  which  had  for  some  years  been  the  Nortli 
Precinct  in  said  town,  was,  May  25,  incorporated  as  a 
district  with  the  powers  of  a  town  excepting  that  it  was 
to  be  joined  with  Eastham  in  the  election  of  repre- 
sentatives. 

Facilities  for  communication  between  different  parts 
of  the  province  were  by  this  time  enlarged,  and  intel- 
ligence of  stirring  events  was  now  being  more  readily 
disseminated  than  formerly  —  though  still  very  infre- 
quent and  comparatively  slowly  —  through  the  medium 
of  "  the  posts."  It  was  a  time  too  when  such  intel- 
ligence was  eagerly  sought.-     England  seemed  now,  in 

'  Hon.  Ml-.  BouENE,  son  of  Mclatiah  of  Sandwich,  was  many  years 
judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
chief  justipe ;  move  than  20  years  of  the  Councii ;  judge  of  probata 
about  the  same  length  of  tinje ;  colonel  of  militia,  &o.  He  was  father 
of  Judge  William  Bourne  of  Marhlehead.  He  is  represented  hy  his 
COQ temporaries  as  a  man  of  considerable  attainments,  pohshed  n: 
agreeable  wit,  and  witha!  deeply  religious. 


vGooglc 


ANNAI^   OF   BABHSTABLE   CODMTT.  401 

the  view  of  many,  to  be  arrogant  in  lier  control  of  her 
American  colonies.^  She  had,  by  the  peace  of  1763, 
and  by  her  complete  triumph  over  the  French  (which 
was  in  truth  the  achievement  very  mnch  of  the  col- 
onies themselves)  become  mistress  of  the  seas  and  in 
&ct  arbiter  of  the  world.     But  now,  apprehensive  that 

'  That  the  American  people,  children  of  the  same  stock  with  them- 
selves, were  heira  to  the  same  political  rights,  seemed  to  be  out  of 
mind  with  the  govermnent  of  England ;  and  if  Americans  were  not 
absolutely  held  in  contempt,  it  appeared  to  be  thought  that  their  la- 
bors and  money  must,  if  demanded,  be  given,  with  or  without  consent, 
at  England's  dielatioQ.  But  the  people  here  having  grown  up  with 
a  proper  self-respect,  understood  as  they  thought  iheir  owd  rights. 
Their  early  privations  and  toils  and  dangers  had  contributed  at  least 
to  make  them  strong  and  brave.  When  the  British  government  could 
afford  the  colonies  no  protection,  and  therefoi-e  proposed  their  uniting 
in  their  own  self-defence  against  the  French,  in  175i,  the  plan  of 
union  penned  by  Franklin  and  adopted  by  the  colonies,  was  considered 
in  England  as  in  some  of  its  features  objectionable:  it  "gave  too 
much  power  to  the  people."  There  were  also  many  in  the  colonies  who 
thought  it  "  conceded  too  much  to  the  king."  So  diverse,  even  then, 
were  the  views  of  the  Americans  from  those  of  the  British  govern- 
ment !  As  long  as  the  French  war  continued,  England  wanted  the 
services  of  Americans :  now  the  government  wanted  to  derive  a 
revenue  froni  them.  A  great  addition  to  the  usual  taxes  of  England 
was  necessary ;  and  the  ministry,  apprehensive  of  rendering  them- 
selves unpopular  by  pressing  too' severely  on  the  resources  of  the 
people  at  home,  determined  to  supply  the  deficiency  by  a  system  of 
extortion  and  depredations  in  the  shape  of  duties  npon  the  colonies, 

"We  may  as  well  say  here,  en  passant,  the  causes  that  led  to  the 
American  revolution  naturally  lead  to  an  inquiry  into  the  prmdples  of 
the  tenure  by  which  the  people  of  the  American  colonies  held  the  right 
of  soil,  and  the  principles  of  ike  jvrispnidence  by  which  they  were 
gwemed.  By  the  laws  of  nature,  occupancy  and  possession  is  the 
only  law  of  title.  The  law  of  force  gives  no  just  right  to  property; 
for  might  often  overcomes  right.  When  the  Christian  princes  of 
Europe  granted  letters  patent  to  adventurers  to  discover  and  possess 
the  soil  of  foreign  lands,  they  well  knew  that  they  had  really  no  more 
right  to  grant  such  authority  than  the  Pope  of  Rome  had  in  exercising 
VOL.  I.  51 


vGooglc 


402  THE   illSTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

a  people  of  such  amazing  energy  as  the  colonies  had 
displayed,  possessed  of  such  resources,  aJid  governed 
by  such  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  might 
some  day  conceive  the  idea  of  becoming  themselves  a 
great,  powerful,  and  independent  nation,  a  question  of 
prominence  and  interest  arose :  viz.,  hovp  can   Great 

the  same  power  ceoturiea  before.     And  if  the  very  first  principles  of 
their  claims  were  thus  founded  in  error,  all  subsequent  claims  avisiug 
therefrom  were  supported  by  error.     The  abori^nes  possessed  by 
right  of  occupancy,  or  possession,  from  time  out  of  mind.     This  also 
confirmed  their  title  by  the  rights  of  prescription  according  to  the 
common  law  of  civilized  nations.     Great  Britain  could  not  then  claim 
either  by  the  law  of  nature,  or  the  common  law  of  nations.     She 
never  pretended  to  claim  by  the  right  of  statute,  for  she  had  no  right 
on  which  she  could  found  a  statute.     The  kings  of  England  authorized 
foreign  discoveries,  with  the  right  of  occupancy.     But  did  they  in  the 
present  case  become  joint  partners  by  furnishing  any  part  of  the  cap- 
ital to  support  the  adventurers  ?     None.     Where  reposes  lier  claim  ? 
The  only  answer  that  could  be  given  was,  the  soil  became  settled  by 
lawful  subjects  of  the  a'own.     But  were  the  claims  over  or  upon  the 
lives  and  property  of  those  subjects,  and  the  laws  she  enacted,  valid 
and  of  binding  force  upon  exiles  in  a  distant  and  foreign  land  ?     She 
claimed  no  such  right  over  exiles  in  Germany,  France,  Switzerland, 
or  Holland ;  why  in  America  ?     True,  it  wdl  be  said,  her  claims  were 
mutually  understood  and  acknowledged  by  the  parties.     This  was  un- 
doubtedly the  fact  fco  far  as  their  mutual  interests  extended.     But, 
this  state  of  things  ended,  were  not  the  parties,  of  right,  at  liberty  ? 
The  right  of  the  exile's,  to  the  soil,  wa-s  alleged  to  be,  first,  purchase 
from  the  natives  who  were  the  rightful  owners ;  and,  second,  occu- 
pancy and  labor  and  treasures  bestowed  in  clearing,  cultivating,  and 
defending  these  purchased  possessions.     Hence,  when  England  drew 
her  sword  to  defend  and  enforce  her  claims,  and  to  compel  the  exiles 
to  yield,  the  colonies  felt  justified  in  setting  at  defiance  her  power,  and 
proclaiming  their  independence.     It  constitutes  necessarily  no  part  of 
the  argument,  whether  tlie  early  settlers  were  compulsorily  exiles,  or 
exiles  simply  from  choice.     It  would,  indeed,  be  too  much  to  say  thai, 
but  for  the  oppressions  by  England,  the  colonies  would  never  have 
claimed  alone  the  rights  which,  they  had  been  content  to  enjoy  for  so 
many  years  in  connection  with  the  mother  country  ;  for  flic  time,  in 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  403 

Britain  most  effectually  secure  her  permanent  sover- 
eignty over  these  rising  colonies  ?  It  was  a  momen- 
tous question,  and  even  thus  early  divided  her  councils. 
The  impression  hecamc  general  that  the  colonies  were 
rich,  and  that  the  principal  men  were  living  like  lords 
upon  their  estates,  whilst  the  people  of  England  were 

any  event,  would  undoubtedly  have  arrived  when  this  great  country 
would  claim  ita  independence  and  right  lo  rank  among  the  free  and 
enlightened  nations  of  the  world.  That  sage  in  the  councils  of  Eng- 
land, the  venerable  Earl  of  Chatham,  understood  this  ;  and,  foreseeing 
it,  gave  suitable  counsels  and  warning. 

Again,  it  may  be  said,  we  well  know, "  the  colonies  submitted  the 
entire  question  by  taking  out  letters  patent  and  acknowledging  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  crown."  True ;  but  such  was  the  obscurity  of 
rights  in  that  age  ;  besides,  the  force  of  circumstances  was  imperious. 
But  from  their  very  acquaintance  with  the  natives,  they  soon  saw 
what  was  the  Indian's  natural  freedom  ;  and  it  were  strange  if  the  idea 
did  not  begin  to  possess  their  own  minda  that  they  also  should  he 
free.  Moreover,  they  especled  from  the  letters  patent,  or  charters 
which  they  received,  a  guarantee  of  protection  in  their  rights  from  the 
encroachments  of  others ;  and,  instead,  were,  as  they  conceived,  vexed 
by  continued  oppressive  acts  undermining  those  civil  and  religious  in- 
stitutions they  had  planted  upon  the  basis  of  a  supposed  freedom  and 
natural,  rational  liberty.  They  felt  that  England  but  illy  performed 
her  part  of  the  contract,  and  fell  far  short  of  realizing  their  reasonable 
expectations.  And,  with  their  eyes  open  to  their  true  situation,  they 
■  at  last  sought  redress.  Thereupon,  England  became,  as  they  con- 
ceived, more  exacting  and  oppressive.  She  resolved  to  tax  them ; 
and  the  colonies  believed  that  submission  to  this  as  a  right  claimed  by 
Great  Britain  would  he  additionally  dangerous  to  liberty.  They  be- 
hoved that  the  right  clamed  once  admitted,  the  people  of  the  colonies 
nould  be,  in  effect,  slaves  forever.  True  :  Great  Britain  proposed  to 
furnish  an  army,  and  fo  pay  them ;  only  taxing  the  colonies  for  re- 
muneration But  this  was  seen  to  be  a  flimsy  pretext,  and  was  ahly 
exposed  The  colonies  declared  themselves  now  able  to  take  care  of 
thpmselves  The  Eastern  colonies  had,  without  tlie  aid  of  England, 
taken  Louisburg :  they  could  defend  themselves.  Great  Britain,  not- 
withstanding, was  restless  without  some  assurance  of  a  permanent 
soveieignty  over  the  colonies.      But  here,  to  the  honor  of  humanity. 


vGooglc 


404  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

oppressed  with  taxes  for  the  support  and  protection  of 
the  colonies.  That  a  vast  debt  had  been  incurred  by 
Great  Britain,  was  not  doubted  by  the  coloniste ;  but 
that  the  debt  had  arisen  from,  support  and  defence  of 
the  colonies,  was  not  so  apparent  Besides,  Great 
Britain  held  Canada  as  an  indemnity  for  the  t 


it  should  be  recorded,  her  councils  were  divided.  The  elder  Pitt 
stood  forth,  at  the  head  of  a  noble  party,  for  mild  and  generous  roeas- 
ures.  NorOi  and  Bute,  at  the  head  of  the  other,  were  for  bold,  ener- 
getic, and  coercive  proceedings ;  and  the  counsels  of  tlie  Earl  of 
Chatham  were  set  at  defiance.  The  result  was,  a  regular  system  of 
duties  on  merchandise  was  agreed  on.  Great  Britain's  permanent 
and  equitable  i^evenue  from  her  colonies  under  her  navigation  act,  by 
profits  on  her  extensive  manufactures,  and  from  the  duties  drawn  from 
commerce,  she  was  unwisely  ready  to  risk  to  grafafy  a  haughty  and  im- 
perious lust  for  domination ;  and  a  system  was  adopted  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  colonies,  amounted  to  prohibition.  The  colonies,  unin- 
fluenced by  the  plausibility  of  England's  pretexts,  saw  the  evils  that 
would  result  (o  themselves,  and  natui-ally  took  alarm,  resolutely  de- 
termined to  resist  all  usurpation  at  the  threshold.  They  saw,  or 
thought  they  saw,  in  contemporary  and  subsequent  proceedings,  despot- 
ism in  the  abstract ;  and  the  alarm  against  usurpation  and  tyranny 
was  rung  thi-ough  the  land,  the  patriotic  rallied  around  the  standard  of 
liberty,  and  determined  to  protect  their  rights.  It  was,  indeed,  a  bold 
and  noble  resolve ;  and  was  carried  out  by  as  sagacious,  resolute,  and 
noble-minded  men  as  the  world  ever  produced. 

The  restrictions  on  trade,  under  the  navigation  act  of  1660,  had 
been  borne  with  patience,  because  those  restrictions  were  supposed  to 
be  of  natural  utility,  and  implied  no  concessions  to  the  crown  incon- 
sistent with  freedom  and  their  rights.  But  now  a  cloud  overspread 
the  horizon  that  told  them  that  their  dearest  rights  and  the  purest 
principles  of  liberty,  were  being  obscured,  and  that  the  maxim  inter- 
woven with  all  their  political  creed,  that  "  taxation  and  representation 
were,  and  ought  to  be,  inseparably  connected,"  was  about  to  be  trod- 
den in  the  dusL  Gov.  Bernard  himself  clearly  intimated  to  the 
English  government  that  the  duties,  if  persisted  in,  would  ruin  the 
commerce  of  America,  and,  at  the  same  time,  destroy  the  best  inter- 
ests of  Great  Britain :  but  all  was  of  no  avail. 

Touching  the  right  by  "  discovery,"  to  which  we  have  referred,  we 


vGooglc 


ANSALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  405 

of  the  war.  It  ought  to  have  been  foreseen  that,  -with 
so  flimsy  a  pretext,  to  tax  America  was  to  pursue 
a  plan  of  usurpation  and  despotic  sway  that  might 
eventually /oree  a  conflict  between  the  colonies  and  the 
parent  country  rather  than  secure  the  permanency  of 
the  colonial  connection. 

may  add  that  from  the  lime  of  Columbus  who  landed  at  St.  Salvador, 
(the  first  island  discovered,)  in  a  gorgeous  dress,  with  drawn  sword  ia 
hand  and  the  royal  standard  displayed,  taking  possession  for  the  crown 
of  Castile  and  Leon,  —  leading  to  the  inscription  on  his  tomb,  that  he 
had  given  a  new  world  to  Spmn,  —  the  practice  of  Europeans  became 
general  to  take  possession,  by  the  i-ight  of  discovery,  of  whatever  parts 
of  America  they  were  the  first  to  visit.  With  this  practice  the  Pope 
of  Eoaie  accorded ;  the  propagation  of  Christianity  being  held  out  as 
tlie  ostensible  object.  Eeligious  considerations  were  thus-made  a  pre- 
text for  eveiy  species  of  injustice,  cruelty,  bloodshed,  and  slavery. 
How  lamentable  that  the  religion  of  Christ  that  breathes  "  peace  and 
good  will  towards  men,"  should  have  been  so  abused  and  stigmatized 
by  tl     1  yp  J    f  th       p  d  by  base  passion  only  for  worldly 

a^ra  dm  If    ub    qu        di    overers  and  adventurers   have 

t  uly  b  n  u  flu  n  d  1  y  hi  m  t  ves,  it  may  justly  be  expected 
th  t  th       a  t    n    w  11     1      1yd         er  the  sincerity  of  then-  pro- 

In  h  &  ral  C  d  t  f  the  Plantation  in  New  Eng- 
land," in  1629,  it  was  said,  "  The  whole  earth  is  the  Lord's  garden, 
and  he  hath  given  it  to  the  sons  of  Adam  to  be  tilled  and  improved. 
...  It  is  the  revealed  will  of  God  that  the  gospel  shall  be  preached 
to  all  nations  ;  and  though  we  know  not  whether  the  Indians  will  re- 
ceive it  or  not,  yet  it  is  a  good  work  to  observe  God's  will  in  offering 
it  to  them ;  for  God  will  have  glory  by  it  though  they  refuse  it  .  .  . 
But  what  warrant  have  we  to  take  that  land  which  is,  and  hath,  of 
long  time  been  possessed  by  others  of  the  sons  of  Adam  ?  That  which 
is  common  to  all  is  proper  to  none.  This  savage  people  mleth  over 
many  lands  without  title  or  property ;  for  they  enclose  no  ground. 
.  .  .  And  why  may  not  Cliristians  have  liberty  fo  go  and  dwell 
amongst  them  in  their  waste  lands  and  woods  (leaving  them  such 
places  as  they  have  manured  for  their  com)  as  lawfully  as  Abraham 
did  among  the  Sodomites?  For  God  hath  given  to  the  sons  of  men 
a  twofold  right  fo  the  earth :   there  is  a  natural  right  and  a  civil 


vGooglc 


THE   HISTOSr   OF   CAPE   COD. 


CHAPTER    SIX. 


The  Mother  Country  becomes  oppressive.  —  Stamp  Act.  —  Taxes  imposed, 
—  Soldiers  sent  over.  — Convention.  —  Certain  offensive  Acts  repealed.  — 
Duty  OB  Tea  retained,  —  Pocasaet  a  Parish.  —  Gov.  Hutchinson. — Pub- 
lic Meetings. — Tea  destroyed.  —  Tea  Ship  ashore  at  Cape  Cod,  —  Fire  in 
Sandwich  Woods.  —  Gen.  Gage.  — Boston  Port  Bill. — League  and  Cove- 
nant.—  General  Congress. — Diverse  Views  among  the  People  — Move- 
ment in  Barnstable  County. 

The  repose  of  tlie  colonies  after  the  French  and  In- 
dian war  was,  as  we  have  suggested,  of  short  duration. 
Troubles  assailed  them  from  another  quarter.  The 
mother  country  was  regarded  as  oppressive.  Measures 
of  the  British  government,  founded  on  their  claim  to 
make  laws  and  levy  taxes  on  the  people  of  the  colo- 
nies without  their  consent  or  representation,  began,  in 
1764,  to  elicit  much  discussion  and  to  create  much 
uneasiness.  The  colonists,  we  have  before  said,  were 
always  extremely  sensitive  in  regard  to  any  supposed  in- 
vasion of  their  rights ;  they  had  now,  for  various  reasons, 
become  more  sensitive  in  this  respect  than  ever.  Eng- 
land had,  "  in  defence  of  her  American  possessions,"  as 
was  said,  "incurred  a  vast  debt;"  and  a  plan  of  reve- 
nue by  taxing  the  colonies  was  therefore  brought  for- 
ward in  Parliament,  Sept.  29,  "  to  obtain  indemnificar 
tion."  An  excise  was  imposed  on  certain  goods,  and 
stamp  duties  were  also  proposed.  Until  this  time  the 
colomes  had  been  permitted  to  tax  themselves} 

*  The  colonies  now,  as  ever,  contended  "  that  taxation  and  repi-o- 
sentation  should  go  together."     This  was,  in  fact,  the  very  hinge  on 


yGoogle 


ANSALS   OE   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY.  407 

The  stamp  act  having  been  passed  by  Parliament, 
great  excitement  was,  in  1T65,  beginning  every  -where 
to  exhibit  itsel£^  A  measure  eo  obnoxious,  imposing  a 
heavy  tax  on  almost  every  necessary  transaction  of 
business,  caused  the  most  determined  opposition.^  The 
stamp  officers  in  the  colonies  generally  were  compelled 
hy  the  people  to  resign,  and  the  stamp  act  became  in 
consecLuence  a  nullity.^ 

A  congress  of  deputies  from  each  colony,  to  meet  at 
New  York  in  October,  having  in  the  emergency  been 
proposed,  "  to  consult  on  the  common  interest,"  the 
first  Continental  Congress  ever  held  met  at  the  time 
appointed.  Timothy  Euggles,  Esq.,  whilom  a  resident 
and  inhabitant  of  Sandwich,  was  chosen  president  of 
the  assemblage.     Their  first  measure  was  a  declaration 

whicli  the  revolution,  now  in  embryo,  turned.  Dr.  Franklin,  then  in 
I:Ondon,  had  written  home,  "  The  sun  of  liberty  is  set ;  the  Ameri- 
cana must  light  the  lamps  of  industry  and  economy;"  and  Charles 
Thompson,  ia  reply,  had  said,  "  Be  assured  we  shall  ligiit  torches  of 
quite  another  sort," — thus  predicting  the  convulsions  to  follow. 

^  By  this  act,  a  single  ream  of  blank  policies  of  insurance  worth 
£20,  was  increased  in  expense  to  £190 ;  a  ream  of  hail-bonds  before 
costing  £15,  was  made  to  cost  £100 ;  and  all  deeds,  notes,  &c.,  on  un- 
stamped paper  were  declared  henceforth  null  and  void. 

'  In  Boston  the  bells  were  muffled  and  tolled  a  funeral  peal ;  the 
crown  of&cers  were  insulted,  and  various  demonstrations  of  a  spirit  of 
defiance  were  made. 

^  It  may  he  pertinent  here  to  mention  that  when  the  same  spirit  of 
resistance  to  the  stamp  act  was  exhibited  in  New  York,  a  descendant 
of  Cape  Cod  was  the  prominent  spirit  in  the  transactions  recorded  as 
occurring  there.  Capl.  Isaac  Sears,  who  had  commanded  a  privateer, 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  disaffected,  with  "  Hurrah !  my  boys, 
we  will  have  the  stamps ! "  and  he  was  as  good  as  his  word — they 
were  seized  and  committed  to  the  flames.  The  governor  dared  not 
resist.  Sears  was  then  placed  by  the  people  at  tlie  head  of  the  com- 
mittee for  general  safety. 


yGoogle 


408  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

of  the  rights  and  grievances  of  the  colonists ;  asserting 
the  former  to  be  "  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the'natu- 
ral  born  subjects  of  Great  Britain  —  the  chief  of  which 
are  the  exclusive  power  to  tax  themselves  and  the  trial 
by  jury  —  both  of  whicli  Parliament  by  its  recent  acts 
has  invaded."  ^ 

The  stamp  act  was  repealed,  Jan.  16, 1766,  through 
the  influence  of  Mr,  Pitt,  Lord  Camden,  and  others  — 
a  change  having  taken  place  in  the  cabinet ;  but  the 
repeal  was  preceded  by  a  declaration  of  Parliament 
that  they  had  and  "  of  right  ought  to  have  power  to 
bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases  "whatsoever,"  This  decla- 
ration gave  great  offence. 

In  1767,  the  favorite  project  of  the  British  ministry 
being  still  persisted  in,  —  that  of  taxing  the  colonies,  — 
an  act  was  passed  imposing  certain  duties,  viz.,  on  tea, 
paper,  glass,  painte,  &c. ;  a  custom  house  was  estab- 
lished ;  a  board  of  commissioners  appointed ;  and  two 
regiments  of  soldiers  sent  over,  to  be  stationed  at  Boston, 
to  sustain  the  parliamentary  act.  And  yet  another  most 
arbitrary  act  ensued,  —  a  measure  that  was  not  needed 
to  exasperate  the  people,  for  they  were  already  suffi- 
ciently   indignant,  —  a    provision    that    all    offenders 

1  When  Mr.  Grenville,  in  Feb.,  opened  tUe  plan  of  the  stamp  bill, 
a  member  in  its  support  asked,  in  debate,  "  ITt'fl  these  Americans, 
planted  by  ouv  care  and  nourished  by  our  indulgence,  as  well  as  pro- 
tected by  onr  arms,  grudge  to  contribute  their  mite  to  relieve  us  from 
heavy  burdens  ?  "  —  the  rejoinder  of  Col.  Barre,  worthy  of  his  noble 
and  honest  heart,  was,  " Planted  by  your  care^  —  no!  yvai  oppres- 
sions planted  them  in  America.  Nourished  by  your  indulgence  ?  — 
they  grew  by  your  neglect.  Protected  by  your  arms? — they  them- 
selves have  nobly  taken  up  arms  in  ^our  defence."  Col.  Barrc  had 
resided  in  America  and  was  iamiliar  with  its  history. 


yGoogle 


AHNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  409 

against  the  laws  shall  be  sent  to  England  for  trial! 
This  was  denominated  "  the  mxdiny  act."  The  impres- 
sion upon  the  colonies  was  imbittering.  Firm  to  their 
rights,  resolves,  petitions,  remonstrances  and  addresses  - 
were  the  first  resort ;  in  these  the  Cape  towns  not  only- 
participated,  but  were  among  the  foremost.  No  people 
were  more  indignant  and  determmed  than  they. 

In  1768,  the  General  Court  having  refused  all  com- 
pliance with  tlte  nuitiny  act  and  it  having  been  pex'- 
emptorily  demanded  of  them  that  they  should  rescind, 
a  spirited  debate  ensued  in  which  James  Otis,  Jr.,  now 
become  a  representative  from  Boston,  said,  "  Let  Great 
BrUain  rescind  :  if  she  does  not,  the  colonies  are  lost  to 
her  forever."  The  remark  is  not  claimed  as  propJieci/ ; 
but  it  tvas  determined  a«  the  inevitable  result  if  Britain 
should  persist  in  her  present  policy. 

A  convention  was  appointed  to  be  held,  in  Septem- 
ber, "  on  important  business,"  in  Paneuil  Hall,  Boston. 
In  this  convention  the  towns  on  the  Cape  were  fully 
represented.  Gov.  Bernard  had,  in  June,  first  pro- 
rogued and  then  dissolved  the  General  Court  for  re- 
fusing to  rescind  the  resolution  that  had  led  to  a 
circular  from  the  House  of  Representatives  to  the  legis- 
lative assemblies  of  the  other  colonies ;  and  appUca- 
tion  having  been  made  to  him  to  convene  the  General 
Court  again,  he  had  declined.  Not  only  so,  but  a  large 
body  of  troops  were  on  hand  to  enforce  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet  offensive  acts.  Delegates,  therefore,  from 
ninety-six  towns  and  eight  districts  assembled.  They 
petitioned  the  Ung.  They  had  barely  the  opportunity  to 
do  this :  for,  the  very  day  after  their  grievances  had 
been  stated  and  "  an  address  of  the  sovereign  people  " 
had  been  issued,  almost  simultaneously  upon  their  ad- 
voL  I.  52 


vGooglc 


410  THE   HISTORY   06'   CAPE   COD. 

journment,  the  town  of  Boston  was  garrisoned  by  4000 
regular  British  troops.  The  eonventionj  however,  were 
together  long  enough  to  cause  their  influence  to  be  felt 
and  feared  by  the  governor  and  his  satellites. 

The  feelings  of  the  people  of  the  province,  already 
sufficiently  chafed,  became,  in  1769,  entirely  irrepressi- 
bJe.  The  presence  of  a  mercenary  soldiery  sent  from 
England  with  tho  design  of  intimidation,  was  quite  too 
odiolTS  and  provoking  to  be  borne.  Numerous,  indeed, 
were  the  causes  of  irritation  from  day  to  day  ;  quarrels 
between  the  soldiers  and  the  people  of  Boston  were  of 
almost  constant  occurrence. 

The  General  Court,  convened  May  30,  was,  after 
altercation  with  the  governor,  removed  to  Cambridge.^ 
The  governor,  July  6,  made  a  requisition  on  the  court 
for  funds  "  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  troops  in 
Boston ; "  this  was  promptly  and  indignantly  refused. 

Non-importation  associations,  under  the  motto,  "unitr 
ed  we  conquer  ;  divided  we  die,"  began  now  to  be  the 
order,  of  the  day  in  the  towns  and  indeed  in  all  the 
colonies;  but  nowhere  did  the  fires  rage  with  greater 
violence  than  in  Massachusetts,  for  here  were  the  "  in- 
solent foreign  troops,"  and  here  was  the  focus  of  the 
approaching  revolution."     Bernard  Icft^  the  province, 


'  "VVhj  should  they  legislate  in  Boston  suroounded  by  the  n 
of  power,  and  at  the  Tery  mouths  of  a  tyrant's  cannon ! 

^  The  agreement  of  non -intercourse  with  the  mother  country  had 
been  entered  into  first  by  numerous  and  highly  respectable  merchants 
of  Boston,  who  had  issued  circulars  to  the  several  towns.  The  Cape 
towns  took  action  at  once  and  adopted  stringent  resolutions  in  accord- 
ance with  the  doings  of  the  patriotic  in  Boston, 

^  Giov.  Beknard  found  no  good  resulting  from  tlie  aid  of  the  mili- 
tary.    He  became  daily  more  obnoxious  to  the  people.     His  course, 


yGoogle 


AMNAL8   OP   BARNSTABLE   COTJMTY.  411 

and  the  administration  devolved  on  Thomas  Hutchin- 
son, lieutenant  governor. 

On  the  5th  of  March,  1770,  an  affray  having  taken 
place  between  a  detachment  of  royal  troops  under 
Capt.  Preston,  and  inhabitants  of  Boston,  in  which  three 
of  the  latter  were  killed,  and  five  dangerously  wounded, 
the  excitement  became  intense.  The  sympathies  of  the 
people  were  every  where  enlisted  with  Boston,  the  in- 
habitants of  Barnstable  County  not  failing  to  bear  a 
prominent  part. 

During  the  year.  Lord  North  was  appointed  prime 
minister  of  England,  and  all  duties  were  repealed  ex- 
cept that  of  3d.  per  pound  on  tea;  by  which  the  minis- 
try intended  to  establish  their  right  to  raise  a  revenue 
in  the  colonies.-  This  the  people  understood,  and  re- 
solved to  redd  —  utterly  opposed  to  the  principle  of 
taxation  in  whatever  shape.^ 

however,  was  so  agreeable  to  the  ministry  ttat  lie  was  created  a  baronet. 
Mar.  20,  and,  Aug.  6,  becoming  a  member  of  Parliament,  Le  left  the 
scene  of  contention.  His  administration  had  been  felicitous  in  good 
degree  at  the  first,  saving  some  abatements ;  but  existing  during  a  most 
interesting  and  perplexing  period  of  American  history,  he  could  not 
with  fealty  to  his  sovereiga  conduct  in  any  way  that  should  not  occa- 
sion great  dissatisfaction  among  the  people.  As  there  were  opposing 
parties  —  the  one  determined  defenders  of  the  rights  of  the  people, 
the  other  advocates  for  the  crown  —  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  i-e- 
tain  a  neutral  position.  "When  found  desirous  of  strengthening  the 
royal  authority  in  America,  the  friends  of  liberty  uniformly  opposed 
him.  His  appointment  of  Mr.  Hutchinson,  too,  as  chief  justice,  in 
derogation  of  the  clmma  of  the  elder  James  Otis  of  Barnstable,  was 
highly  censured.  He  seems,  in  a  word,  to  have  had  no  talent  at  con- 
ciliation, if  he  had  the  disposition.     He  died  in  England  in  1779. 

'  Though  all  other  offensive  measures  be  repealed,  the  duty  of  3d, 
per  pound  on  tea  remaning  sliowed  that  the  principle,  the  i-eal  point 
in  question,  was  not  conceded ;  and  it  was  seen  that  if  this  las,  though 


vGooglc 


412  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

The  business  of  the  country  being  greatly  ob- 
structed and  difficulties  thickening,  many  persons  re- 
moved from  Harwich,  Chatham,  and  other  places,  to 
Nova  Scotia.  These  persons,  generally  most  worthy 
citizens,  were  not  influenced  to  this  step  by  any  over- 
weening partiality  for  Great  Britain,  but  by  economical 
and  business  considerations  alone.  The  fertile,  though 
rough,  lands  of  that  province  had  their  influence  ;  but 
the  chief  intent  was  the  prosecution  of  the  fisheries 
under  more  favorable  auspices.^ 

We  have  been  so  engrossed  by  the  general  features 
of  public  affairs  at  this  periodj  that  we  have  probably 
passed  by  some  transactions  of  merely  local  interest 
for  several  years ;  but  these  will  appear  in  the  annals 
of  the  towns.  The  great  questions  that  absorbed  the 
public  mind  were  themselves  not  merely  general,  but 
of  local  interest.  They  were  felt  to  be  so  here ;  and 
here  were  master-spirits  in  directing  and  aiding  the 
movements  designed  to  promote  the  great  cause  of  true 
patriotism  and  American  liberty.  If  we  make  these 
movements  prominent  in  this  part  of  our  History,  it  is 
because  justice  requires  it  —  a  necessity  is  laid  upon  us. 
A  petition  from  the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  Sand- 
wich called  Pocasset  {the  Indian  PokesU)  set  forth  that 


11  w         t        t  ]  G     t  E  t  Id       bl  1   tl         ht  h 

I        1       f  b    1       t!        1  all  tb  It  t 

f   th      1         d   1     t    y     t 

Th         m  fml         fCp         g  N         Sba,my 

mb         fb       h         b        gllydtgiishdmp  tl 

bl     t       t    f,      a  tb         d        "n     t  th     mp  th  t  th 

t        f    11  w        t  M    t     f  th  m      a  th  tl       7         t     th 

1  Smfwfldtbth  bq        Jyb        Itm 

b    Id     1 1         f     d  1  w  th  th   1  tt        Th  y  ha  1  th 

odium. 


yGoogle 


AKNALS   OP  BAEKSTABLB  COXfflTT.  413 

Mr.  Tupper '  had  "  been,  for  some  time  preaching  to  the 
Indians,"  and  that  "  the  white  inhabitants  of  the  neigh- 
borhood "  had  "  also  attended  his  ministry,  and  built  a 
meeting  house  for  the  mutual  accommodation  "  of  both 
races,  "  assigning  seats  in  the  same  to  the  nati"ves." 
They  prayed,  therefore,  that  themselves,  "  embracing 
30  families  and  about  200  souls,"  might  "  be  constituted 
a  distinct  parish,"  The  application  was  granted ;  and  it 
was  determined  that  the  bounds  of  the  precinct  shall 
be  as  follows :  "  Northerly  by  the  lands  of  "Wm.  Tobey 
and  Jona.  Tobey,  inclusively ;  easterly  to  the  extent  of 
the  petitioners'  lands  in  the  woods;  southerly  by  the 
Falmouth  line  ;  and  westerly  by  Buzzard's  Bay," 

We  have,  in  our  minute  attention  to  political  events, 
been  apparently  oblivious  to  the  ecclesiastical  changes 
which  have  occurred  in  the  county  for  some  years. 
These  we  have  not  designed  to  mention  with  much  par- 
ticularity in  our  county  history,  but  to  reserve  the  chief 
notice  of  them  for  the  annals  of  the  towns.  "We  may 
here,  however,  make  amends  for  any  seeming  delin- 
quency, by  stating  that  Eev,  Nathan  Stone  became  pas- 
tor of  the  E.  church  in  Yarmouth,  since  Dennis,  in 
1764 ;  Rev.  Mr.  Green  and  Rev.  Jona,  Mills  became 
supplies  for  the  church  in  Provincetown,  respectively,  in 
1760  and  1765,  the  latter  being  transferred  to  the  S, 
precinct  in  Harwich  in  1766  ;  Eev.  Mr.  Green  of  Yar- 
mouth died  in  1768,  and  Rev.  Timothy  Alden  was  sc{> 
tied  as  his  successor  in  1769 ;  and  Rev,  Mr.  Green  of 
Barnstable  died  in  1770,  being  succeeded  by  Rev.  Tim- 
othy Hilliard  in  1771, 

In  1771,  Thomas  Hutchinson  was  appointed  and  re- 

^  Ilev.  Eiisha  Tupper. 


vGooglc 


414  THE   HISTOKY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

ceived  his  commission  as  governor.  The  resentments 
engendered  by  the  proceedings  in  Parliament  were  still 
in  the  ascendency.  Hutchinson,  in  spite  of  the  remon- 
strances of  the  members,  used  his  prerogative  of  ad- 
journing the  General  Court  from  Boston  to  Cambridge 
and  then  to  Salem.  The  "sons  of  liberty"  were  active 
and  determined.  The  General  Court  now  refused  to 
do  business  out  of  Boston,  and  sent  a  message  to  the 
governor,  saying,  "  The  people  have  a  right  to  appeal 
to  Heaven  when  despotic  rulers  abuse  their  power ; " 
and  protesting  that  "  the  grievances  of  the  people  are 
too  great  to  be  mrxch  longer  borne."  ^ 

'  Great  Bntam  beliewns;  she  had  power  to  enforce  licr  demands  so 
stoutly  resisted  by  the  colonies  diew  the  swokd,  unfortunately  for 
her  honor  and  mte"iity  the  colonies,  is  he  might  have  foreseen,  set 
hei  threats  andcoeicive  attempts  at  defiance,  and  procl^med  their 
light  I-Ial  he  leframed  from  oppres5>\  e  mt,asure9,  been  content  fo 
rule  without  uauipation  ndmolented  her  despotic  sway,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  the  connection  would  ha've  been  prolonged;  but  it  can 
hardly  be  suppo'ied  as  we  hi^e  before  lemarked,  that  even  then  the 
colonies  would  not  ere  lon^  hive  claimed  the  rights  of  an  indepeudeat 
government  The  time  l^ould  in  any  e\ent,  have  arrived  when 
Ameiici  wo  ild  ehim  hnr  link  among  the  nations  as  free  and  inde- 
pendent. It  woult  be  too  mudi  to  espect  perhaps,  that  this  could 
(i\  er  be  effected  without  violence  A  people  possessed  of  the  energies 
and  lefioarcea  of  the  Ameiicnn  colonies  and  whose  hearts  glowed 
with  the  pure  prmciples  uf  libcity  who  e  rich  and  extensive  country 
oppnud  10  ^'ist  1  thcitie  foi  thowc  principles  fo  display  themselves, — 
It  OAYinot  be  supposed  would  ilway  be  content  to  remain  a  mere  ap- 
pendage to  the  crown  of  England.  The  English  ministry  foresaw 
th  1  t  p    manent  sovereignty  became  with  them  the 

m  n  ntou  q  t  n  Tl  mild  and  conciliatory  measures  proposed 
by  th  t  p  t  f  th  mpire  at  tbe  head  of  which  stooi  the  illusti-i- 
0  E  1  of  Chad  am  w  e  repudiated  ;  and  the  bold,  energetic  and 
in  ultin  p  je  t  of  tl  at  portion  at  the  head  of  which  stood  a  North 
and  a  Bute  prevailed.  Great  Britain  derived  a  revenue  from  the 
colonics  by  regular  trade ;  and  the  profits  on  her  extensive  manufac- 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.  415 

We  have  now  arrived  at  tlie  commencement  of  the 
year  1772 ;  and  this,  hke  the  previous  year,  is  not  dis- 
tinguished by  any  very  important  events  ;  hut  still  dis- 
cussion is  going  on,  and  a  spirit  of  determination  is 
evinced  on  every  hand  showing  that  the  country  has 
reached  a  period  of  deep  and  absorbing  interest.  It 
was  felt  to  be  so  in  the  County  of  Barnstable.  Difficul- 
ties between  the  colonies  and  the  parent  country  were 
thickening ;  serious  troubles  were  apprehended ;  and 
town  meetings  were  held  to  take  into  consideration  the 
alarming  condition  of  public  affairs.^  A  plan  for  ascer- 
taining the  strength  of  each  town  "  on  the  side  of  lib- 
erty," by  regular  corresponding  committees,  was  adopted 
by  the  General  Court. 

In  1773,  the  state  of  public  affairs  began  to  wear  an 
increasingly  threatening  and  alarming  aspect.  Asso- 
ciations of  "  the  sons  of  liberty "  continued  to  be 
organized  in  all  directions;  for  England,  it  was  be- 
lieved, was  imposing  upon  the  colonies  burdens  no 
longer  to  be  endured  —  endeavoring  to  deprive  the 
people  of  rights  not  to   be  relinquished.     The  Cape 


tures,  and  the  regular  duties  drawn  from  coramevce,  should  have  satis- 
fled  her.  Gov.  Bernard,  in  1764,  had  faithfully  presented  to  Great 
Britain  her  ti-ue  policy  in  this  matter ;  but  without  avail. 

■  The  burning  of  the  Gaspee  near  Providence  greatly  enraged  the 
British  ministry.  The  Gaspee  was  a  revenue  vessel,  the  lieutenant  iu 
command  of  which  had  made  himself  very  obnoxious  to  the  people  by 
his  overbearing  zeal  in  the  execution  of  his  trust  The  lieutenant,  ia 
giving  chase  to  a  packet  that  had  refused  to  lower  its  colors  to  Lis 
orders,  run  his  vessel  aground ;  she  was  boarded  in  the  night  by  some 
fishermen  and  burned.  All  effasis  to  discover  the  perpetrators  were 
ineffectual.  Although  £500  reward  was  offered  for  this  purpose,  the 
people  were  banded  together  by  the  prindple  of  resistance  to  tyranny, 
and  no  clew  to  the  perpetrators  could  be  obtained. 


vGooglc 


416  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

towns  were  now,  as  always,  on  hand,  asserting  the 
rights  and  liberties  which  they  believed  were  guar- 
anteed by  charters  and  constitutions.  Meetings  were 
called  in  all  of  them,  to  deliberate  and  to  act.^ 

Just  before  the  destruction  of  the  tea  in  Boston  har- 
bor, the  last  of  the  tearships,  Capt  Loring,  was  cast 
ashore  "  on  the  back  of  the  Cape."  Much  of  the 
cargo  was  lost ;  enough,  however,  was  saved  to  transfer 
the  war  upon  teas  to  tliis  county,  and  the  patriotic 
were  determined  "  to  resist  the  sale  and  use  of  the 
article,  if  needs  be,  in  blood  up  to  tlieir  knees." 

We  should  have  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 

^  The  decree  of  Parliament  in  favor  of  the  East  India  Tea  Co.  of 
London,  enabling  them  to  export  their  teas  to  America  subject  to  what 
the  colonies  believed  to  be  an  unconstitutional  fax  or  tribute,  was 
peculiarly  offensive,  and  the  determination  was  very  general  to  resist 
it  The  consignees  were  regarded  as  having  by  their  acceptance  for- 
feited all  right  to  protection  —  objects  of  indignation  and  resentment. 
The  course  pursued  by  Great  Britain  was  pronounced  "an  affront  to 
the  common  sense  of  mankind  and  to  the  majesty  op  the  people 
who  are,  under  God,  the  source  from  which  is  of  right  derived  all 
power  and  majesty."  It  was  alleged,  "  Parliament  has  for  years 
passed  acts  in  derogation  of  English  liberty.  Undertaking  to  regulate 
the  internal  policy  of  the  colonies  without  conceding  the  right  of  the 
colonies  to  be  represented,  it  has  imposed  heavy  duties  on  articles  of 
consumption  imported  into  the  colonies,  and  has  levied  taxes  that  are 
oppressive  and  not  to  be  endured."  The  people  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  sent  back  to  England  the  tea-ships  that  had  arrived  in 
those  cities ;  but  the  people  of  Boston  were  under  a  species  of  duress, 
and  failed  in  the  attempt  to  carry  the  same  nieasure.  Determined, 
notwithstanding,  to  defeat  the  act,  at  whatever  hazard,  about  20  per- 
sons in  disgaise  went  on  board  the  craft  freighted  ivith  teas  and  broke 
open  and  threw  into  the  dock  342  chests  of  the  "abhorred  article" 
BOW  termed  "  the  fetters  and  chains  of  liberty."  This  cool  and  delib- 
erate act,  of  defiance  to  government  tended,  as  it  was  foreseen  it  would, 
to  a  crisis  tliat  was  not  to  be  iiazarded  without  a  firm  resolve  never 
to  retreat  from  the  ground  taken.  The  sensation  produced  by  the 
event  in  England  was  immense. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  417 

events  of  the  preceding  year  that  a  devastating  fire 
occurred  in,  June,  in  the  woods  of  Sandwich,  spreading 
on  every  side  and  destroying  a  large  amount  of  prop- 
erty. A  report,  of  Mr.  Isaac  Lothrop,  Thos.  Gilbert, 
Esq.,  and  Mr.  Benj.  Freeman,  the  committee  appointed 
by  the  General  Court  to  go  to  Sandwich,  view  the 
premises  and  present  to  the  legislature  the  true  state 
of  the  sufferers,  was  this  year  made  and  acted  on.  — 
The  Eel  River  bridge  needing  to  be  rebuilt,  was  again 
the  suhject  of  remonstrance  and  contention.  The  sev- 
eral towns  in  the  county,  by  their  agent,  Edward 
Bacon,  Esq.,  petitioned  for  exemption  from  obligation 
to  build  the  bridge, 'but  their  request  was  denied. 

In  1774,  Hutchinson  being  removed  from  office  in 
consequence  of  unpopularity  incident  upon  the  ex- 
posure of  letters  that  had  been  written  by  him  to  lead- 
ing men  in  Great  Britain  in  1767  and  1768,  which 
letters,  it  was  believed,  had  tended  greatly  to  increase 
the  prejudice  of  Parliament  against  the  colonies,  GeiL 
Thomas  Gage,  commander-m-chief  of  his  majesty's  forces 
in  America,  was  appointed,  by  George  III.,  to  succeed 
him.^  He  arrived  in  Boston,  May  13,  and  Hutchinson 
sailed  for  England  the  next  month. 

*  GoY.  Hutchinson  was  descended  from  the  famous  Ann  Hutch- 
inson whose  peculiar  views  and  influence  excited  so  much  opposition 
amou"  the  religious  world  in  New  Enghmd,  For  10  years  he  was  a 
representatiTC,  and  3  yeai-s  was  speaker  of  the  House.  In  1752  he 
was  a  judge  of  probate;  a  member  of  the  Council  fi-om  174D  to 
1766 ;  chief  justice  in  17G0  ;  and  lieut.  gov.  from  1  8  to  17  1  th 
liolding  at  one  time  the  offices  of  councillor,  jud  e  of  p  b  t  hi 
justice,  and  lieut.  gov.  Andrew  Oliver,  the  di  t  b  to  of  t  [  as 
his  brother-in-likw,  and  thus  Mr.  H.  became  d  nt  a  1  tl  tl  at  ob 
noxious  procedure,  and  his  house  was  sacked  by  th  nfu  t  d  m  1 
Unhappily  his  whole  admn.  as  gov.  was  in\ol  ed  n  onsta  t  d 
VOL.  I.  53 


vGooglc 


418  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  order  to  punish  the  people  of  Boston,  and  com- 
pel them  to  restore  the  value  of  the  teas  they  had 
destroyed,  Parliament  had  in  March  passed  a  bill  in- 
terdicting all  commercial  intercourse  with  that  port, 
and  prohibiting  the  landing  or  shipping  of  ojxy  goods 
there.^  Provision  was  also  made  for  transporting  to 
Great  Britain  for  trial,  all  offenders,  the  charge  to  be 
paid  out  of  the  customs.  Gage  being  regarded  by  the 
people  as  a  fit  instrument  for  executing  the  designs  of 
a  tyrannical  ministry  and  Parliament,  and  being  armed 
with  authority  to  seize  any  and  all  peiiBons  who  might 
he  accused  of  high  treason,  or  of  what  might  be  re- 
garded by  enemies  as  constructively  high  treason,  con- 
sternation prevailed  on  every  hand;  especially  as 
shortly  after  the  arrival  of  Gage  two  additional  regi- 
ments with  artillery  and  military  stores  followed  — 
thus,  as  was  naturally  supposed,  indicating  the  inex- 
orable resolve  of  the  British  government  to  reduce  the 
colonies  to  submission  by  force  aud  amis.  The  effect 
of  the  Boston  port  bill  was,  of  course,  to  deprive  at 
once  a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  means  of 
subsistence.  The  only  way  in  which  their  sufferings 
could  be   relieved,  was    by  contributions   from   other 

ptites  with  tlie  Assembly  and  Council.  Tlie  exposure  of  his  lettei-s 
confidentially  written  to  England  operated  much  to  his  injury.  The 
tea  affair  served  still  forthei'  to  involve  him  in  trouble.  He  died  in 
England,  June  3, 1780,  se.  69.  Gov.  Hutchinson  is  now  acknowledged 
to  have  been  a  man  of  excellent  character,  of  nnwearied  industrj", 
and  highly  respectable  talents.  "Whatever  political  views  lie  enter- 
tained he  was  candid  and  manly  in  avowing. 

'-  Boston  was  looted  upon  in  England  as  the  chief  seat  of  rebellion, 
and  waa  therefore  selected  to  the  honorable  position  of  an  object  of 
especial  vengeance.  The  public  offices  were  ordered  to  be  removed 
f<)  Salem ;  and  every  movement  seemed  to  betoken  preparation  for 
some  grand  event. 


yGoogle 


AKNALS    OF   BARHSTABLE   COUNTY.  419 

towns.  These  were  promptly  made  ;  nor  did  the  C-ape 
towns  fail  to  extend  their  patriotic  aid.^  The  vindic- 
tive measures  of  Parliament  served,  in  fact,  to  unite 
more  firmly  the  people  every  where  in  resistance  to 
Great  Britain.^  The  remarli;  of  Col.  Barre  in  Parlia- 
ment, when  these  odious  and  insulting  measures  were 
being  adopted,  "  You  are  offering  the  last  of  himian 
outrages  to  the  American  people  :  they  are  too  much 
like  yourselves  to  be  dnven"  was  now  being  strikingly 
verified.     The  people  began  to  feel  that  a  reconcilia- 

'  The  donations  lo  Boston  during  the  siege  were,  in  pfirt  at  least, 
Barnstable,  £12  10  8;  Wellfieet,  £7  10  8;  Eastham,  £10  and  50 
bush,  of  corn ;  Falmouth,  £30  18  and  514  cords  of  wood,  at  one 
time  —  SOi  cords  of  wood  at  anottier  time,  and  £5  15  8;  Truro, 
£11  16;  Sandwicii,  £19;  Mashpee,  IBs.;  Yarmouth,  S.  parisli, 
£7  4  8,  West,  £568;  and  Eastham,  N.  parish,  £7  16. 

"  Capt.  Isaac  Seaes,  afterwards  known  as  "  Col,  Sears,"  de- 
scended from  the  Yarmouth  family,  again  stood  forth  in  New  York 
a,?  the  champion  for  liberty,  (as  he  had  done  on  the  occasion  of  re- 
sistance to  the  stamp  act,)  now  in  support  of  Boston.  The  tories 
had  made  so  formidable  opposition  that  in  the  appointing  of  a  com- 
mittee of  50  in  reference  to  the  Boston  port  bill,  the  com.  was  found 
to  be  equally  balanced,  the  number  of  tones  on  the  com.  being  equal 
to  the  whigs.  It  became  impoitant,  therefore,  to  add  two  more  lo  the 
com.  to  secure  a  majority  on  the  side  of  liberty.  So  nicely  balanced 
in  some  places  were  the  opposing  parties  and  so  critical  had  become 
the  fete  of  America.  Again,  when  Gage,  after  the  patriots  of  Bos- 
ton had  fled  to  the  country  with  such  effects  as  they  cotild  command 
and  conveniently  remove,  had  eent  to  New  York  to  secure  in  a  private 
n  n  11  jch  articles  as  might  he  used  in  camp  and  had  succeeded 
to  ome  extent,  this  same  Capt.  Sears  who  liad  before  triumphed  over 
tl  e  t  es  a  d  obtained  a  representation  lo  Congress,  discovered  the 
de  g  of  Gage  and  gave  the  alarm  preventing  further  sales,  —  urg- 
ng  that  America  would  need  all  such  articles  for  her  own  service. 
Much  at  th  s  time,  was  depending  on  the  vigilant  patriotism  of  a  few 
active  leaders.  The  destinies  of  the  country  were  suspended  oftentimes 
as  it  were  by  a  thread,  which  thread  if  broken  might  prostrate  the 
cause  of  liberty. without  recovery  and  drench  the  land  ia  blood. 


vGooglc 


420  I'UE   HISTOllY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

tion  was  neither  to  be  expected  nor  hoped  for,  but  that 
they  must  be  ready  to  defend  their  rights  by  an  appeal 
to  force. 

Measures  were  now  taken  every  where  to  prepare 
for  the  contest.  A  committee  of  correspondence,  con- 
sisting of  distinguished  men  in  the  province,  set  forth 
an  agreement,  cjilled  "  A  Solejw  League  and  Covenant," 
copies  of  which  were  sent  in  all  directions  and  were 
numerously  signed.  The  subscribers  to  this  league  de- 
termined to  suspend  all  intercourse  with  Great  Britain, 
until  their  rights  should  be  restored. 

By  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  it  was  resolved 
that  a  Congress  of  the  colonies  was  necessary.^  They 
also  enrolled  a  body  of  men  to  be  prepared  for  any 
emergency,  "  to  march  at  a  minute's  notice,"  who  were 
therefore  called  "  minute  men."  li'ive  general  officers 
were  appointed  to  command  them.  Committees  of 
safety  were  appointed  generally  by  the  towns  to  act  in 
conjunction  with  the  central  committee  ;  and  measures 
were  taken  to  collect  military  stores  to  be  deposited  at 
Concord  and  "Worcester. 

The  plan  for  assembling  a  Continental  Congress  was 
proposed,  and  speedily  adopted  by  all  the  colonies 
Georgia  alone  excepted.^  This  Congress  published  a 
declaration  of  rights;  agreed  to  suspend  commercial 
intercourse  with  Great  Britain  ■,  and  drew  up  addresses 
to  the  king,  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  the 

^  The  troubles  that  perplexed  the  early  settlements  of  tlic  colonies 
had  led  the  people  of  each  to  feel  their  mutual  dependence,  and  fo 
cultivate  that  intercourse  and  union  so  necessary  for  mutual  defence. 
Troubles  now  again  bring  them  into  sympathetic  contact.  Thus  is 
being  laid  the  foundation  of  a  national  government,  to  stand  forlh  the 
perfection  of  successive  ages,  tlie  admiratiou  of  tlie  worid. 

*  Tbis  body  at  first  consisted  of  65  members,  enibracing  generally 
men  of  eminent  cliai'acter  and  distinguished  abilities. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTY.  421 

colonies.-^  This  Congress  also  in  view  of  any  possible 
attempt  to  carry  into  execution  the  late  acts  of  Parliar 
ment  resolved  that  "every  person  who  shall  accept  or 
act  under  any  commission  or  authority  derived  from 
the  act  of  Parliament,  changing  the  form  of  govern- 
ment and  violating  the  charter,  ought  to  be  held  in 
detestation."  What  a  grand  moral  spectacle  is  here 
presented !  How  unequal  the  approaching  and  inev- 
itable contest !  On  the  one  hand,  -we  see  the  first 
maritime  power  in  the  world ;  possessed  of  immense 
wealth,  of  vast  resources,  well-disciplined  armies,  and 
experienced  and  able  military  and  uaval  commanders. 
On  the  other  hand,  are  infant  colonies  possessing  none 
of  these  advantages ;  with  no  general  government  to 
control  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  several  parts ; 
entirely  destitute  of  experienced  officers,  disciplined 
troopSj  arms  and  munitions  of  war,  armed  ships,  and 
even  of  revenue.^  It  is  not  strange  that  their  resolu- 
tion, if  needs  be  to  engage,  nevertheless,  in  the  un- 
equal conflict,  was  regarded  in  England  generally  witli 
contempt  and  derision ;  *  nor  that  some  among  them- 

^  These  able  state  papers  wei-e  highly  commended  by  Lori  Chat- 
ham in  the  British  Parliament. 

"  Their  want  of  these  essentials,  but  especially  of  money,  emhai-- 
rassed  all  their  operations  during  the  whole  continuance  of  the  war. 

"  The  Br.  ministry  confidently  believed,  that  their  opponents  could, 
and  would,  be  easily  and  speedily  crushed.  In  "A  friendly  Address 
to  AU  ReasonaUe  Americans,  on  the  subject  of  ouv  political  confu- 
sions, in  which  the  necessary  consequeTwes  of  violently  opposing  the 
king's  troops  and  of  a  general  non-importation  are  fairly  stated," 
(such  is  the  title,)  published  anonymously  in  177i;  (which  work 
Gen.  Lee  deemed  worthy  of  a  counter-pamphlet  of  "  Strictures,"  re- 
garding the  former  pamphlet  as  "designed  to  dissolve  tlie  spirit  of 
union,  and  check  the  noble  ardor  prevailing  through  the  continent ; ") 
the  writer  says,  "  All  who  have  the  courage  now  to  declare  themselves 
friends  to  the  govt.,  will  undoubtedly  think  themselves  bound  in  honoi'. 


vGooglc 


422  TIIE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

selves,  unhappily,  shrunk  back  as  if  from  a  precipice 
beyond  which  there  ivas  no  redemption.  Perhaps  the 
thing  most  strange  now  appears,  that  any  of  their 
brethren  and  fellow-citizens  should  have  evinced,  under 

iiiterest,  and  conscience,  to  resort  to  the  king's  standard ;  and  many 
lliousnnds  of  others,  and  indeed  tlie  greater  part  of  those  who  shall 
not  have  i-endered  their  cases  desperate,  —  ivhea  they  see  the  danger 
thus  nearly  approaching,  and  tlie  storm  ready  to  burst,  —  will  be  glad 
to  fly  for  shelter  to  the  royal  standard,  and  be  zealous  to  signalize 
themselves  ia  the  king's  service,  in  order  to  render  unquestionable  that 
loyalty  which  was  formerly  suspicious.     It  is  morally  certain  that,  in 
the  day  of  trial,  a  large  majority  of  the  Americans  will  heartily  unite 
with  the  king's  ti-oops  in  reducing  America  to  order.     Our  violent 
republicans  will  then  find  themselves  deserted  by  thousands  and  thou- 
sands in  whom  they  now  confide  ;  ami.  inexpres&ibli/  dreadful  must  be 
their  disappointiaeiit !     0  that  they  were  wise,  that  they  understood 
this,  that  they  would  consider  their  latter  end  !     I  sliall  say  no 
more  on  the  supposed  case  of  ouv  waging  Win  agaikst  the  kihg, 
and  entering  into  a  state  op  kebelliok  ;  the  tlioughts  of  which  all 
sober  men,  and  al!  conscientious  men,  and  all  who  prefer  the  good  of 
their  country  to  the  gratification  of  their  own  obstinate  humors,  must 
reject  with  honxir.     But  another  scheme  is  proposed  :  a  general  non- 
importation agreement  in  order  to  get  rid  of  a  duty  of  three  pence  a 
pound  on  lea !     The  remedy  is  ten  thousand  times  worse  than  the 
disease.     It  is  like  cutting  off  the  arm  to  get  rid  of  a  small  sore  on 
one  of  the  fingers.     In  the  Province  of  Mass.  Bay,  there  is  a  large 
number  of  populous  seaport  towns  which  have  no  other  support  than 
their  fishery ;  many  of  them,  with  families,  that  know  of  no  other 
means  of  subsistence  than  the  cod  flsheiy.     Now,  when  all  these  fish- 
ermen are  turned  ashore,  and  their  vessels  become  useless, .  .  .  &c. 
&c.     Should  Congress  support  the  madmen  of  New  England,  in  their 
soheioe  of  an  Independent  BepuUic,  I  afiirm  that  the  original  contract 
between  them  and  the  most  respectable  part  of  their  constituents  will  he 
dissolved;  that  we  shall  be  at  full  liberty  to  consult  our  own  safety 
in  the  manner  we  shall  think  most  conducive  to  that  end ;  and  that 
we  shall  owe  them  no  greater  respect  and  obedience  than  they  them- 
selves pay  to  the  British  Parliament.     The  foregoing  considerations  are 
addressed  —  not  to  those  obstinate,  hot-headed  zealots  who  are  at  the 
bottom  of  all  our  confusions  ;  for  arguments  would  be  as  much  wasted 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARK8TABLE   COUNTY.  423 

all  the  circumstances  of  constant  aggression  on  the 
part  of  England  and  in  full  view  of  the  sacrifices  which 
the  patriotic  were  willing  to  encounter  for  liberty,  a 
friendship  still  towards  British  rule  and  a  hostility  to- 
wards the  noble-hearted  and  self-sacrificing  defenders 
of  their  country's  rights  ! 

We  are  not  disposed,  howe-ver,  to  be  unjustly  cen- 
sorious ;  and  cordially  adopt  tlie  remark  once  made 
to  us  by  a  patriot  of  the  revolution  who  was  active 
in  directing  the  affairs  of  these  troublous  times  in  this 
county  —  that  "much  is  to  be  pardoned  to  the  religious 
scruples  of  some  who  were  truly  good  men  and  re- 
garded disloyalty  to  the  king  tia  an  offence  against 
Heaven ;  and  somewhat,  to  the  diversity  of  sentiment 
which  is  inseparable  from  hiiman  nature."  ^ 

upon  fhein  as  upon  men  tliat  are  intoxicated  with  liquor  —  but  to  all 
reasonable  Americans  —  to  (hose  who  are  still  in  tlie  exercise  of  (heir 
understandings.  ...  O  my  infatuated  counti7men !  my  deluded  fel- 
low-subjects and  fellow-Christians !  open  your  eyes,  I  entreat  you ; 
awake  from  your  dreams,  and  regard  your  safety !  " 

'  If  some  in  America  were  inimical  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  and 
sympathized  with  a  corrupt  and  despotic  ministry,  still  it  is  grateful 
to  record  the  fact  that  even  in  Britain  were  some  of  opposite  views 
to  them,  and  who  stood  boldly  forth  in  defence  of  American  rights. 
Lord  Camden  is  represented  as  exclaiming  in  Ihe  House  of  Loi-ds, 
"  This  I  win  say,  not  only  as  a  statesman,  politician,  and  philosopher, 
but  as  a  common  lawyer,  — my  lords,  you  have  no  right  to  tax  Amer- 
ica. I  have  searched  the  matter.  I  repeat  it :  yon  have  no  riffhf 
to  tax  America.  The  natural  rights  of  man  and  the  immutable  laws 
of  nature  are  with  that  people.  Kings,  Lords,  and  Commons  msy  be- 
come tyrants  as  well  as  others :  it  is  as  lawful  to  resist  tlie  tyranny  of 
many  as  of  one.  "Were  I  an  American,  I  would  resist  to  the  last  drop 
of  my  blood."  "When  Mr.  Selden  was  asked,  "  In  what  law  hook  do 
you  find  a  law  for  resisting  tyranny  ?  "  he  replied, "  It  has  always  been 
the  custom  of  England ;  and,  my  lords,  the  custom  of  England  is  the 
law  of  the  land." 

Lord    Chatham's    eloquent   defence    of  America  is   familiar    to 


vGooglc 


424  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

Whilst  such  was  the  posture  of  affairs,  a  plan  which 
had  been  previously  concerted  with  much  care  after 
consultation  among  the  leading  men.  of  the  day,  and 
which  was  as  important  as  it  was  bold  and  daring,  was 
put  in  execution  in  this  county.  As  it  forms  a  material 
item  in  our  revolutionary  struggle,  and  has  not  been 
incorporated  in  the  histories  heretofore  written  of  those 
times,  we  shall  make  it  the  subject  of  a  distinct  chapter 
and  be  somewhat  minute  in  detail,  relying  implicitly 
on  authentic  documents/     That  the  reasons  for  this 

every  one.  No  greater  orator,  no  abler  statesman  tlian  fce  did  Eng- 
land ever  liave.  In  the  younger  Pitt  and  othei's  were  also  fonnd 
the  fast  friends  of  America. 

*  We  may  here,  however,  first  present  in  substance,  and  chiefly  in 
his  own  words,  the  i-elation  of  the  transaction,  aa  furnished  by  Hon. 
Abraham  Holmes  of  Eochester,  whose  high  character  aad  prominence 
as  a  public  man  and  able  counsellor  ia  well  known.  Mr.  Holmes 
penned  his  account  of  the  proceedings,  towai-ds  the  close  of  his  honor- 
able life,  in  1834,  when  he  had  become  an  aged  man,  and  was  almost 
the  only  survivor  of  those  who  took  part  in  the  transactions  recorded. 
Mr.  Holmes  well  remarks  that  "  great  and  important  events  should 
be  kept  in  memoiy,  and  transmitted  to  children's  children  to  the  latest 
posterity.  It  is  true,"  he  says,'"  posterity  cannot  fee!  the  same  sensa- 
tions in  contemplating  the  events  of  the  revolution  as  thtse  who  lived 
in  the  day  of  them  and  participated  in  the  efforts,  the  toils,  and  tho 
dangers  of  the  enterprise:  yet  by  the  recital  of  these  they  may  form 
some  idea  of  tlie.  exertions,  the  toils,  tho  dangers,  and  snceesses  of 
their  progenitors  in  obtaining  the  high  and  dignified  position  which  we 
occupy  among  the  nations."  He  continues,  "  I  was  led  to  these  reflec- 
tions by  a  review  particularly  of  an  event  that  occurred  in  the  Sep- 
tember of  1774 ;  —  an  event  probably  now  forgotten  or  perliaps  never 
known  to  but  very  few  of  those  whose  lives  have  been  lengthened  out 
to  the  present  time.  It  was  the  first  overt  act,  done  in  the  face  of  day* 
without  disguise,  in  the  controvei-sy  with  Great  Britain  that  according 
to  British  jurisprudence  would  be  called  treason." 

We  must  interrupt  for  one  moment  this  narrative  by  Mr.  Holmes, 
to  say  that  we  do  not  assert  that  this  was  the  "first"  instance  of  the 
kind.      On  tho  contrary,  although  Mr.  H.  asserts  it,  without  doubt 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAilNSTABLE   COUNTY.  425 

movement  were  weighty  and  the  determinative  posi- 
tion of  the  people  was,  in  view  of  the  patriotic  senti- 
ment, we'll  takeiij  is  corroborated  by  the  action,  the 
following  mouth,  of  the  Congress  assembled  at  Phila- 

from  the  impression  strong  upon  his  mind,  it  would  seem  tliat  pro- 
ceedings somewhat  similar  were  liad  at  least  in  Great  Barringlon  and 
Springfield  just  previous.  The  tune  intervening  between  those  occur- 
rences and  that  at  Barnstable,  was,  however,  so  short,  that,  with  the 
facilities  then  at  command  for  the  diffusion  of  infelligence,  it  is  alto- 
gether improbable  that  the  news  of  either  demonstration  eould  have 
reached  the  Cape  prior  to  ifs  proceedings,  much  less  previous  to  the 
arrangements  for  this  campmgn;  and  the  presumption  unavoidably  is, 
that,  as  Mr.  H.  suggests,  the  "  plan  previously  concerted  with  much 
care,"  wis  but  the  canjmg  out  of  measures  which  had  been  well  un- 
derstood "among  lending  men  of  the  day,"  and  which  were  to  be 
general  \iheievei  they  could  be  effected  Indeed  we  might  prove 
conclusively  ihit  the  action  of  the  people  m  this  county  wis  tliL  lesult 
of  aetne  correipondtnce  by  which  a  plan  «ho  e  ramiftc itions  ivere 
exteniive  had  been  devised  to  take  effect  no  =oon  i  it  =hoiild  be 
known  the  regulating  act  of  Parliament  had  leceived  the  loyal 
approval,  —  siULe  suffenng  the  courts  to  sit  would  haic  seemed  a 
recognition  of  thit  act      Sir  H.  continues :  — 

"The  Entiah  Paihiment,  in  its  mad  career,  had  assumed  a  right  to 
mutilate  the  chartei  of  MTisachusetts,  which  was  a  solemn  contract 
between  the  King  on  fhp  one  pirt  and  the  Province  on  the  other. 
Parliament  was  not  a  party  to  it  nor  was  it  made  under  any  aullior- 
ity  from  ihem,  or  with  iny  reference  to  them  and  with  it  they  had 
no  more  nght  to  interfere  than  hn\  tht,  B  nzcs  of  Jipan:  but  this 
authontj  Pirliament  assumed  mil  ly  in  Aet  had  taken  from  the 
Hou-e  of  Eepresentati\  es  the  nght  to  <.hoo  e  the  Council  —  a  right 
granted  the  piovince  Vy  it'i  chaiter  and  hid  authorized  the  king  to 
appoint  the  Counul  bj  mandamus  and  directed  the  sheriff's  of  the  sev- 
eral counties  to  appoint  the  juroi  s  instead  of  their  hen  g  drawn  sis  was 
pro^  'ded  by  law  from  the  jury  box,  by  the  selectmen. 

Th  1  gave  un  ersal  alarm,  and  involved  the  great  body  of  the 
pe  pie  n  the  i  ost  perplexing  agitation.  They  were  not  insensible  of 
the  i  np,ers  attend  g  opposition,  and  yet  could  not  for  a  moment  eii- 
d  re  tl  e  dea  of  ■!  hmitting  to  so  notorious  a  violation  of  their  rights. 
After  V  ew  ng  the  matter  in  all  its  aspects,  they  agreed  that  nothing 
VOL.  I.  54 


vGooglc 


426  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

delpbia  —  setting  forth  that  as  our  ancestors  at  the 
time  of  their  emigration  to  America  "were  possessed  of 
all  rightsj  liberties,  and  immunities  of  freeborn  Eng- 
lishmen, and  never  lost  those  rights,  so  their  descend- 

tlmt  might  follow  could  be  so  bad  as  iamo  submission  ;  and  determined, 
therefore,  to  apply  a  remely  And  as  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
wii,  to  be  holden  m  Bainstible  on  the  lir«t  Tul  daj  in  September,  it 
was  resolved  to  begin  first  nith  that  couit  and  pip\ent  its  sitting  for 
the  transaction  of  any  bu  mcaa  whitever 

"Ac  ordmgly  a  considerable  body  of  men  tiota  Middleboro',  more 
from  Roche  ter  and  irnny  from  Wareham  lepured  to  Sandwich  on 
the  Mondaj  preccdmg  the  tune  for  the  opening  of  the  couri,  and  were 
tlieie  joined  by  a  laige  pait  of  the  population  f  f  lint  town.  The  later 
(ait  of  the  day  and  the  evening  weie  ap  nt  in  organizing  the  body 
and  eatabli  hing  lules  and  legulatons  Dr  Nathaniel  Feeejian 
of  Sandwich  was  unanimou&ly  cho  en  the  conduetor-in-cliief  of  the 
eaterpriae  ind  oflicei^  ot  lower  giade  weie  appointed.  Freeman, 
afterwaids  a  brigadier  geneial  wis  a  fine  figure  of  a  man,  between 
thirtj  and  foity  jears  of  a^e  He  had  a  well  made  face,  a  florid 
counienancp  a  blight  and  dignified  eye  a  dear  ind  majestic  voice; 
and  wore  a  handsome  black  lapclled  coat  a  tied  w  g  as  white  as  snow, 
a  set  up  hat  i  ith  the  point  a  iittle  to  the  light  in  short,  had  the  very 
appearance  pf  foi  iittide  pe>  soniped. 

"  On  Tuesday  morning,  the  body  marched  to  Bamstaljle,  and  were 
there  joined  by  a  considerable  portion  of  the  population  of  (hat  town  ; 
making  in  the  whole,  as  was  estimated,  about  1500.  They  took  pos- 
session of  the  grounds  in  front  of  the  court  house,  in  a  condensed  solid 
body ;  and  the  conductor  took  his  stand  on  the  steps  of  the  court 
house  door. 

"  Commissioners  were  then  appointed  to  ferret  out  the  disaffected 
among  the  people,  and  bring  them  to  a  renouncement,  in  writing,  of 
iheh- tori/ism ;  and  it  was  ordered  that  if  any  should  refuse  they  be 
brought  before  the  body  of  the  people  assembled.  The  result  was,  all 
signed  '  recantations,'  though  some  did  it  very  reluctantly.  These  re- 
cantations were  afterwards  pretty  well  imitated  by  Trumbull  in  his 
McFingal :  — 

'  I  now  renounce  the  Pope,  the  Turli, 
The  King,  tho  Deva,  and  all  his  ivork  ; 
And, )/ you  mil  set  rae  at  c?ase, 
Turn  Whig  or  Chiisf ian  —  whit  j-ou  please,' 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAIISSTABLE   COUHTY.  427 

ants,  the  poople  of  these  colonies,  are  by  the  immuta- 
ble laws  of  nature,  the  principles  of  the  English 
constitution,  and  the  several  colonial  charters  or  com- 
pacts, entitled  to  the  same  —  including  the  common 

"At  length  the  court  made  its  appearance  led  on  hy  the  high 
sheriff  with  a  broad  cockade  on  his  hat,  a  long  white  staff  in  his  left 
hand  and  a  drawn  sword  in  his  right ;  and  the  court,  (Otis,  Wins- 
low,  and  Bacon,)  as  the  body  did  not  give  way,  halted  about  an 
arm's  length  from  the  compact  assemblage. 

"  Co!.  Otis,  the  chief  justice,  a  very  venerable-looking  old  gentle- 
man, then  addressing  the  people,  inquired, '  Gentlemen,  what  is  the 
purpose  for  which  this  vast  assemblage  is  collected  here  ? '  aiid  was 
answered  by  Dr.  Freeman,  standing  on  the  steps  of  the  court  house, 
in  a  loud  and  clear  voice,  (for  he  was  at  some  distance  from  where  the 
court  stood,)  — 'May  it  please  your  hotior,  oppressed  by  a  view  of 
the  dangers  witli  which  we  are  surrounded,  and  terrified  by  the  hor- 
I'ibly  black  cloud  which  is  suspended  over  our  heads  and  ready  to 
burst  upon  us,  —  our  safety,  all  that  is  dear  to  us,  and  the  welfare 
of  unborn  millions,  have  directed  this  movement  to  prevent  the  court 
from  heing  opened  or  doing  any  business.  We  have  taken  all  the  con- 
sequences into  considevaUon  ;  we  have  weighed  them  well,  and  have 
formed  this  kesolution  which  we  sJtaU  not  rescind'  The  chief  jus- 
tice, then,  calmly  but  firmly  replied,  'This  is  a  kgal  and  a  constitu- 
tional court :  it  has  suffered  no  mutations ;  the  juries  have  been  drawn 
fi-om  the  boxes  as  the  law  directs ;  and  why  would  you  interrupt  its 
proceedings? — why  do  you  make  a  leap  before  yo«  get  to  the  hedge?' 
Dr.  Freeman  responded,  '  All  this  has  been  considered.  We  do  not 
appear  here  out  of  any  disrespect  to  this  honorable  court ;  nor  do  we 
apprehend  that  if  you  proceed  to  business,  you  will  do  any  thing  that 
we  could  censure.  But,  sir,  fi-ora  ail  the  decisions  of  this  court,  of 
more  than  forty  shillings  amount,  an  appeal  lies  ;  an  appeal  to  what? 

—  to  a  court  holding  office  during  the  king's  pleasure  ;  a  court  over 
which  we  have  no  control  or  influence  ;  a  court  paid  out  of  the  rev- 
enue that  is  extorted  from  us  by  the  illegal  and  unconstitutional  edict 
of  foreign  despotism ;  and  there  (he  jury  will  be  appointed  hy  the 
sheriff.  For  this  reason,  we  have  adopted  this  method  of  stopping  the 
avenue  through  which  business  may  otherwise  pass  to  that  tribunal, 

—  well  knowing  that  if  they  have  no  business,  they  can  do  us  no 
harm.'     The  chief  justice  then  said, '  As  is  my  duty,  I  now,  in  his 


vGooglc 


428  THE  msTORr  of  cape  cod. 

la-w  of  England  and  the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  and  tliat 
by  peers  of  the  vicinage.  The  movement  was,  more- 
over, but  carrying  out  the  deliberate  sense  of  right  and 

majesty's  name,  i/rdnT  you  immediately  to  disperse  and  give  the  court 
tlie  opportunity  to  perform  the  business  of  the  county,'  Dr.  Freeman 
replied,  '  We  tlianlc  your  liouoi"  for  having  done  tour  duty ;  we 
SHALL  CONTINUE  TO  PEKF0K3I  OURS.'  The  coiirt  then  turned  and 
repaired  to  tbe  house  where  they  had  put  wp. 

"  A  committee  was  then  choseo,  of  which  Dr.  Freeman  was  the 
chairman,  to  wait  on  the  cliief  justice,  in  the  name  of  the  assemblage, 
and  request  him  to  attend  at  Boston  at  the  time  appointed  by  tlie 
governor  for  the  meeting  of  a  new  General  Court ;  and  then  and 
there  to  demand  his  seat  at  the  Council  Board,  the  chief  justice  being 
one  of  those  chosen  that  year  agreeably  with  the  provision  of  the 
ehai'ter.     The  chief  justice  answered,  in  writing ;  he  thanked  them  for 
putting  him  in  mind  of  his  duty ;  said  he  had  considered  the  subject, 
and  had  concluded  to  attend  and  demand  his  seat,  although  he  did  not 
expect  the  demand  woiald  be  successful.     The  governor,  as  is  known, 
issued,  for  some  reason,  before  the  time  of  meeting,  another  proclama- 
tion/orii'iif^injf  the  members  of  the  General  Court  to  meet.     I  thought 
then,  and  I  still  continue  of  the  same  mind,  tliat  I  never  had  seen,  nor 
have  I  since  seen,  any  man  whatever  that  felt  quite  so  cleverly  and 
happy  as  did  Dr.  Fi-eeman  during  the  whole  of  this  business  ;  and  I 
think  no  man  was  ever  better  qualified  to  preside  on  such  an  occasion. 
Dr.  Freeman,  afler  the  conclusion  of  the  business  thus  far,  resigned 
his  post ;  and,  at  his  recommendation.  Major  Otis,  the  clerk  of  the 
court,  and  son  of  the  chief  justice,  was  appointed  his  succe^or.     The 
rest  of  the  day  was  occupied  in  receiving  the  recantations  of  the  dis- 
affected, and  in  raising  a  liberty  fole.     The  next  day  the  assemblage 
from  the  towns  above,  returned  to  Sandwich,  where  they  found  that 
the  disaffected  had  committed  some  outrages.     The  liberty  pole  in 
Sandwieb  had  been  cut  down,  and  other  offensive  acts  perpetrated ; 
which  things  caused  some  little  trouble.     The  perpeti'ators  were  soon 
arrested  and  brought  coram  nobis  ;  who,  after  receiving  a  severe  repri- 
mand and  paying  the  just  value  of  the  liberty  pole,  signing  recanta- 
tions, &c,  were  liberated.    This  was  the  first  act  of  tub  kind  ; 
and,  I  believe,  there  was  never  a  Court  of  Common  Pleas  held  under 
the  king's  authority  after  tliis  time,  in  the  Province ;  except  in  the 
town  of  Boston,  where  Gov.  Gage,  with  his  ti-oops,  had  it  in  his  power 
to  control," 


yGoogle 


AHNALS   OP   BiiBMaTABlE    COUNTY.  429 

inflexible  determination  expressed  by  protestsj  peti- 
tions and  resolves  by  the  people  on  the  Cape  in  public 
s  in  previous  months. 


We  have  already  entered  our  caveat  against  tLe  supposition  that  it 
is  OUT  intention  to  assert  that  the  above  \¥as  the  "  first  act  of  llie 
kind  ; "  though  our  conviction  is  strong  not  only  that  Mr.  II,  believed 
it  was,  but  that  at  the  time  when  the  proceedings  were  had,  the  actors 
themselves  supposed  it  ^heiJirst. 

"  The  retrospection  of  these  olden  times,"  continues  Mr.  Holmes, 
the  disting«ished  and  venerable  man  who  furnished  the  preceding  ac- 
count, "resuscitates  all  the  feelings,  sensations,  and  animations  of 
1774 ;  such  as  none  can  feel,  in  the  same  degree,  who  did  not  live  at 
the  time,  and  participate  ia  the  fears  and  liopes,  toils  and  dangers  of 
those  times.  The  contemplation  of  those  events  gives  me  a  satiafiic- 
tion  unknown  to  the  miser  in  counting  his  hoards ;  the  agricultarist, 
when  his  com  and  oil  and  wine  inereaseth  ;  or  the  raei-chaut,  when  hi;, 
ships  return  laden  with  the  riches  of  the  East.  Population,  like  the 
human  body,  is  in  a  constant  state  of  mutation.  "We  never  see  the 
people  twice  in  all  reapeeta  the  same.  There  may  be  some  who  took 
part  in  this  adventure  that  still  live,  besides  myself;  hut  I  know  of 
none.  There  certainly  is  not  one  in  the  town  of  Rochester  ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  a  large  majority  of  the  population  of  the  County  of 
Barnstable  never  so  much  as  heard  of  the  transactiou.  Sti-ange  as  it 
may  appear,  I  am  acquainted  with  gentlemen  who  cati  talk  very  in- 
telligently of  the  history  of  England,  and  even  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
who  kaow  nothing,  or  htrle  at  beat,  of  the  history  of  our  own  country." 
After  this  graphic  and  interesting  account  by  the  venerable  and  ac- 
complished jurist  who  was  himself  an  actor  in  the  scenes  which  he 
portrays,  g^ven  by  recollection  sixty  years  after  the  occurrence,  we 
will  turn  to  the  authentic  record  of  the  proceedings,  committed  to  the 
custody  of  the  writer  long  years  since  by  the  "  conducfor-in-chief "  of 
the  occasion  with  the  earnest  injunction  to  permit  no  names  of  the 
disaffected  to  be  published  at  any  time  "  lest  peradventure  the  fathei-s 
having  eaten  sour  grapes  the  children's  teeth  should  be  set  on  edge." 
We  will  faithfully  adhere  to  this  injunction. 


vGooglc 


THE   EISTORT   OF   CAPE   COD. 


CHAPTER    XX. 


Proceedinga  of  tlie  Body  of  tte  People.  —  Gathering  at  Sandwicli.  —  Be- 
sohes.  —  General  Agreement.  —  Leader  chosen.  —  March  to  Barnstable. 

—  Respect  shown  to  Col.  Otis.  —  Assemble  at  the  Court  House.  —  Pre- 
Tioiis  Proceedings  reaffirmed  by  an  increased  Assemblage.  —The  Court 
not  pennitted  to  proceed  to  Business.  —  Liherty  Pole.  —  Confessions  and 
Eeeantations.— Demands  made  of  the  Court.  —  Committees  of  Vigilance. 

—  Address  to  Hon.  James  Otis.  —  His  Reply.  —  Resolutions  adopted.  — 
Resignation  of  Crown  Officers.  ^Address  to  the  Court,  iind  Reply —  Sub- 
sequEEt  Proceedings.  —Tories  are  enraged,  insolent,  and  revengeful.  — 
Desperate  Effort  at  Vindictiveness.  —  The  Assassins  secured.  —  AVhigs 
indignant  fly  to  avenge  the  Act.  —  Conciliatory  Address.  —  Deference  to 
the  Laws.  —  Three  thousand  People  accompany  their  late  Leader  to  Barn- 
stable. —  Tlie  Assassins  humbled,  implore  Forgiveness,  and  submit  to  the 
■Will  of  the  People. 

"  A  TRUJ!  record  of  the  proceedings  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants  of  the  connties  of  Barnstable, 
Plymonthj  and  Bristol,  met  and  convened  in  the  County 
of  Barnstable  at  the  term  for  holding  the  County  Courts 
in  September : 

"  First,  the  .agreement  of  the  people  from  the  Coun- 
ties of  Plymouth  and  Bristol  previous  to  arriving  in 
Sandwich,  viz. : 

"  Whereas  the  yicinity  from  the  Counties  of  Bristol  and 
Plymouth  having  met  at  Koehestcr,  Sept.  26, 1774,  thinking 
it  uocossary  in  support  of  the  Common  Cause  to  make  an  ex- 
cursion into  the  County  of  Barnstable  to  propose  some  matters 
of  importance  to  the  honorable  Justices  of  the  Inferior  CoiU't 
of  Common  Pleas  and  Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace 
in  that  county : 

"  And  whereas  a  strict  adherence  to  virtue  and  religion  is 
not  only  well  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  Almighty  God  and  highly 
commendable  before  men, hut  hatha  nattiral  teudoncy  to  good 
order  and  to  load  mankind  in  the  paths  of  light  and  truth : 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTAELE   COUNTY.  431 

"  Thcrcforc.'Itesolved,  That  wo  will  during  the  said  excur- 
sion avoid  all  kinds  of  intemperance  by  strong  liquor,  and  no 
otherwise  frequent  the  taverns  than  for  necessary  entertain- 
ment and  refreshment ;  that  we  will  not  swear  profanely  or 
abuse  our  superiors,  equals,  or  inferiors  by  any  ill  or  oppro- 
brious language  ;  that  we  will  not  invade  the  property  of  any 
Of  take  of  their  goods  or  estate  without  their  leave  and  con- 
sent ;  that  we  mil  offer  violence  to  no  persons  or  use  any 
threatening  words  otherwise  than  B\ich  as  shall  be  approved  of 
and  accounted  necessary  by  our  community  for  the  accom- 
plishing the  errand  we  go  upon  ;  and  that  we  will  carefully 
observe  an  orderiy,  circumspect  and  civil  behavior  as  well 
towards  strangers  and  all  others,  as  towai'ds  those  of  our  own 
fellowship. 

"Resolved,  That  Messrs.  Aaron  Barlow,  Nathaniel  Briggs, 
James  Foster,  Joseph  Haskoll  3d,  John  Doty,  Judah  Scars 
Jr.,  Stephen  Wing,  and  John  Pitcher  he  a  committee  to  hear 
and  determine  all  offences  against  morality,  decency  and  good 
manners  that  shall  be  complained  of  during  the  time  of  our 
present  enterprise,  with  power  to  call  before  them,  examine, 
acquit,  or  punish  according  to  the  nature  and  circ\ur,Ktances 
of  the  offence. 

"  Resolved,  That  wo  wilt,  during  tho  time  of  our  said  enter- 
prise, aid,  protect  and  support  our  said  committee  in  tho  full 
and  free  discharge  of  their  duty  and  office,  and  uso  our  most 
careful  endeavors  for  the  punishment  of  all  offenders. 

"  Resolved,  That  no  person  shall  unnecessarily  absent  liim- 
self  from  this  community  and  fellowship,  but  shall  duly  air 
tend  at  all  public  resorts,  cons^rltations,  and  debates ;  and 
any  person  presuming  to  absent  himsolf  at  any  such  time  or 
place  without  leave  first  had  and  obtained  from  some  one  of 
the  standing  committee  shall  be  considered  as  an  offender  and 
bo  proceeded  witli  accordingly.^ 

"  And,  forasmuch  as  these  our  public  transactions  are  of  a 
public  natiire  and,  as  we  apprehend,  laudable  ;  and  as  wo 
have  no  private  interest  to  seiwe,  or  any  thing  in  view  biit  the 
good  of  our  CouNTBT  and  its  common  cmise ; 

"  Therefore,  Voted,  Tliat  these  resolves  be  read  once  every 
day  at  some  convenient  time  and  place  during  our  transitory 
state  and  temporary  fellowship  —  that  so  our  righteousness 
may  plead  our  cause  and  bear  a  public  testimony  that  we  are 

'  Such  espedal  care  was  had  to  guard  against  any  irregularities 
that  otherwise  might  be  incident  to  so  geneml  and  pro! 
gatheriog. 


vGooglc 


432  THE   HISTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

neither  friends  to  mobs  or  riots,  or  any  other  wickedness  or 
abomination. 

"  And  lastly,  .we  Resolve,  That  we  will  yield  all  due  respect 
and  obedience  to  tlioso  persons  whom  we  shall  choose  and  ap- 
point for  our  officers  and  leaders  during  the  time  of  this  our 
intended  journey  to  tlie  County  of  Barnstable.^ 

"Sanclwicli,  September  26,  1774,  in  the  evenings  at 
the  close  of  the  day,  the  people  already  arrived  from 
the  Connties  of  Plymouth  and  Bristol,  in  tliis  town, 
and  their  committee  waited  on  the  committee  of  corre- 
spondence for  further  consultation;  after  choosing  Mr. 
Stephen  Nye  moderator,  it  was  motioned  and 

"  Voted,  That  a  committee  of  the  Body  be  chosen  to  take 
the  aforesaid  resolutions  into  consideration,  as  also  the  regula- 
tions necessary  for  the  whole  Body  expected  to  be  convened 
at  Sandwich  on  the  morning  of  the  morrow,  consisting  of 
Wareham  and  Sandwich  people. 

"Accordingly,  Messrs.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Joseph  Haskell 
3d,  Stephen  Nye,  Aaron  Barlow,  John  Pitciior,  Noah  Fearing, 
and  Samuel  Briggs  were  chosen  for  that  purpose  ;  who  after 
consultation  reported  the  following,  viz. : 

"  Addition,  to  the  General  Agreement  of  the  People  of 
Sandwich :  Sandwich,  Sept.  26, 1774,  the  people  from  abroad 
being  now  arrived  in  Sandwich  in  the  county  of  Barn- 
stable, and  being  joined  by  a  number  of  inhabitants  of  tliis 
county, — jointly  taking  into  serious  consideration  the  afore- 
said resolves,  and  the  important  purposes  of  our  present  meet- 
ing,—  do  vote  that  we  adopt  the  foregoing  resolves  and  regu- 
lations in  every  respect,  and  that  we  will  strictly  observe  and  he 
governed  by  them  accordingly,  with  the  following  addition,  viz. : 

"  1.  That  being  joined  by  the  people  from  Wareham,  we 
do  further  appoint  from  among  them.  Messrs.  Noah  Fearing, 
John  G-ibbs,  and  Nathan  Briggs  ;  and  from  among  the  people 
of  Sandwich,  Messrs.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Simeon  Wing,  Ste- 
phen Nye,  Zaccheus  Bnrge,  Seth  Freeman,  Eliakim  Tobey, 
Joseph  Nye  3d,  and  Micah  Blackwell  to  be  a  committee  in 
addition  to  those  eight  chosen  at  Rochester  above  mentioned, 

^  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  this  whole  plan  had  not  been  previously 
arranged  by  the  master-spirits  of  the  enterprise  resident  in  this  county. 
It  were  easy  to  show  how  and  where  and  by  whom  the  whole  "was 
previously  concocted  with  care  and  consultation." 


vGooglc 


ANNAIfi   OP   BARNSTABLE   COXJHTY.  433 

to  have  joint  and  eq\ial  power  and  authority  with  them  for 
the  purposes  mentioned  in  said  resolves,  and  like  them  to  he 
supported,  aided,  assisted  and  protected  in  the  discharge  of 
their  duty  and  office. 

"  2.  That  the .  Body  of  the.  People  march  from  hence  to 
Barnstable  in  double  iilc,  at  the  beat  of  the  drum,  to-morrow 
morning  at  6  o'clock;  that  two  of  the  committee,  to  wit, 
Messrs.  Nathaniel  Freeman  and  Stephen  Nye,  ride  in  front,  tho 
said  Freeman  to  he  Leader,  Speaker,  and  Moderator  till  we 
arrive  at  or  near  tlie  court  house  in  Barnstahlo  and  have 
joined  the  body  there  to  bo  convened ;  the  said  Stephen  Nye, 
together  with  Messrs.  Noah  Fearing  and  Joseph  Haskell  Sd, 
who  are  to  bring  up  the  rear  of  the  Horse,  to  be  Adjutants  to 
see  that  the  ranks  he  properly  adjusted  and  to  place  those  who 
fall  in  by  the  way  in  tiie  rear ;  tfiat  the  rest  of  the  committee 
march  at  proper  intermediate  distances  to  see  that  a  proper 
regulation  be  observed  ;  and  that  the  Horse  march  first,  and 
tlie  Foot  bring  up  the  rear. 

"  3.  That  all  further  regulations  he  referred  to  the  wliole 
Body  of  the  People  when  assembled  at  or  near  the  Court 
House  door  in  Barnstable. 

"  This  report  being  made  to  the  general  committee, 
&c.,  it  was  unanimously  adopted  and  agreed  to  be  laid 
before  tbe  people  the  next  morning  for  their  acceptr 
auce,  and  for  them  to  appoint,  if  they  see  fit,  the 
committees,  &c.  whose  names  are  inserted  in  the 
report  The  meeting  of  the  committee  was  then  dis- 
solved. 

"Sandwich,  Tuesday  morning,  September  27,  1774, 
the  people  being  met  and  embodied  together,  they 
unanimously  agreed  to  adopt  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee and  be  governed  by  those  resolutions,  and  then 
nominated  and  appointed  their  leader  and  committee 
as  recommended  in  the  report.  —  Having  settled  these 
matters,  they  accordingly  marched  to  Barnstable. 

«  On  the  march,  a  halt  was  made  at  the  widow  Chip- 
man's  in  Great  Marshes;  and,  the  Foot  coming  up,  it 
was  thought  necessary  that  there  should  be  two  partic- 
ular leaders  for  the  Foot,  to  be  in  subordination  to  the 

VOL.  L  55 


vGooglc 


434  THE   HISTOKY    OF    CAPE    COD. 

principal :  accordingly  Mr.  Salatliiel  Bnmpas  was  chosen 
first  and  Mr.  Malaehi  Ellis  second  leader. 

"It  was  then  moved  and  voted,  that  as  the  Hon. 
Col.  Otis  is,  and  ever  has  been  esteemed  both  by  this 
body  and  by  the  province  in  general,  a  worthy  friend 
and  supporter  of  the  rights  of  the  people,  we  will, 
therefore,  show  him  our  respect  and  obeisance  accord- 
ingly. The  people  then  again  proceeded  on  their 
march,  and,  passing  the  house  of  Col.  Otis,  that  honor- 
able gentleman  stimding  in  front  of  his  house,  the 
whole  people  raised  their  hats  and  greeted  liim  as 
they  passed. 

"  At  about  10  o'clock,  all  arrived  at  the  court  house  ; 
and  there  being  joined  by  a  large  number  of  inhab- 
itants from  various  parts  of  the  county  assembled  be- 
fore the  court-house  door,  the  foregoing  regulations 
were  read,  and  the  assembled  Body  chose  Nathaniel 
Freeman,  moderator. 

"It  was  then  put  to  vote,  whether  the  Body  as- 
sembled do  adopt  the  foregoing  regulations  with  tlie 
addition  of  an  enlarged  committee,  and  this  was  unan- 
imously passed  in  the  af&rmative ;  on  which  Messrs. 
Joseph  Otis,  George  Lewis,  James  Davis,  John  Crocker 
Jr.,  Nathan  Foster,  Thomas  Sturgis,  Solomon  Otis,  John 
Grannis,  Ehsha  Swift,  Bbenezer  Nye,  David  Taylor,  John 
Chapman,  Joshua  Gray,  Thomas  Paine,  Nathaniel  Downs, 
and  Doctor  Davis  were  chosen  to  join  the  committee 
in  power  and  authority,  and  to  be  protected  and  sup- 
ported in  the  same  manner. 

"It  was  then  voted,  that  Nathaniel  Freeman  be  prin- 
cipal leader,  moderator,  and  speaker,  throughout  the 
expedition. 

"  It  -was  also  voted,  that  the  committee  repair  to  a 
convenient  place  by  themselves,  and  report  the  order 
of  procedure. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  435 

"  The  committee  being  together,  agreed  to  prefer  an 
address  to  the  justices  of  the  court,  desiring  them  not 
to  sit,  under  our  present  circumstances  ;  and  to  satisfy 
the  people  that  they  would  not  accept  of  a  commission 
under  the  new  establisliment,  &c.  A  sub-committee 
was,  therefore,  chosen  to  draught  said  address,  consisting 
of  Messrs.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Stephen  Nye,  Thomas 
Paine,  Joseph  Haskell  3d.,  and  John  Chapman. 

"  In  the  mean  time  it  was  reported  that  the  court 
were  about  to  sit ;  upon  which  Messrs.  Stephen  Nye, 
John  Grannis,  and  John  Doty  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  wait  on  the  justices  and  inform  them  that 
the  Body  of  the  People  were  about  to  present  an  ad- 
dress to  them,  and  therefore  desired  that  they  would 
not  proceed  to  open  the  court  untU  said  address  was 
presented.     The    committee    reported    that   they   had 
waited  on  the  honorable  court  with  the  message,  and 
that  the  chief  justice  had  told  them  that  the  justices 
were  about  dining,  and  therefore  would  not  open  the 
court  at  present, — The  committee  then  resumed  con- 
sidering and  draughting  the  address ;  but  before  it  wa.s 
completed,  it  was  reported  that  the  bell  was  being  rung 
for  the  court,  and  that  the  judges  and  justices  were 
coming  up  —  on  which  the  chairman  at  once  repaired 
to  the  Body  and  ordered  them  to  draw  up  before  the 
court-house  door ;  and  then  entering  the  court  house 
took  out  the  deputy  sheriff  who  was  ringing  the  bell. 
Very  soon  the  justices  appeared,  when  the  chairman 
told  them  it  was  the  desire  of  the  Body  of  the  People 
that  they  should  withdraw  until  the  address  was  ready ; 
and  at  the  same  time  desired  the  people  to  maintain 
their  ground.     The  whole  Body  were  then  appointed  to 
keep  the  door  whilst  the  aforesaid  committee  should 
finish  their  business,  —  The  sub-committee  having  com- 
pleted their  duty,  laid  the  draught  of  an  address  before 


vGooglc 


436  THE  HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD 

the  general  committee  who  approved  of  the  same  and 
reported  it  to  the  Body  who  unanimously 

"  Voted,  That  said  address  be  ira,inec!iately  presented  ; 
and  Messrs.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Stephen  Nye,  Dan- 
iel Crocker,  Noah  Fearing,  and  John  Pitcher  were  ap- 
pointed the  committee  of  presentation,  who  attended 
to  that  service  and  reported  that  they  had  performed 
the  duty  and  that  the  court  had  promised  to  take  the 
address  into  consideration. 

"  The  address  was  as  follows :  — 
"  To  the  Hon.  Justices  of  his  Majesty's  Inferior  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  and  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace  for  the  County 
of  Barnstable : 

"  May  it  please  yoxxr  Honors :  The  inhabitants  of  this  prov- 
ince being  greatly  alarmad  at  the  late  unconstitutional  acts  of 
the  British  Parliament,  considering  them  calculated  to  estab- 
lish tyranny  and  oppression  instead  of  the  once  happy  consti- 
tution of  this  province ;  in  consequence  of  which  many 
respectable  counties^  in  the  same  have  prevented  the  sitting  of 
the  Inferior  Courts  as  well  as  the  Superior  —  we  judge,  not 
from  any  apprehension  that  they  were  not  constitutional,  but 
from  the  supposition  that  there  might  he  appeals  from  them  to 
the  Superior  Court,  the  Chief  Justice  of  which  receiving  his 
support  from  the  ci-own  independent  of  the  grants  of  the 
people  cannot  fail  to  have  an  unhappy  bias  in  favor  of  said 
unconstitutional  act ;  and  other  of  the  superior  judges  having 
sworn  to  carry  the  said  acts  into  execution ;  and  judging  that 
by  proceeding  upon  appeals  from  a  court  friendly  to  the  con- 
stitution and  zealous  for  our  country's  cause,  to  the  said 
Superior  Court,  we  might  in  this  way,  if  in  no  other,  open  a 

'■  This  may  seem  to  conflict  with  the  before  expressed  opinion  that 
tlie  action  of  the  people  in  otlier  counties  had  not  here  transpired ; 
but  we  thinli  we  have  good  reasons  for  adliering  to  that  opinion.  The 
reader  will,  of  course,  judge  for  himself;  b«t  the  expression,  "many 
respectable  counties,"  we  opine,  shows  that  the  address  was  predicated 
upon  the  fact  well  known  that  the  extended  pvogramme  embraced  such 
general  action,  and  the  firm  belief  that  the  coalition  were  every  where 
faithful  to  the  compact.  We  do  nof,  hoivever,  consider  the  question 
as  a  matter  of  much  importance.  One  thing,  at  least,  is  very  evident, 
—  that  so  intelligent  a  gentleman  as  Mr.  Holmes,  an  actor  in  the 
scene,  supposed  that  the  movement  here  was  the  first  of  the  kind. 


yGoogle 


ASSiVLS   OF   B^UiUSTAELE   COUNTY.  437 

door  for  the  said  justice  and  liis  assistants  to  execute  their 
commission  on  tlie  plan  of  tlie  said  oppressive  acts ; 

^'  "Wherefore,  a  great  number  of  tlie  inhabitants  of  the 
County  of  Barnstable  being  now  cenveiied,  with  many  otlicre 
of  tlie  comities  of  the  Old  Plymouth  Colony,  taking  into 
serious  consideration  the  necessity  of  using  every  precaution 
to  prevent  the  operation  of  said  acts ;  and  believing  the  fol- 
lowing one  necessary, 

"  Do  hereby  request  your  Honors  to  desist  from  all  business 
in  said  courts,  and  from  holding  any  session  thereof,  until  tlio 
mind  of  the  Continental,  or  of  a' Provincial  Congress,  shall  bo 
obtained ;  and  that  your  Honors  will  assure  this  Body  that 
you  will  not  in  any  manner  ever  assist  in  carrying  said  uncon- 
stitutional acts  into  execution  —  hold  any  commission  in  con- 
sequence of  said  acts  and  under  the  new  establisliment — or 
in  any  manner  conform  thereto  —  but  that  you  will  use  your 
utmost  endeavors  to  prevent  the  samo  from  taking  place. 
(Signed,)  Nathaniel  Freeman, ^  A  Committee  chosen  by 
John  Pitcher,  the  Body  of  the  Peo- 

Stephen  Nye,  >     pie,  to   present   this 

Daniel  Crocker,  1       Address  to  your  Hon- 

Noah  Fearing,  J      ors  in  their  name. 

"Whilst  this  address  was  being  considered  by  the 
coUrt,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  Mr.  A.  B.' 
who  had  threatened  to  cut  down  the  Uberty  pole,  and 
to  require  of  him  a  solemn  recantation  and  promise 

^  The  letters  A.  E.,  and  so  on,  we  employ  not  as  initials,  but  use 
them  alphabetically  to  designate  different  cases.  Both  the  names  and 
the  initials  of  those  suspected  of  toryism  wi!l  be  unifonnly  suppressed 
in  this  connection.  —  We  may  here  remark,  it  is  no  dispnriigement  of 
any  pUtce  to  allude  to  the  fact,  in  a  record  of  events,  that  any  commu- 
nity was  at  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  our  revolutionary  trials 
divided  into  opposing  political  parties.  It  was  so,  more  or  less,  in  all 
parts  of  our  extended  country.  The  whigs  were  generally  in  the  as- 
cendant ;  but  in  some  places  the  tories  were  numerous  and  influential. 
The  operation  of  laws  being  suspended,  there  was,  in  effect,  for  the 
time  being  almost  no  legal  government  or  legal  tribunal  very  soon 
after  the  ti-ouhles  commenced  in  right  earnest.  The  committees  of 
safety  soon  became  the  paramount  tribunals.  The  public  authorities 
— for  such  these  committees  became — required  a  full  recantation  by 
all  who  were  suspected  of  disaifection  at  the  revolutionary  pi-ocedures. 
Tlie  offenders,  as  those  who  were  supposed  to  favor  the  crown  were 


yGoogle 


438  I'liE  ■  HisToay  of  cape  cod. 

never  thus  to  offend.  The  committee  reported  that 
they  had  applied  to  Mr.  B,,  but  that  he  denied  the  facts 
and  refused  to  make  any  recantation  or  promise. 

"  A  committee  was  then  chosen,  consisting  of  Messrs. 
N.  Freeman,  S.  Nye,  N.  Fearing,  J.  Pitcher,  and  J.  Has- 
kell 3d,  to  apply  to  C.  D.  and  11  F.,  Esqs.,  and  acquaint 
them  that  they  had  rendered  themselves  odious  by  sign- 
ing an  address  to  the  late  Gov.  Hutchinson  upon  his  de- 
parture from  the  province ;  and  let  them  know  that  as 
the  people  esteem  said  Hutchinson  our  greatest  enemy, 
the  people  must  treat  them  also  as  enemies,  for  signing 
said  address,  unless  they  make  a  recantation.  The  coia- 
mittee  attended  accordingly,  and,  after  they  had  deliv- 
ered their  message,  E.  F.,  Esq.,  signed  the  following :  — 

"  Whereas  I,  tlie  subscriber,  signed  an  address  to  the  late 
Gtov.  Hutchiuson  upon  bis  departure  from  this  province, 
■which  hath  given  great  offence  to  the  public,  I  do  now  freely 
declare  that  I  am  very  sorry  I  signed  it ;  that  I  was  sorry  soon 
after  I  did  it ;  and  that  if  it  was  to  do  again  I  sbould  refuse. 
And  I  do  hereby  ask  forgiveness  of  the  offended  public,  and 
do  consent  and  desire  that  this  paper  may  be  piiblished  in  the 
Boston  newspapers.  (Signed,)  E.  F. 

Barnstable,  Sept.  27, 1774. 

Wit. :  Natbaniel  Freeman,  Jobu  Pitcher. 

The  committee  reported  that  the  other  person  called 

considered,  it  cannot  be  denied,  were  subjected,  in  some  instances, 
to  great  indignities.  "  Fear  God  and  hanoc  the  king,"  was,  no  doubt, 
with  some  a  holy  axiom  from  which  conscience  could  not  be  absolved ; 
othei's,  probably,  were  influenced  by  principle  of  a  lower  order,  or  by 
caprice,  or  sinister  motives.  It  were,  indeed,  too  much  to  assume  that 
in  all  instances  those  called  whigs  were  wholly  under  the  influence  of  a 
high  order  of  disinterested,  patriotic,  or  Christian  impulses.  We  make 
these  remarks  as  general,  and  not  with  pai-ticular  i-eference  to  any 
individual  cases  or  locahties.  Much  less  do  we  mean  them  as  expres- 
sive of  our  views  of  the  existing  state  of  things  in  this  county  at  this 
early  period.  The  proceedings  of  the  Body  of  the  People  were  cer- 
tainly indicative  of  great  determination,  but  conducted  with  becoming 
moderation. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   IJAUSSTABLE    COTJNTr.  43!) 

upon,  i.  e.,  C.  D.,  declined   a  recantation,  promise,  or 
apology. 

"  It  was  then  Voted,  That  tlie  confession  of  E.  F,,  Esq. 
is  satisfactory.  Another  call  was  them  made  on  C.  D., 
Esq.,  demanding  his  attendance  before  the  Body  of  the 
People.  The  committee  reported  that  C.  D.,  Esq.  was 
very  busy  draughting  the  answer  of  the  court  and  could 
not,  therefore,  attend ;  but  that  he  had  signed  the  fol- 
lowing confession  which  he  prayed  might  satisfy  the 
people,  viz. : 

■"  Whereas  I,  the  Kubscriber,  &c.  [The  same  verbatim  that 
was  signed  by  E.  F.,  Esq.]  C.  D. 

Wit. :  Joseph  Bom'ne,  Isaac  Htiickley. 

"  The  Body  then  proceeded  to  consider  farther  the 
threat  of  A.  B.  to  pull  down  the  liberty  pole  ;  and  chose 
a  committee  to  bring  him  before  the  Body.  He  came, 
and  confessed  that  he  had  offered  to  treat  a  man  who 
threatened  to  pull  it  down  —  but  that  he  was  in  jest 
only  and  had  no  thought  of  doing  mischief  and  would 
never  disturb  the  pole. 

"  At  this  juncture,  information  was  received  from  the 
conrt  that  they  were  ready  to  give  an  answer  to  the 
address,  and  A.  B,  withdrew.  The  committee  who  pre- 
sented the  address  waited  upon  the  court,  and  received 
the  following :  — 

*'  To  'Nathaniel  Freeman,  John  Pitcher,  Stephen  Nye,  and 
Noah  Fearing,  a  committee,'  as  tliey  say, '  chosen  by  the  Body 
of  the  People  to  present  an  address  tliis  27th  day  of  Sept., 
A.  D.  17T4,  to  the  Hon.  Justices  of  His  Majesty's  Inferior 
Ooiirt  of  Common  Pleas  and  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace ; ' 

"  Said  address  being  presented  to  the  justices  of  said  coun- 
ty, or  at  least  as  many  as  are  present,  the  said  justices  in 
answer  thereto  say.  That  they  are  as  much  concerned  at  the 
late  unconstitutional  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  as  the 
Body  of  the  People  are  ;  but  apprehend  that  the  people  em- 
bodying this  day  to  hinder  said  court's  sitting  as  usual,  will 
not  help  the  matter,  especially  as  said  court  was  about  to  sit 
in  the  same  constitutional  way  as  we  have  always  done  ever 


vGooglc 


440  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD 

since  we  have  been  a  county ;  and  had  said  court  been  suf- 
fered to  have  been  opened  they  would  have  proceeded  in  the 
same  regular  manner  as  usual.  And  as  to  appeals,  slioiild 
there  be  any,  they  will  be  to  the  next  Superior  Court  of  Judi- 
cature, &a. ;  and  they  cannot  possibly  be  tried  until  we  liavc 
a  constitutional  one.  And  we  are  sorry  that  we  are  iutei-- 
rupted ;  for  unless  we  can  proceed  to  open  said  courts  and 
adjourn,  we  can  be  in  no  capacity  to  proceed  when  wc  hear 
the  opinion  of  the  General  Congress,  or  of  a  Provincial  Con- 
gress. And  as  to  the  assurance  you  request  that  we  would 
not  assist  in  carrying  said  unconstitutional  acts  into  execiition, 
you  may  be  fully  assured  that  there  is  not  one  of  the  justices 
that  incline  to  act  or  hold  any  commission  in  consequence 
thereof,  and  shall  do  all  that  is  ia  our  power  in  a  constitu- 
tional way  to  prevent  said  acts  from  taking  place.  Tlierofore, 
we  the  said  justices  express  our  utmost  concern  that  the  said 
courts  of  justice,  in  this  or  any  other  county,  should  be 
turned  out  of  their  ordinary  or  constitutional  course  by  the 
people  of  this  province  until  the  minds  of  the  Continental,  or 
a  Provincial  Congress  can  be  fully  known  ;  as  we  can  by  no 
means  apprehend  that  any  ill  consequence  can  attend  the 
sitting  of  said  courts  until  this  month  expires. 

(Signed,)     Isaac  Hinckley,  Thos,  Smith, 

Nymphas  Marston,  Ed.  Bacon, 

David  Thacher,  David  Gorham, 

Daniel  Davis,  Solo.  Otis, 

Melatiah  Bourne,  Kenelm  Winslow, 

Sheai^ashub  Bourne,       Jos.  Otis. 
J.  Otis, 

'•  The  committee  returned  and  reported  the  above 
answer  to  the  people  who  unanimously  ^  Voted,  That 
the  answer  is  not  satisfactory ;  and  that  it  be  returned 
to  the  justices  again.'  A  committee  accordingly  being 
chosen,  returned  to  the  justices  with  the  answer  —  in- 
forming them  that  it  was  not  satisfactory;  that  the 
people  insisted  on  a  distinct  assurance  that  they  would 
not  sit,  and  also  an  assurance  that  they  would  not  take 
any  commission  under  the  new  acts  of  Parliament  or 
act  in  conformity  thereto.  The  justices  nrged  that 
their  declaration  in  their  written  answer,  together  with 
what  they  said  verbally,  ought  to  be  sufficient  satisfac- 
tion.    To  this  it  was  answered  by  the  committee  that 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTr.  441 

their  saying  they  did  not  imUne  to  accept  of  any  com- 
mission in  conformity  to  said  acts,  &c.,-was  by  no  means 
sufficient,  nor  was  a  verbal  declaration ;  for,  they  were 
sorry  to  say  it^  the  people  apprehend  that  there 
are  some  of  the  court  who  are  not  well-wishers  to 
the  public  —  having  voted  and  acted  against  a  Conti- 
Bental  Congress,  &c.  The  committee  returning  to  the 
Body,  reported  accordingly ;  and  a  committee  was  im- 
mediately appointed  to  draw  up  a  declaration  for  the 
justices  to  sign.  A  draught  was  at  once  reported,  ac- 
cepted, and  a  committee  instructed  to  present  it  to  the 
justices  one  by  one,  and  desire  them  to  sign  it.  It  was, 
on  presentation,  signed  by  all  present,  as  follows :  — 

"  Whereas  there  haye  been  of  late  seyeral  acts  of  the  British 
Parliament  passed  tending  to  introduce  an  unjust  aucl  partial 
administration  of  justice ;  to  change  our  free  constitution  into 
a  state  of  slavery  and  oppression,  and  to  introduce  Popeiy  in 
some  parts  of  British  America,  &c. :  Therefore,  we  the  sub- 
scribers do  engage  and  declare  that  we  will  not  aJ2cept  of  any 
commission  in,  consequence  of,  or  in  conformity  to,  said  acts  of 
Parliament,  nor  upon  any  unconstitutional  regulations  ;  and 
that  if  either  of  us  is  required  to  do  any  business  in  our  offices 
in  conformity  to  said  acts  or  any  way  contrary  to  the  charter 
of  this  province,  wo  will  refuse  it  although  we  may  thereby 
lose  our  commissions.  As  witness  our  hands,  at  Barnstable, 
Sept.  27, 1774. 

(Signed,)     James  Otis,  Melatiab  Bourne, 

Tliomas  Smith,  Edward  Bacon, 

Joseph  Otis,  Isaac  Hinckley, 

Nymphas  Marston,  Solo.  Otis, 

Shearjasbub  Bourne,        Kenelm  Winslow, 
David  Thacber,  Richard  Bourne, 

Baniel  Davis, 

"  The  comnnttee  also  reported  to  the  Body  that  the 
court  consented  not  to  sit.  The  Body  then  Voted, 
That  the  conduct  of  the  court  is  satisfactory. 

"  Further  evidence  appearing  that  A.  B.  &(?  threat- 
ened to  pull  down  the  liberty  pole  in  Barnstable,  a  com- 
VOL  L  56 


vGooglc 


442  THE   HISTORY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

mittee  was  sent  to  him  once  more,  with  instructions  to 
require  him  to  sign  the  following  recantation  and 
promise,  or  in  default  thereof  to  bring  him  before  the 
Body. 

"  Whereas  I  the  subscriber  have  threatened  to  cut  down  the 
liberty  pole  i»  Barnstable,  I  do  hereby  declare  my  extreme 
sorrow  for  the  threat,  and  I  do  promise  that  I  will  never  cut 
down  said  pole,  or  be  any  way  aiding,  assisting,  or  consenting 
thereto ;  and  I  do  ask  pardon  for  saying  as  I  did,  both  of  my 
fellow-townsmen  and  of  the  people  in  general.  As  witness 
my  hand,  Sept.  27, 17T4. 

"The  committee  returned  and  reported  that  they 
had  made  diligent  search,  hut  that  said  A.  B.  could  not 
be  found. 

"  It  was  then  Voted,  To  apply  to  Thomas  Winslow 
and  David  Gorham,  Esqs.,  to  desire  tliem  to  sign  the 
declaration  of  the  justices,  to-morrow  morning ;  also 
that  Dr.  Davis,  Messrs.  Job  Crocker,  Thomas  Paine, 
Joshua  Gray  and  Benjamin  Freeman  be  a  committee  to 
wait  upon  the  justices  and  deputy  sheriffs- in  the  lower 
part  of  the  county  and  desire  them  all  to  sign  similar 
declarations.  It  was  also  Voted,  That  a  committee  for 
every  town  be  appointed  to  desire  of  the  military  ofli- 
cera  that  they  will  no  longer  hold  commiasions  under 
the  present  captain-general  who  is  appointed  to  reduce 
us  to  obedience  to  the  late  unconstitutional  acts,  and 
who  has  actually  besieged  the  capital  of  this  province 
with  a  fleet  and  army,  and  is  making  hostile  preparar 
tions  against  us ;  or  under  any  uncpnstitutional  regula- 
tions.^ This  last  committee  was  constituted  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

Barnstable,  Eben'r  Jenkins,  Geo.  Lewis,  Ely  Phinney. 
Sandwich,    Nath'l  Freeman,  Lot  Nye,  Seth  Freeman. 

1  Among  those  who  resigned  early,  but  whose  names  do  not  appear 
in  the  record,  were  Job  Howland,  deputy  sheriff;  Col.  Stuvgis  Gor- 
hain,  his  commission  in  the  regiment ;  Josiah  Hamblen,  capt. ;  Daniel 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OP   EABNSTABLE   COUNTY.  443 

FalraoMtli,  Moses  Swift,  Joliii  Grannis,  Dan'l  Butler,  Jr. 

Yarmoutli,  Dan'l  Taylor,  Isaac  Hamblen,  Joseph  Crowcll. 

Harwich,  Beiij.  Freeman,  John  iPreeman,  Lot  Gray. 

Ea.stham,  Job  Crocker,  Amos  Knowles,  Jr.,  Thos.  Paine. 

"Wellflcet,  Samuel  Smith,  David  Greenoiigh. 

Truro,  Dr.  Samuel  Adams,  Jona.  Collins. 

Chatham,  Dea.  Bassett,  Richard  Sears. 

"It  was  then  further  Voted,  That  the  last-named  com- 
mittee wait  on  the  deputy  sheriffe,  &c,  in  their  respec- 
tive towns.  The  case  of  A.  B.  was  then  resumed,  and 
it  was  Yoted,  That  until  A.  B.  aforesaid  signs  the  dec- 
laration now  in  the  hands  of  the  committee,  he  shall  be 
deemed  bj  every  member  of  this  Body,  an  enemy 
to  his  country. 

"  It  was  then  Voted,  That  this  Body  will  address  the 
Hon.  James  Otis,  as  one  of  the  constitutional  Council 
of  the  province,  to-morrow  morning,  and  desire  him  to 
attend  the  General  Conrt  at  Salem  on  the  5tli  of  Octo- 
ber next Voted,  That  the  chairman  ask  the  town 

clerk  of  Barnstable,  present,  whether  that  town  has 
discovered  its  attachment  to  the  cause  of  the  country, 
by  choosing  a  representative  more  disposed  to  serve  the 
country  than  the  late  one.  The  chairman  called  upon 
the  clerk  to  reply,  and  was  informed  that  they  had 
elected  Daniel  Davis,  Esq. ;.  upon  which  the  Body  testi- 
fied their  approbation  by  giving  three  cheers.  And 
then,  being  infonned  that  the  town  of  Yarmouth  had 
left  out  their  late  member  who  also  voted  agamst  flie 
Congress,  the  Body  testified  its  joy  thereat  in  the  same 
manner.  —  Then  adjourned  to  six  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  to  assemble  at  beat  of  drum. 

"Wednesday,  Sept.  28,  1774,  the  Body  being  again 
assembled,  it  was  Voted,  That  Messrs.  Nathaniel  Prec- 
man,  Noah  Fearing,  and  Joseph  Haskell  3d,  be  a  com- 

Crocker,  capt. ;  Ant.  Thadici',  lieut. ;  Joseph  Blisli,  Jr.,  lieiil. ;  Jacob 
Lovell,  lieut. ;  Jethro  Timelier,  ensign,  and  Micah  Hambievi,  ensign. 


vGooglc 


444  THE   mSTORY    OF   CAPE   COD, 

mittee  to  wait  on  Thomas  Wiusiow,  David  Gorham,  and 
Chillingsworth  Foster,  Esqs.,  to  desire  them  to  sign  the 
declaration  of  the  justices.  The  committee  attended 
accordingly,  and  reported  that  these  several  justices 
had  signed  the  declaration  agreeably  to  request.  The 
same  committee  was  instructed  to  wait  upon  the  sheriif 
and  desire  him  to  sign  the  following  declaration ;  to 
which  the  committee  attended,  and  reported  that  the 
sheriff  had  complied,  viz, : 

"  Whereas  there  have  of  late  been  passed  several  acts  of  the 
British  Parliament  tending  to  introduce  an  unjust;  and  partial 
administration  of  justice  in  this  province,  and  alter  its  free 
constitution  to  a  state  of  slavery  and  oppression,  and  to  estab- 
lish or  encourage  Popery  in  some  parts  of  British  America : 
I,  the  subscriber,  do  therefore  declare  that  I  will  not  take  a 
commission  as  High  Sheriff,  or  any  other  commission,  in  con- 
sequence of  or  in  conformity  to  said  acts  or  any  \mconstitu- 
tional  plan  ;  that  I  will  not  in  any  way  be  aiding  or  assisting 
in  executing  said  acts ;  and,  further,  that  I  have  never  re- 
ceived any  new  commission  since  the  passing  of  said  acts. 
As  witness  my  liand,  at  Barnstable,  Sept.  28, 1T74. 

(Signed,)  NaLlianicl  Stone. 

"  The  Body  then  chose  Messrs.  Nathaniel  Freeman, 
Stephen  Nye,  Joseph  Haskell,  3d,  Noah  Fearing,  and 
John  Pitcher  to  draught  an  address  to  Col.  Otis,  agree- 
ably to  the  vote  of  yesterday.  The  committee  reported 
the  following :  — 

"  To  the  Hon.  James  Otis,  Esq. 

"  May  it  please  your  Honor :  The  Body  of  the  People  assem- 
bled from  the  several  counties  of  Barnstable,  Plymouth,  and 
Bristol,  Sept.  28, 1774,  at  or  near  the  court  liouse  in  Barn- 
stable, beg  leave  to  address  your  Honor  as  one  of  his  majesty's 
constitutional  Council  of  tliia  province ;  and  to  assure  you 
that  we  entertain  a  very  high  and  grateful  sense  of  tliat  integ- 
rity and  of  those  abilities  which  have  long  distinguished  yon, 
as  in  every  important  tmst  reposed  in  you  by  the  pubhc,  so 
especially  in  the  capacity  we  now  consider  you.  And  whereas 
his  Excellency,  the  governor  of  this  province,  lias  issued  writs 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  445 

for  election  of  a  new  House  of  Representatives  to  meet  at 
Salem  on  tho  5th  of  October  nest ;  and,  notwithstanding,  a 
number  of  councillors  have  been  appointed  by  mandamus 
from  his  majesty  in  consequence  of  a  late  act  of  the  British 
Parliament,  presuming  the  representatives  of  this  people  yet 
determined  to  be  free  never  will  or  ought  to  consent  to  do  any 
business  with  theui ;  and  as  we  look  upon  tlie  Connci!  elioscn 
last  May  by  the  Great  and  General  Court,  according  to  the 
charter,  to  be  the  only  constitutional  Coinicii  of  the  province : 
We  do,  therefore,  pray  your  Honor  tliat  you  will  attend  said 
Great  and  General  Court,  in  said  capacity,  the  next  session ; 
and  that  you  will  continue  those  endeavors  to  obtain  a  redress 
of  the  grievances  so  justly  complained  of  by  the  people,  which 
have  long  distinguished  you  as  an  able  defender  of  our  Con- 
stitution and  Liberties.^     And  now,  wishing  your  Honor  the 

'  Col.  James  Otis  to  whom  reference  is  here  made  is  sometimes 
confounded  with  his  ma  bearing  the  same  name,  James  Otis,  Jr.,  bom 
in  Barnstable,  Feb.  5,  1725,  grad.  H.  C-  1743,  —  the  great  champion 
and  able  advocate  for  liberty  and  the  rights  of  man.  Of  the  latter 
some  more  particular  notice  than  we  have  yet  given  is  here  due.  It 
is  not  enough  simply  to  say  of  this  distinguished  son  of  Cape  Cod  that 
he  was  eminent  as  a  patriot,  lawyer,  and  statesman  early  in  life  ;  and 
that  he  warmly  engaged  in  defence  of  the  colonies  when  as  yet 
a  young  man,  his  eloquence,  the  keenness  of  his  wit,  the  force  of  his 
arguments,  and  the  resources  of  his  intellect  giving  him  a  most  com- 
manding influence.  He  was  the  first  champion  of  American  free- 
dom against  the  arbitraiy  claims  of  Britain  who  dared  to  affix  his 
name  to  a  production  boldly  denying  the  claims  and  pretensions  of  the 
mother  country.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress  in  1705,  in  which 
year  his  "Rights  of  the  Colonic';  Vindicated"  was  considered  "a 
masterpiece  of  good  writing  and  argument,"  It  was  repubiisbed  in 
London.  He  was  threatened  with  arrest,  but  was  not  dismayed  by 
any  menacea  of  those  in  power.  For  his  severe  strictures  on  the  con- 
duct of  the  commissioner  of  customs  and  others  of  the  ministerial 
party,  he  was  assaulted,  Sept.  5,  1769,  by  one  of  tlie  commissioners 
assisted  by  other  ruffians,  in  a  public  room,  and  was  left  covered  with 
blood.  The  wounds,  though  severe,  were  not  mortal :  but  his  useful- 
ness was  destroyed  —  his  powerful  mind  was  by  the  dastardly  blows 
inflicted  shaken  from  its  throne.  The  great  man  in  ruins  lived  to  re- 
linquish in  an  interval  of  reason  the  £2001)  whicli  Robinson,  bis  cow- 
ardly assailant,  iiad  been  adjudged  to  pay  for  tiie  assault ;  bat,  May 


vGooglc 


446  Jim  HISTORY  Of  cape  cod. 

support  of  Heaven  in  your  adraiiced  age,  tliat  you  may  mueli 
longer  remain  a  blessing  to  this  province,  and  enjoy  the  hap- 
piness of  seeing  those  rights  restored  which  have  beeii  inju- 
riously wrested  from  us,  we  beg  leave  to  subscribe  ourselves, 
Your  Honor's  most  ob't  humble  serv'ts, 

Stephen  %e  I      ^  ,  „     j    , 

Joseph  Haskell,  Sd,  \  ,„  ^^_ 

Noahre"mg,  Mas  above. 

John  i'ltcber.  ) 

Barnstable,  Sept.  20, 1T74. 

"The  Body  Voted,  That  said  address  be  immediately 
offered  by  the  said  committee ;  and  that  the  whole 
Body  will  walk  in  procession  to  see  it  presented  to  onr 
country's  great  benefactor  and  friend.  Accordingly 
the  whole  Body  marched  in  procession,  with  the  com- 
mittee at  the  head,  and  attended  by  ransic,  to  the  house 
of  Daniel  Davis,  Esq.,  where  they  drew  up  in  solid 
body,  in  rank  and  file,  and  the  committee  proceeded  to 
read  and  present  the  address  to  his  Honor,  James  Otis, 
Esq.,  who  received  the  same  very  politely  and  returned 
the  following  answer  :  — 

"  Gentlemen :  Your  very  complaisant  address  to  rao  as  a 
constitutional  councillor  of  this  province,  desiring  me  to  at- 
tend ray  duty  at  Salom  on  the  5th  of  October,  —  the  time 
when  the  General  Court  is  to  meet,  —  I  am  obliged  to  you 
for  ;  and  for  putting  me  in  mind  of  my  duty  ;  and  I  am  de- 
termined to  attend  at  Salem  at  that  time  in  case  my  health 
permits.  I  am  your  very  humble  servant, 

James  Otis. 

Barnstable,  Sept.  28,  1774. 

"  Tliis  reply  of  Col.  Otis,  the  whole  body  heard  with 
their  heads  uncovered ;  and  then  gave  three  cheers  in 
token  of  their  satisfaction  and  high  approbation  of  his 

23,  1783,  just  before  the  independence  fo  which  he  hud  greatly  con- 
tributed was  kaown  to  be  acknowledged,  he  was  struck  hy  lightning 
and  his  noble  soul  liberated  from  its  shattered  tenement.  "  He  left  a 
character,"  saya  President  Adams,  "  tliat  will  never  die." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  447 

answer,  us  well  as  esteem  and  -veneratjon  for  his  person 
and  character.  This  done,  they  returned  in  procession 
to  the  court  house. 

'^  The  concluding  proceedings  in  Barnstable  were  then 
as  follows :  — 

"Voted,  1.  That  it  is  the  resohition  of  this  Body  and  of  every 
individual  composing  it,  never  to  submit  to  tho  late  oppressive 
acts  of  Parliament ;  but  that  we  will  oppose  them,  and  defend 
the  town  of  Boston  and  the  country  at  tlie  risk  of  our  lives 
and  fortunes. 

2.  That  it  be  the  resolution  of  every  individual  of  this 
Body  to  provide  himself  with  arms  and  ammimition  for  oar 
defence. 

3.  That  we  will  not  import,  or  piirchaso  imported,  goods 
after  this  date. 

4.  That  wc  will  encourage  donations  for  the  town  of  Boston. 

5.  That  this  Body  abhor,  and  will  endeavor  to  suppress, 
mobs  and  riots. 

6.  That  we  will  use  our  endeavors  to  suppress  common 
pedlere. 

7.  That  we  will  use  our  endeavors  to  promote  committees 
of  every  town  for  a  County  Congress. 

8.  That  if  any  person  shall  pull  down  or  destroy  the  liberty 
pole  in  Barnstable,  we  will  use  our  endeavors  to  bring  siieh 
offender  to  justice. 

"The  Body  then,  before  marching  to  Sandwich,  sent 
forward  twenty-two  men  to  secure  G.  H.,  I.  J.,  and  K. 
L.,  accused  of  having  pulled  down  the  liberty  pole  in 
Sandwich.^ 

1  "It  is  due  to  the  inlialiilants  of  Earnstable  to  say  that  sudi  was 
their  urbanity,  that  few,  if  any  xif  tliem,  would  receive  any  comiien- 
sation  for  board,  &c.,  of  the  numerous  visitore."  Such  is  fho  testimony 
of  Hon.  Abi-aham  Holmes,  who  ivas  one  of  the  Body  of  the  People  — 
testimony  given  in  the  closing  days  of  his  useful  and  honored  life, 
"We  ought  to  add  that  although  (he.re  appear  to  have  been  some  dis- 
sentients who  were  aot  in  sympathy  with  tho  popular  movements  of 
the  day,  Barnstable  was  by  no  means  surcharged  with  this  feeling. 
That  town  has  beea  rather  distinguished  for  its  patriotic  devotion  to 
tlie  cause  of  liberty. 


vGooglc 


4:48  THE   HLSTOEY    Oi'   CAPE    COD. 

"  Having  now  set  out  on  their  march  to  Sandwicli,  the 
Body  stopped  at  Mrs.  Chipman's,  where  they  found  a 
pedler  of  English,  Scotch,  and  India  goods,  and  who 
had  lately  sold  tea.  They  detained  him,  and  decided 
that  he  should  now,  in  presence  of  the  company,  de- 
stroy his  tea;  and  that  if  he  faithfully  promised,  in 
writing,  that  he  would  not  sell  any  more  tea,  nor  any 
more  peddle  or  vend  goods  in  old  Plymouth  Colony, 
the  company  would  pay  him  the  first  cost  of  the  tea. 
The  pedler  declared  he  had  no  tea ;  and  it  appearing 
that  he  had  not,  and  he  having  signed  the  declaration 
required  and  promised  to  go  back  with  his  goods,  the 
people  were  content. 

""The  Body  being  now  assemhied  at  Sandwich,  first 
made  choice  of  Joseph  Otis,  Esq.,  as  moderator  for  the 
remaining  part  of  the  meeting,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
former  moderator ;  and  then  gave  audience  to  the 
party  of  twenty-two  men,  who  had  been  sent  on  in  ad- 
vance from  Barnstable  to  secure  the  persons  who  had, 
during  the  absence  of  tlie  patriotic,  cut  down  the  liberty 
pole.  The  report  was  that  they  had  made  search  for 
them,  and  they  could  not  be  found  ;  but  that  men  were 
still  out  in  quest  of  them. 

"  It  was  then  Voted,  That  the  committee  appointed 
to  treat  with  the  military  officers  and  deputy  sheriffs 
in  Sandwich  shall  apply  to  Roland  Cotton  and  Thomas 
Bourne,  Esqs.,  and  desire  them  to  sign  the  declaration 
of  the  justices,  at  some  convenient  time.  Also  Voted, 
That  Messrs.  John  Benson,  Joshua  Briggs,'  and  John 
Burgess,  Jr.,  he  a  committee  to  wait  on  Mr.  M.  N.,  and 
ask  his  attendance  before  this  Body.  Mr.  N.  attended, 
and  was  '  accused  of  saying  he  wished  the  to'wn  of 
Boston  was  burned ;  that  he  wished  the  people  of 
Rochester  in ,  [a  bad  place,]  for  their  treatment 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    01?   BABNSTABLE   COUNTY.  449 

of  Euggles  and  Sprague ;  and  of  having  d— d  the 
people  for  coming  here,'  He  confessed  that  he  had 
said  words  to  this  effect  in  a  passion,  expressed  sorrow, 
and  asked  forgiveness  of  all.     This  gave  satisfaction. 

"  The  Body  then  Voted,  That  we  will  at  all  hazards 
hring  the  aforementioned  G.  H.,  I.  J,,  and  K.  L.  to  pun- 
ishment. A  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  their 
offence  and  report  what  .punishment  or  satisfaction  they 
shall  make  or  suffer.  The  committee  reported  that  the 
offenders  shall  satisfy  a  committee  of  the  people,  for 
the  damage  sustainedj  and  also  sign  the  following :  — 

"  "Whereas  the  subscribers  did  most  wickedly,  malicioysly, 
and  injuriously,  being  instigated  by  tbo  devil  and  our  own  evil 
hearts,  destroy  the  liberty  pole  in  Sandwich  on  the  evening  of 
Sept.  26th,  current,  whereby  we  have  justly  offended  all  the 
friends  to  Liberty,  Justice,  and  Virtue,  and  have  discovered 
our  enmity  to  the  Rights  and  Liberties  of  the  People  :  "We  do, 
therefore,  hereby  confess  the  fact,  and  are  heartily  sorry  for 
it,  and  do  promise  never  to  do  so  any  more,  nor  again  oppose 
the  Cause  of  Liberty.  And  we  do  hereby  ask  forgiveness  of 
the  town  of  Sandwich  and  of  all  men  —  especially  of  those 
who  erected  the  pole.  As  witness  our  hands  this  28th  day  of 
■Sept.,  1774. 

"  It  was  further  Voted,  That  if  said  offenders  refuse, 
they  shall  whenever  they  are  taken  be  liable  to  the 
indignation  and  resentment  of  every  friend  of  liberty ; 
and  that  the  committee  of  Sandwich  having  informed 
this  Body  of  their  refusal,  this  Body  will  punish  him  or 
them  whenever  they  meet  said  offenders,  until  satisfac- 
tion be  made  as  provided. 

"  The  remaining  part  of  the  company  who  went  in 
search  of  the  villains,  having  now  returned  with  two 
of  them,  viz.,  I.  J.  and  K.  L.,  these,  denying  the  facts, 
were  then  examined  separately.  One  of  them,  I.  J., 
acknowledged  that  he,  with  0.  P.,  Q.  R.,  and  K.  L.,  cut 
down  the  pole.    The  aforesaid  Q.  E.  being  the  witness 

VOL  L  57 


vGooglc 


450  THE   HISTORY    OF   GAPE   COD. 

that  informea  and  exposed  the  transaction,  was  ex- 
cused ;  K.  L,  was  required  to  ask  pardon  of  the  whole 
company  on  his  bended  knees  for  threatening  to  stab 
the  man  who  arrested  him ;  and  both  K.  L.  and  I.  J. 
were  fined  by  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Body, 
the  sum  of  £5  lawful  money  each,  which  they  paid 
and  then  signed  the  confession.'  The  Body  then  ap- 
pointed Messrs.  N.  Freeman,  John  Dillingham,  Jr.,  and 
Lot  Nye,  to  inform  the  aforesaid  G.  H.  of  the  vote  of 
the  Body ;  they,  in  case  of  his  refusal  to  comply,  to  in- 
form the  public  —  resolving  that  he  should  not  escape 
the  just  resentment  of  the  people. 

"  Mr.  Paine  of  Eastham  then  informed  the  Body  that 
the  town  of  Eastham  had  left  out  their  old  representa- 
tive, S.  T.,  who  voted  against  the  Congress ;  and  had 
chosen  Mr.  Holbrook,  a  friend  to  the  country :  upon 
which  the  whole  assemblage  testified  their  joy  by 
giving  three  cheers.^    Three  clieers  were  also  given 

^  A  writer,  in  communicating  an  account  of  the  transaction  to  a 
Boston  journal,  Nov.  10,  says  the  confession  was  signed  by  three,  and 
was  duly  witnessed  by  Joseph  Otis,  Nathaniel  Freeman,  and  Samuel 
Fi-eeman,  Sept.  28  ;  and  the  new  pole  was  erected,  tiie  culprits  be- 
sides paying  £5  each,  assisting  in  replacing  the  poin.  The  writer 
aforesaid  commences,  "  Nov.  10,  1774.  Mr,  Printer :  As  a  warning 
to  other  villains  to  avoid  the  like  practices,  please  publish  the  follow- 
ing," &c. 

^  That  Ihis  town,  proverbially  patriotic,  was  not  perfectly  united  in 
political  views,  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  letter  characteristic 
of  the  times,  written  the  following  year :  — 

"  Eastham,  Aug.  15,  1775. 
"To  Col.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  member  of  the  General  Court. 

"  Sir :  I  am  always  desirous  of  saying  or  writing  something  to  such 
patriots  as  yourself,  that  would  be  worth  hearing  and  reading.  I  have 
sometimes  thought  that  possibly  I  might  have  to  tell  you  this  :  '  The 
tories  in  Eastham  are  all  dead' — for  I  heard  several  of  them  say, 
'I  don't  believe  there  is  a  tory  ia  Eastham.'     But  after  listening 


vGooglc 


ANKAL9    OF   BARKSTABLE   COUNTY.  451 

Upon  the  reading  of  news  just  received  from  the  Con- 
gress, viz.,  that  they  had  resolved  to  support  Boston 
with  life  and  fortune,  had  approved  of  the  resolves  of 
the  county  committees,  and  had  recommended  a  con- 
tinuation of  donations  to  Boston.  The  Body  Voted, 
We  "will  observe  and  conform  to  said  resolves  of  Con- 
gress. 

"  It  was  then  Voted,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Body  be 
presented  to  Dr.  Nathaniel  Freeman  for  his  services. 
This  was  testified  by  three  cheera. 

"  Voted,  That  thanks  be  given  to  Maj.  Otis  for  his 
good  services.  This  also  was  testified  by  three  cheers. 
"  Voted,  That  thanks  be  given  to  the  people  from  the 
Counties  of  Plymouth  and  Bristol  for  their  patriotic 
aid.  This  was  testified  by  three  cheers.  Three  times 
three  hearty  cheers  were  then  given  for  the  success  of 
the  enterprise  and  day ;  xipon  which  the  meeting  was 

DISSOLVED." 

The  following  '^  memo."  is  affixed  :  — 

"Thursday,  September  29,  1775,  the  committee  ar- 
rested G.  H.  and  acquainted  him  with  the  vote  of  the 
Body.  He  paid  the  money,  and  signed  the  confession. 
Monday,  October  3,  1774,  CoL  Cotton  and  Thomas 
Bourne,  Esqs.,  signed  the  declaration  of  the  justices,  at 
the  instance  of  the  committee.  Maj.  U.  V.  refused  to 
resign  his  military  commission.  Capt.  Elisha  Bourne, 
Capt.  Silas  Bourne,  Lieut  John  Smith,  Lieut.  Micah 
Blackwell,  and  Ensign  Cornelius  Tobey,  signed  the  fol- 
lowing declaration,  at  the  instance  of  the  committee, 


and  making  the  most  strict  inquirj',  I  cannot  find  tliat  more  tiian  one 
has  made  his  exit ;  and  I  am  not  quite  certain  but  he  will  rise  again. 
I  have  mentioned  some  ihmgs  in  a  letter  to  Col.  Otis,  a  letter  which  I 
hope  he  will  let  you  see.  .  .  . 

(Signed,)  TnoJiAS  Paine." 


vGooglc 


452  THE   mSTOET   OF   CAPE   COD. 

"  Whereas  application  has  this  day  been  made  to  iis,  mili- 
tary officers  of  tlie  companies  of  militia  in  Sandwich,  by  cer- 
tain gentlemen  eaid  to  be  appointed  by  the  Body  of  the  People, 
to  apply  to  us  to  resign  our  military  commissions :  We  hereby 
promise  and  engage  that  we  will,  by  the  first  opportunity, 
transmit  our  resignation  of  oiu-  respective  commissions  to  the 
chief  colonel  of  the  regiment,  to  be  by  him  transmitted  to 
tiie  captain  general ;  and  that  we  will  not  by  any  ways  or 
means  assist  in  carrying  into  execution  the  late  acts  of  Parlia- 
ment ;  and  that  we  will  not  accept  of  any  commission  in 
consequence  of  or  in  conformity  to  said  acts,  or  under  any 
unconstitutional  regulations.     As  witness  our  hands. 

(Signed,)  John  Smith,  Cornehus  Tobey, 

Elisha  Bourne,        Micah  Elackwell. 

Oct.  3, 1774.  Silas  Bourne, 

"  The  same  day,  Deputy  Sheriff  Edward  Bourne 
signed  a  declaration  similar  to  that  signed  by  the  high 
sheriif  and  other  deputy  sheriffs.  October  15,  1774, 
Major  U,  V.  was  called  upon  by  a  large  assemblage  of 
peojde,  and  obliged  to  go  to  the  liberty  pole  and  sign 
the  declaration.  —  Also  the  same  day,  W.  X.  was  com- 
pelled to  sign  a  confession,  under  the  liberty  pole,  with 
his  hat  ofij  for  selling  tea,  and  to  promise  that  he  would 
do  so  no  more."  ^ 


'  The  "  Record  of  Proceedings  of  the  Body  of  the  People  "  is  here 
cloBud.  The  document  is  in  our  possession,  and  we  have  endeavored  to 
use  it  truthfully  and  impartially  —  omitting  nothing  save  in  some  in- 
stanties  abbreviating,  and  substituting  letters  alphabetically  for  names,  — 
May  we  be  permitted  to  say,  the  proceedings  of  the  whigs  of  Eamstsvble 
County,  however  they  may  be  viewed  at  the  present  day  by  those  who 
commiserate  with  the  tories  of  that  time,  were  dictated  by  humane  and 
tender  conaderation  in  comparison  with  what  has  been  related  of  subse- 
quent acts  in  other  couaties,  and  especially  with  the  proceedings  of 
fories  themselves  in  some  of  the  provinces,  and  even  in  this  county. 
In  this  county,  according  to  Dr.  James  Thacher,  who  was  a  native  of 
Barnstable  and  a  surgeon  in  the  revolution,  the  tories  availed  them- 
selves of  severe  discipline.  For  instance,  —  a  certain  person  and  his 
sons  having  "  rendered  themselves  odious  to  the  people  by  their  active 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OP   BAIWSTABLE   COUSTY.  453 

The  action  of  "  the  Body  of  the  People,"  being 
deeply  felt  by  numbers  of  the  disaffected,  was  shortly 
after  resented  upon  the  "  conductor-in-chief"  in  a  way 
that  came  near  terminating  his  life.  Whether  the  in- 
tent was  absolutely  murderous  we  do  not  feel  called 
upon  either  to  affinn  or  deny.  We  relate  the  ctrcmn- 
stances  as  gathered  from  publications  of  the  day,  the 
records  of  court,  and  a  faithful  "  narrative  "  drawn  up 
by  Judge  Thomas  of  Plymouth,  as  also  confirmed  by 
minutes  in  the  handwriting  of  the  person  on  whom 
the  alleged  assassination  was  atte:npted ;  together  with 
the  confession  subsequently  made  by  "  the  assassins  " 
themselves,  which  confession  was  drawn  up,  for  their 
signatures  to  be  affixed,  by  Gen.  Goodwin  of  Plymouth, 
October  10, 1774.  The  occurrence  was  a  few  days  after 
the  meeting  of  the  Body  of  the  People  at  Barnstable, 
and  was  commenced  to  avenge  those  proceedings.' 

zeal  in  the  royal  cause  and  a  vindlutiye  temper  towards  the  wliig 
party ; "  a  certain  "  widow  woman  "  (in  the  pi-ofusion  of  her  patriotic 
zeal — for  women  were  generally  patriots ;  they  have  always  been 
distinguished  by  their  steadfastness  for  the  right, — 

And  earliest  at  the  grave,")  — 
"  frequently  indulged  herself  in  applying  to  them  the  epithet  lory, 
and  ewn  intimated  a  liberty  pole  exhibition.  This  indiscretion  waa 
not  to  be  passed  with  impunity;  a  number  of  men,  (?)  in  disguise 
entered  her  chamber  in  the  night,  took  her  from  her  bed,  and  after 
the  application  of  tar  and  feathers,  she  was,  by  a  rope  fastened  around 
her  body,  hoisted  almost  to  the  top  of  the  pole  which  had  been  erected 
by  the  whigs.  Her  dreadful  shrieks  soon  collected  a  throng  of  peo- 
ple ;  bnt  the  poor  woman  could  obtain  no  other  redress  than  that  be- 
stowed by  her  friends  who  tindly  shaved  her  head  and  cleansed  it  of 
tar  and  feathers."  —  lEslmy  of  Plymouik. 

'  We  may  here  say,  Dr.  Thacher,  in  his  "  Military  Journal  of  the 
Revolutionary  "War,"  refers  to  the  proceedings  of  this  Body,  in  Barn- 
stable, in  the  following  terms :  "  In  1775  "  (he  mistakes  the  date ;  it 


vGooglc 


454  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

Dr.  Freeman  at  a  late  hour  received  a  message  pro- 
fessedly from  a  distressed  friend  who  earnestly  desired 
his  immediate  attendance.  Suspicions,  from  tlie  man- 
ner of  the  messenger  and  from  other  circi\mstances,  that 
the  message  was  an  artifice  and  that  evil  was  intended, 
but  still  unwilling  to  decline  what  migM  be  a  pressing 
call  upon  his  fi-iendly  aid  or  sympathy,  he  arose  from 
bed  and  at  once  proceeded  to  the  house  of  his  friend 
who  was  represented  as  being  in  a  dying  condition. 
Having  proceeded  but  a  short  distance  and  just  passing 
the  tavern  where,  if  any  where,  he  suspected  mischief 
might  be  conceived,  three  of  the  persons  who  signed 
the  preceding  confessions  and  recantations,  but  whose 
names  we  have  suppressed  in  the  record,  rushed  out 
and  insolently  professed  that  they  were  "  a  connnittee 
from  the  Body  of  the  People"  who,  being  convened  in 
the  tavern,  demanded  his  attendance  to  answer  for  his 

was  1774,)  "  at  a  ragulav  term  of  the  court  at  Barnstable  in  Sept., 
I  witmeaaed  the  following  prompt  proeedm-e.  A  body  of  men  as- 
eembled  and  obstructed  the  passage  of  the  court-house  door.  The 
leader  of  this  assemblage  was  Dr.  Nathaniel  Freeman  of  Sandwich,  a 
bold  Son  of  Liberty.  Col.  James  Otis,  the  venerable  chief  justice, 
preceded  by  the  sheriff,  approached  and  deilianded  admissioc.  Dr. 
Freeman  replied  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  people  to  prevent  the 
court  being  opened  to  exercise  those  unconstitutional  powera  with 
which  Parliament  bad  iowested  them.  The  chief  justice,  in  his 
majesty's  name,  commanded  them  to  disperse  and  permit  the  court  to 
enter  and  proceed  to  business.  But  his  majesty's  name  had  lost  its 
power.  It  can  bave  no  charms  with  the  sons  of  liberty.  The  judge 
then  said  he  had  acquitted  hiraaelf  of  duty,  and  retired.  —  The  pro- 
ceeding had  been  discussed  and  concerted  prior  to  the  court  term,  and 
Col,  Otis,  himself  a  stanch  whig,  was,  \%  was  believed,  not  only  ap- 
prised of,  but  actually  acquiesced  in  their  bold  measure."  Dr.  T. 
might  have  added  that  Col.  Otis  was  not  the  only  member  of  the 
court,  or  office-holder,  whose  sympathies  were  entirely  with  the  people. 
The  signatures  of  the  majority  were  freely  and  cordially  yielded. 


yGoogle 


ANKALS   OF   BiRNSTABLE  COUNTY.  455 

late  "  condvict  as  the  Leader  of  the  Body  assembled  at 
Barnstable,"  and  "  also  for  similar  proceedings  at  a  like 
assemblage  at  Plymontli."  ^    He  replied  that  he  greatly 

^  Tlie  proceedings  at  Barastable,  it  will  be  rememberecl,  were  had 
Sept.  27  and  28,  arranged  at  an  eai-lier  period,  and  matured  at  Sand- 
wich, Sept,  26.  The  assemblage  at  Plymouth,  in  which  he  bore  a 
prominent  part,  was  at  a  subsequent  date,  Oct.  4.  Many  anecdotes 
might  he  related  connected  with  the  latter  assemblage :  we  must  be 
content  with  mentioning  one  only  as  showing  that  Dr.  F.,  who  was 
conspicuous  in  those  proceedings,  was  nevertheless  a  padficator  —  dis- 
posed to  use  his  influence  to  secure  a  lenient  and  liumane  course  of 
action.  The  incident  was  related  to  the  writer  more  than  30  years 
ago  by  a  very  aged  person  resident  in  Plymouth,  who  was  present 
and  witnessed  the  whole.  Among  those  glorying  in  their  loyalty  and 
opposiljon  to  reJFolutionaiy  movements,  was  an  aged,  venerable,  pious 
deacon,  whose  fortune  it  was,  in  the  course  of  the  proceedings,  to  be 
arrmgned  with  other-tones,  before  the  Body  of  the  People  there  as- 
sembled. Determined  that  no  "recantation"  should  be  obtained  from 
him,  let  (he  event  be  what  it  might,  there  seemed  no  alternative  but 
to  be  baffled  in  the  attempt  or  bring  this  personification  of  Ti-umbull's 
McFingal  to  terms  by  the  process  which  the  poet's  epic  of  the  revo- 
lution so  aptly  though  quaintly  describes  ;  — 

"  And  with  loud  shouts  and  jojful  soul, 
Conduct  hiro  prisoner  to  the  pole." 

Whether  the  good  deacon  would  have  become  pliant  as  the  poet's 
"  constable,"  or  have  proved  a  veritable  "  squire,"  — 

"  And  stood  heroic  as  a  mule 
To  meet  the  woi'at — for  recompense 
To  trust  King  George  and  Providence,"  — 

we  have  no  means  of  deciding.     The  ordinary  process  — 

"  There  from  the  pole's  snblimest  top 
The  active  crew  let  down  a  rope, 
At  once  its  other  end  in  haste  bind 
And  make  it  fast  upon  his  -waiBtband, 
Til!  like  the  earth,  as  stretched  on  tenter, 
He  hung  self-balanced  on  his  centre ; 
Then  upwards,  all  hands  hoisting  sail, 
They  EVfung  him  like  a  keg  of  ale, 
Where  looking  forth  in  prospect  wide 
His  tory  errors  he  espied,"  — 

was  not  permitted.     Dr.  F.,  both  compassionating  and  revering  the 


vGooglc 


456  TliE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

respected  the  *'  Body  of  the  People ; "  but  that  no  stick 
body  would  assemble  in  that  tavern ;  moreover,  if  as- 
sembled, no  such  cominittee  as  themselves  would  be 
appointed;  and  therefore  he  must  not  be  expected  to 
pay  any  further  regard  to  such  false  and  insolent  pre- 
tences. Then  walking  slowly  on,  the  rufhans  called 
after  him  that  they  were  "directed  to  take  [him]  by 
force."  However,  the  arrogantly  self-styled  committee 
dared  at  thfe  time  no  further  violence.  Returning  the 
same  way  within  the  same  hour,  he  was  met  again,  in 
passing  the  tavern,  by  Y.  Z.  and  others  of  the  pre- 
tended committee  and  the  same  demand  was  repeated. 
Treating  their  arrogance  with  scorn,  he  was  passing  on 
without  deigning  further  notice  of  them ;  but  they, 
keeping  before,  said  their  orders  were  to  compel  attend- 
ance. I"rankly  tolling  them  that  his  only  means  of  de^ 
fence  was  the  cane  which  he  held  in  his  hand,  and 
that  whilst  it  was  not  his  intention  to  assault  them,  he 
should  defend  himself  against  their  rudeness ;  the  trio 
still  stood  at  bay,  Y.  Z.  hesitatingly  saying  to  his  fel- 
lows, "  Shall  we  seize  or  strike  1 "  Dr.  F.,  standing  in 
the  attitude  of  defence,  they,  apparently  concluding 
that  "  discretion  is  the  better  part  of  valor,"  began  men- 
acingly to  retreat  towards  the  tavern ;  when,  he  slowly 
but  cautiously  proceeding  again,  others  rushed  out  to 

i^f  of  the  man  inl  resppcting  his  portion  m  <iociety,  at  once  re- 
aaCPiidf  J  the  n\erted  hogahead  that  had  been  used  just  before  as  a 
plittoim  from  which  was  dehuered  a  pubhc  address,  and,  whilst  the 
rope  was  being  adjustLd  by  the  excited  crowd  called  their  attention  to 
a  resolution  he  ■«  ts  about  to  offfr  '  ResoUel,  that  Dea. is  no- 
body ;"  —  it  was  seconded  by  acclamation  and  voted  unanimously.  It 
waa  not,  however,  until  the  process  of  binding  was  resumed,  that  the 
intent  of  the  resolution  was  generally  apprehended ;  then  shouts  of 
laughter  arose,  whilst  the  conscientious  loyalist  was  unbound  and  per- 
mitted to  pursue  his  wonted  course  secure  from  further  annoyance. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.  457 

reenf'orce  their  associates,  and  the  assault  commenced 
in  earnest.  Being  ferociously  attacked  by  the  whole 
"  Body  of  the  People "  tfmi  and  iJm-e  assembkd,  the  as- 
sailed defended  himself  as  best  he  could  against  such 
numerical  odds;  but  "being  precipitously  surrounded 
by  the  entire  banditti,"  the  blade  which  he  had  quickly 
drawn  from  his  sword  cane  was  seized  from  behind,  and, 
in  the  attempt  to  wrest  it  from  him,  was  broken  at  the 
hilt;  the  sheath  part  which  he  had  until  now  held  in 
his  left  hand,  was  then  for  a  moment  plied  vigorously 
about  their  heads  until  it  was  broken  and  he  had  fallen 
under  the  weight  of  the  assassins'  bludgeons,  senseless 
and  weltering  in  blood ;  and  doubtless  he  would  have 
perished  at  their  hands  had  not  friends  come  quickly 
to  the  rescue.^  He  was  raised  up,  his  clothes  nearly 
torn  from  his  body,  so  violent  had  been  the  struggle, 
his  head  a  gore  of  blood,  speechless,  apparently  in  a 
dying  condition,  and  conveyed  home.^     Most  of  the 

^  It  was  a  fortunate  drciimstanco  that  the  friend  whom  lie  had  heen 
called  to  visit,  being  impressed  with  the  idea  that  violence  was  iti- 
tended,  had  without  the  knowledge  of  Br,  F.,  followed  after  to  watch 
his  progress,  and  as  soon  as  the  attack  was  made  gave  the  alarm. 

'  The  dastardly  act  certainly  reflected  no  honor  upon  the  tones. 
They  dared  not  attack  otherwise  than  in  congregated  numbers  one  who 
had  been  equally  the  object  of  their  fear  and  their  hate.  ISIor  was  it 
otherwise  than  honorable  to  the  resistant  that  he  was  singled  out  to 
suffer  this  indignity.  It  illustrated  his  prominence,  the  consistency  of 
his  course,  and  the  justice  of  his  cause.  It  showed,  exhibited  in  what 
was  believed  to  be  the  murderous  intent,  the  spirit  that  had  been  fore- 
seen to  exist  in  the  bosoms  of  leading  loyalists  which  made  it  neces- 
sary for  the  patriotic  to  resist  in  season  or  be  trodden  down  into  the 
vilest  vassalage.  What  though  the  bitterest  taunts  were  hurled,  and, 
when  brute  force  was  superior,  the  vilest  indignity  was  offered !  The 
gallant  Warren,  subject  to  the  same  hate  for  his  patriotic  devotion, 
was  subsequently  hissed  in  the  Old  South  Church  when  in  1775  ho 
delivered  his  oration  on  the  anniversary  of  the  Boston  massacre  ;  the 
VOL.  L  58 


vGooglc 


458  THE   HISTORY   Or   CAPE   COD. 

assassins  were  promptly  secured  by  the  citizens ;  and 
the  report  of  the  assault  flew  in  every  direction  as  if 
with  lightning  speed ;  so  that  quickly,  besides  great 
numbers  of  the  people  of  Sandwich  rallying  around  tlie 
dwelling  of  the  injured,  were  more  than  a  thousand 
men  who  had  flown  as  it  were  from  Barnstable,  Fal- 
mouth, and  towns  below  —  from  Wareham,  Rochester, 
Plymouth,  Kingston,  Duxbury,  Middleboro',  Halifax, 
and  other  distant  places.  With  an  indignation  border- 
ing on  rage  they  demanded  the  culprits  to  be  delivered 
np  to  them  for  summary  punishment.  But,  fortunately 
for  the  offenders,  a  warrant  had  already  been  issued, 
and  they  convened  before  a  special  sessions  of  magis- 
trates at  Great  Marshes.  Dr.  Freeman's  alarming 
symptoms  which  had  been  chiefly  occasioned  by  the 
loss  of  blood  together  with  the  almost  superhuman  ex- 
ertions he  had  made  in  self-defence,  quickly  passed 
away;  and  though  yet  suffering  and  greatly  debili- 
tated,^ he  came  forth  to  his  door  and  addressed  the  im- 
mense concourse  of  the  friends  of  liberty  that  without 
consultation  or  concert  had  thus  spontaneously  and 
from  the  first  impulses  of  noble  hearts,  been  brought 
together.  He  told  them  that  as  legal  steps  had  already 
been  taken  with  great  promptitude  by  the  interposition 
of  judicious  friends,  he  was  unwilling  that  a  cause  so 

noble-Bpirited  Hancock's  house  was  assaulted  and  his  fences  mutilated 
the  same  year  ;  and  that  patriotic  "flame  of  fire,"  James  Otrs  Jr.,  had 
been  five  years  before  stricken  down  by  a  bludgeon  in  the  hands  of  a 
dastardly  royal  commissioner.  Tiiese  were  penalties  which  patriotic 
virtue  must  pay  to  the  spirit  of  despotism,  for  daring  to  assert  and 
maintain  the  right ;  sacrifices  laid  on  the  a.ltak  of  liberty. 

'  The  last  blow  of  a  ponderous  bludgeon  upon  his  head  must  have 
been  fatal  had  not  a  friend  who  had  arrived  broken  the  force  of  it  by 
his  own  arm.  A  scar  on  the  heail,  caused  by  this  blow,  was  a  con- 
spicuous mark  after  haldness  bad  ensued,  as  long  as  Dr.  F.  lived. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   15A11SSTABLE    COUNTY.  459 

good  and  glorious  as  that  in  wliich  the  people  were  en- 
gaged, should  be  tarnished  by  any  proceedings  that 
might  by  any  persons  be  considered  as  partaking  in 
the  least  of  precipitancy  of  rage  however  just,  or  by 
irregularities  that  might  by  any  be  denominated  the 
violence  of  a  mob.  He  "  urged  with  great  power  and 
eloquence,  forbearance  and  a  dutiful  respect  for  the 
laws."  The  assembled  people  were  so  far  pacified  that 
they  consented  to  await  the  legal  decision  ;  but  insisted 
on  accompanying  Dr.  Freeman,  m  masse,  to  the  court  to 
be  held  the  next  day  at  Great  Marshes.  The  whole 
number  of  sympathizers  present  on  this  occasion  is  said 
to  have  been  upwards  of  three  thousand,^ 

The  culprits,  such  of  them  as  had  not  been  successful 
in  flying  beyond  the  province,  were  anxious  to  settle 
the  affair  without  further  proceedings.  Their  position 
in  society  had  hitherto  been  generally  respectable,  their 
connections  were  numerous  and  generally  esteemed, 
and  their  families  greatly  distressed  by  the  dishonor- 
able course  they  had  taken.  Dr.  Freeman  himself  was 
inclined  to  be  lenient,  believing  it  the  dictate  of  true 
magnanimity ;  and,  hy  consent  of  gentlemen  whose 
advice  he  sought,  permitted  the  assassins  to  be  let  off 
on  paying  £100  lawful  money  as  costs,  and  giving 
honds  for  their  good  behavior.     With  this  requisition 

^  "We  certainly  would  consider  it  cause  of  gratulatiou  could  we  say 
of  our  native  town  that  it  was  exempt  from  any  loyal  tendencies  re- 
pugnant to  popular  rights  and  the  cause  of  liberty ;  but  the  antagonis- 
tical  principle  seems,  in  most  cases,  to  have  been  gauged  fay  the  zeal 
it  had  to  encounter  in  opposition.  Sandwich  furnished  a  large  quota 
of  loyal  sympathizers,  some  of  whom  were  men  of  family  distinction, 
influential  and  resolute.  Its  future  career,  however,  is  not  to  be  esti- 
mated by  the  demonstrations  of  the  loyal  element  at  this  present 
period.  The  discomtiture  and  mortification  of  the  tones  were  prompt 
and  effectual.     Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof. 


yGoogle 


460  I'Hi;   HISTORY    OF   CAPE    COD. 

only,  earnestly  advocated  by  Dr.  F.,  the  court  assented, 
and  the  culprits  gladly  complied/  The  people  how- 
ever were  not  satisfied  with  the  arrangement,  and  de- 
termined that  the  aifair  should  not  so  end  ;  and,  Dr.  F. 
having  peremptorily  declined  to  proceed  further,  large 
numbers  who  had  returned  to  Sandwich,  being  prom- 
inent citizens  of  Sandwich  and  other  towns,  held  a 
public  meeting  and  resolved  to  "  demand  satisfaction 
for  tlie  affrot4  offered  tJurn,  since  Dr.  Freeman  had  re- 
ceived the  indignity  as  the  champion  of  their  rights  and 
for  having  heroically  signalized  himself  in  the  cause  of 
his  couKTRY,"  The  assassins  were  therefore  rearrest- 
ed and  obliged,  to  appease  the  people,  to  subscribe, 

^  An  account  of  the  assault  was  communicatetl  to,  and  publislied  in, 
the  journals  of  the  day,  by  Judge  Thomas.  A  paper,  also  from  tlie 
same  source,  signed  "A  Piymotliean,"  may  be  found  bearing  date 
No¥.  3,  1774,  communicating  ihe  flnaS  result.  That  communication 
presents  some  shades  of  difference  only  from  the  preceding.  It  com- 
mences, "  As  every  ti-ansactiou  is  mutilated  and  changed,  liie  better  to 
promote  the  corrupt  views  of  a  partyj  you,  Mr.  Printer,  are  desired, 
to  prevent  misrepresentation,  to  publish  this  account  of  a  scene  acted 
at  Sandwich  and  intended  to  have  been  more  tragical  than  it  happily 
terminated.  Dr.  Freeman's  patriotism  has  exposed  tim  to  the  rage 
and  malice  of  a  few  satellites  of  arbitrary  power  in  the  town  of  Sand- 
wich. Six  of  these  creatures  met  at  Newcomh's,  the  innholder's,  and 
after  having  inflamed  their  passions  with  liquor,  sent  .  .  .  whom  they 
called  a  committee  to  demand  Dr.  F.'s  immediate  attendance  before 
them  to  answer  for  some  supposed  misdemeanors  committed  against 
one  of  their  gang,"  (the  individual  who  had  been  compelled  by  the 
Body  of  the  People,  Oct  5,  fo  sign  a  confession  under  the  liberty  pole, 
wilh  his  hat  off,  for  selling  tea.)  "On  delivering  their  message  fo  the 
doctor,  he  replied  that  he  was  not  amenable  to  them  for  any  instance 
of  his  conduct ;  that  he  had  not  injured  "W.  X. ;  and  should  disregard 
any  insolent  summons  they  might  send.  With  this  answer  this  ludi- 
crous committee  returned  apparently  satisfied ;  but  were  soon  suc- 
ceeded by  four  others  of  the  company  who  insisted  very  peremptorily 
on  his  compliance.     The  doctor  told  them,  as  he  had  done  the  others. 


yGoogle 


AMMAL8  OF  EAUKSTABLE  COUNTY.  461 

■ancovered,  -uiider  the  liberty  pole,  they  being  elevated 
on  a  scaffold,  a  declaration  ^  as  follows  :  — 

Whereas  the  subsuibeis,  encomaged  bj  rnir  nurahei ,  did 
attack  and  cruelly  beat  Di  Natlmuiel  Fieemin' with  such 
unparalleled  cowaidice  and  liibiiity  as  would  di  once  the 
character  of  a  ruthaii  or  a  Hottentot,  for  no  otIn,r  lea  on  or 

that  lie  disavowed  the  authonty  thej  ]iad  issumed  to  cfmpel  his  ip 
peavance  before  them  and  that  if  an  attempt  nas  made  he  should 
etand  on  his  defence  They  dastard  hke  otticked  him  to^cthei 
The  doctor,  though  fired  with  ipj^entment  icting  on  a  well  known 
maxim  in  law,  retreated  as  far  as  he  could  and  then  defended  himself 
with  a  spirit  trtily  magnaaimouB  He  recened  seveial  Banguinaiy 
wounds  on  the  head  nnd  one  blow  aimed  at  him  it  if,  thought  would 
have  been  fatal  had  it  not  been  intercepted  by  a  friend  who  came  to 
his  assistance.  That  this  shameful  assault  was  premeditated,  the  fruit 
of  design  and  not  of  accident,  ia  evident  from  its  being  predetermined 
who  should  commence .  and  strdie  the  first  blow ;  and  some  of  the  as- 
sailants can  hardly  be  looked  upon  in  any  other  light  than  as  assassins. 
Dr.  F.,  to  refute  and  silence  the  ridiculous  vaporings  that  all  law  and 
government  are  abolished,  entered  his  complaint  to  a  magistrate,  the 
Hon.  James  Otis  Esq,  of  Barnstable,  who  issued  a  warrant  by  which 
the  culprits  were  apprehended  and  carried  to  Barnstable.  They  were 
very  solicitous  to  accommodate  tlie  matter,  and,  before  the  time  ar- 
rived for  holding  the  court,  earnestly  besought  the  doctor  to  make 
some  proposals  of  aecommodatioia.  .  .  .  Setting  aside  the  necessity  of 
chastising  such  poltroon  enterprises  with  exemplary  severity,  whoever 
considers  the  di-cumslances  of  aggi-avation  with  which  the  affi-ay  was 
attended,  cannot  but  think  that  the  terms  exacted  by  Dr.  F.  and  by 
the  people  were  highly  reasonable." 

'  This  confessiwi  was  draughted  by  Gen.  Goodwin  of  Plymouth. 
-  Hon.  Nathaniel  Freeman  was  of  the  5th  gen.  in  lineal  descent 
from  Mr,  Edmund  Freeman  the  original  proprietor  of  Sandwich,  (see 
pp.  127  and  128,)  who.  b.  1590,  was  f.  of  Edmund,  1G22,  who  in.  Ut 
Rebecca  Prince,  2d  Mni^aret  Perry,  and  was  f.  of  Edmund  1655, 
that  m.  Sarah  (proh.  Sunderland)  and  was  f.  of  Edmund  1683,  who 
m.  Kezia  Presbury  and  was  f.  of  Edmund  1711,  who  m.  Mailha  Otis 
and  was  f.  of  Kathaniel.  His  father  having  grad.  H.  0.  1733,  m.  a 
dr.  of  Nathaniel  Otis,  {who  m.  Abigail  Eussell,)  and  for  some  time 
taught  a  school  in  that  part  of  Yarmouth  then  called  Nobscussett, 
where  Nathaniel  was  bom  ilareh  28,  1741  0-  S.     The  father  soon 


vGooglc 


462  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

provocation  than  that  he,  uninfluenced  by  hopo  or  fear,  lias 
dared  to  stem  tlie  tide  of  tyranny  and  corruption,  and  has 
been  the  principal  autltorof  those  political  movements  in  this 
county  which  liave  been  most  universally  applauded,  —  We, 
in  the  firat  place,  sincerely  and  heartily  ask  the  forjviveness  of 
Heaven  -whose  sacred  laws  wo  have  so  shamefully  violated, 
and  also  of  Dr.  Freeman  —  a  gentleman  to  whom  wo  arc 
indebted  for  the  most  important  service  done  liis  country; 
furtlier,  we  implore  the  forgiveness  of  the  whole  community 
fof  tlio  indignity  offered  to  it ;  and  particularly  of  this  Body 
of  the  People,  for  the  trouble  and  expense  occasioned  to  thorn 
by  this  lugli-handed  offence :  and  we  do  solemnly  engage  for 

removeJ  to  Mansfield  Ct.     and  the  son    on  att'unmg  Ins  mojor  ty, 
having  studied  medicine  manit.d  and  removed  to  Sandwich —    the 
place  of  his  fathers  sepnlLhre"       In  his  medcal  piofes&ion  le  wis 
succpssful,  attaining  fo  diafinction  both  a^  a  physician  ind  &uigeDB. 
See  Thacher'a  Med  Biog     He  had  been  encoariged  both  by  th(,  «d- 
vice  and  patroniae  of  his  matcinal  gipat  uncle  Co!  Jimea  Oti    to 
establish  himself  in  Sindwich  m  17Cj    ind  not  ioi,,  aftei   by  ^d^lce 
and  under  ibe  direction  of  tlie  same  friend,  went  through  a  regular 
course  of  legal  reading     This  was  undertaken,  not  because  liis  pro- 
fessional pracliconas  iikaomp  or  unprofitable  —  for  he  was  still  la- 
boriously employed  in  that,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  was  never  per- 
mitted wholly  to  relinquish  it :  but  because  the  exciting  topics  of  the 
day  seemed  to  render  it  expedient  that  men  called  to  occupy  promi- 
nent positions  should  fortify  their  minds  for  the  exigencies  that  might 
arise.     The  position  he  then  and  subsequently  held,  and  how  he  es- 
poused with  his  whole  heirt  die  cause  of  bis  country,  clearly  appears 
in  the  records  and  LonespondLncp  of  the  diy  fiom  the  hour  in  1773 
when  he  reported  the  resolutions  in  tj  mpathy  with  the  spirited  action 
of  the  town  of  Bo'ton  and  was  chosen  ^hanman  of  the  committee  of 
correspondence  and  safety  of  the  town  of  Sandwich,     Hia  influence 
was  prominent  not  only  it  home  but  in  e\ery  general  and  patriotic 
movement  abroid      Ihe  mmutes  of  the  Body  of  the  People  in  1774 
show  that  it  was  no  ordinary  action  mstigited  by  demagogues,  but  the 
procedure  of  high  minded  men  about  to  resume  abused  delegated 
power.     There  was  i  full  anj.  peifcct  under  landing  between  leading 
patriots  in  other  paits  of  the  state  and  himself  in  regard  to  the  im- 
portance of  that  moi  ement ,  in  1  ei  en  a  majority  of  those  who  from 
prudential  considprations  --Lcraed   it  the  moment  to  assert  the  dignity 
of  their  official  pt  liun  uiidci  tlie  ciown  approved  the  action  of  the 


yGoogle 


AHSALS   OF   BASKSTABLE   COUNTY.  4G3 

the  future  religiously  to  regard  the  laws  of  God  and  man,  and 
conduct  ourselves  in  all  respects  as  hecometh  friends  to  society 
and  good  government.  (Signed.) 

Sandwich,  Oct.  10, 1774. 

We  liave  devoted  much  space  to  a  recital  of  these 
transactions  ;  but  not  more,  we  are  sure,  than  we  would 
were  the  record  one  with  which  we  might  be  supposed 
to  have  less  of  sympathy.  It  forms  an  important  feature 
in  the  revolutionary  period  of  our  country's  history, 
and  could  not  on  account  of  consanguineous  scruples 
have  been  omitted  without  rendering  the  ■  writer  ob- 

people.  The  journfila  of  the  General  Court  of  which  lie  was  a 
memher,  convened  in  1775,  which  "took  up  government" on  the  rec- 
ommendation of  the  Continental  and  Provincial  Congresses  ;  the  con- 
stitution of  important  committees  especially,  and  other  appointments 
made,  teli  his  standing  then  and  there.  Often  brought  in  immediate 
contact  with  Gen.  "Washington  from  the  moment  he  was  delegated  to 
provide  suilable  accommodations  for  the  coniiaander-in-chief  at  the 
head  of  the  army  at  Cambridge,  to  the  time  of  hia  delegation  with 
M^.  Osgood  to  West  Point  in  1779  for  the  performance  of  a  most 
important  trust  at  a  most  eventful  period  when  he  publicly  addressed 
the  ofH.cers  and  prophetically  assured  them  that  upon  the  successful 
termination  of  the  war  a  grateful  country  would  appreciate  their  ser- 
vices and  call  them  to  posts  of  honor  in  the  civil  administration  of  the 
government,  there  is  evidence  that  he  enjoyed  the  friendship,  ap- 
proval, and  confidence  of  that  distinguished  man.  Elected  by  the 
General  Court,  in  1775^  lieutenant  colonel,  and,  the  following  Febru- 
aiy,  colonel  of  militia,  (in  which  capacity  he  marched  at  the  head  of 
his  regiment  on  the  expedition  to  Rhode  Island,)  his  appointment  as 
justice  of  the  peace  and  quorum,  as  also  re^ster  of  probate,  soon  fol- 
lowed —  in  August ;  and  in  October  he  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  whose  progress  he  had  arrested  a  year  before ; 
his  commissions  civil  and  mihtary  being  signed  by  the  president  and 
members  of  Council  acting  as  governor,  and  in  the  name  of  '  The 
government  and  people  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England.' 
His  appointment  as  superintendent  for  the  county,  &c.,  during  the  war  ; 
his  position  as  member  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  in  1778,  '79 
and  '80  ;  and  many  honors  in  quick  succession  conferred  bespeak  (he 
estimate  put  upon  his  services.     On  the  adoption  of  the  state  consti- 


vGooglc 


404  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

noxious  to  the  charge  of  being  strangely  oblivious  to 
proceedings  of  great  public  interest.  It  has  seemed, 
therefore,  imperious  duty  to  forego,  as  an  historian,  aU 
affectation  of  self-denying  modesty ;  and  to  act  upon 
the  principle  involved  in  the  sentiment  of  the  immortal 

bard,  — 

"  I've  forgot  my  father ; 
I  know  no  touch  of  consanguinity," 

The  ingenuous  will  recognize  the  duty  as  imperative. 

tiition  in  1780,  lie  was  recommissioned  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas, 
register  of  probate,  and  justice  of  the  peace  and  quorum ;  was  also  of 
the  first  "dediraua  potestatem  "  to  qualify  civil  officers,  and  commia- 
sioned  lo  "take  up  and  restrain  persons  dangerous  to  the  state,"  Ap- 
pointed, 1781,  brigadier  general,  he  offered  his  services  in  1786  to 
Gtov,  Bowdoin  to  suppress  "  the  insurrection."  Resigning  his  military 
appointment  in  1793,  he  was  honorably  discharged  Oct.  31.  Gov. 
Hancock,  in  consenting,  wrote  of  him  —  "  An  officer  whose  patriotic 
services  shone  so  conspicuously  during  a  long  and  arduous  revolution 
which  tried  the  souls  of  men  in  whatever  siatioQ  they  were  called  to 
act  hy  the  voice  of  their  country ; "  and,  the  governor  dying  before  the 
discharge  was  perfected,  Lieut.  Gov.  Samuel  Adams  acting  as  gov- 
ernor wroie,  on  forwarding  the  papera,  "  The  spirit  of  liberty,  uuder 
whose  benevolent  guide  your  conduct  has  been  so  eminently  distin- 
guished during  our  late  conftict  with  despotism,  is  equally  recognized 
in  you  by  the  present  as  by  our  lately  departed  commander-in-chief; 
and  he  expresses  his  confraternity  with  you  in  friendship  and  in  the 
united  love  of  our  common  country  —  whose  government  is  estab- 
lished on  the  solid  foundation  of  equal  liberty  and  the  rights  of  man." 
The  office  of  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  he  held  until  that  court  was 
sapersLled  by  the  Ciicuit  Court  in  1811,  a  period  of  36  years,  within 
whi  1  t  me  he  mas  i]  po  nted  by  Gov  'iuliivan,  chief  justice,  and  also 
chief  ju=f  ce  of  theCoutt  of  Sessions  the  office  of  register  of  probate 
he  h  Id  more  than  i7  jears  resigning  it  voluntarily  in  1822  into  the 
hinds  of  his  fiiend  and  compitiiot  Gov.  Brooks,  He  was  early 
elected  on  the  nomination  of  Gov  Brooks,  a  member  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Medical  Societ)  in  1707  ^^as  elected  a  member  of  the 
Massichuaetf:  Histoiical  Soaety  tnd  in  1812,  of  the  American  An- 
tiquarian Souety,     His  com  eioational  powers  wei-e  of  the  first  order  j 


vGooglc 


P^Tn. 


A%. 


HON  NATHAWIEL  FRIEMAM, 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTT.  4G5 

Moreover,  tlic  omission,  for  personal  reasons,  of  a  rec- 
ord which  reflects  much  honor  on  numerous  energetic 
patriots  in  this  county  and  adjacent  counties,  would  be 
manifest  injustice  to  all;  for  the  spirit  of  liberty  was 
not  limited  to  the  few  to  whom  was  delegated  a  prom- 
inence, but  pervaded  the  Body  — 

"  totamque  infusa  per  artus 
Mens  agitat  molem,  et  magno  so  ooqjoro  miscct," 

and  he  was  one  of  the  best  extempore  public  speakers  of  his  day. 
Living  generously  and  independently  —  his  hospitality  of  the  old 
sehool  —  a  man  always  of  uneommon  industry,  application,  and  per- 
severance—  he  survived  most  of  his  contemporaries  ;  and  died,  leav- 
ing a  large  library  in  medical  and  legal  science,  as  also  theology,  but 
a  very  limited  amount  of  other  property,  although  unembarrassed  and 
free  from  debt,  at  Ihe  advanced  age  of  nearly  87,  Sept.  20,  1827  — 
retaining  a  good  degree  of  menial  vigor  and  physical  activity  to  within 
a  few  days  of  his  decease. 

"  Of  no  distemper,  of  no  blast  he  died; 

But  fcU  like  autumn  fruit  that  mellowed  long ; 

Eveu  woTider'd  at,  becaiiSB  it  falls  nd  BOOuer. 

Fate  seemed  to  wind  liim  up  for  four-aoore  years ; 

Yet  freshly  ran  ha  on  bIk  ivinterB  more, 

Till  like  a  clock  worn  out  with  eating  time, 

The  wheels  of  weary  life  at  last  stood  still." 

We  present,  not  without  some  hesitancy,  an  engraving  of  a  likeness 
of  him ;  but  painted  when  he  was  85  years  of  age  and  at  a  time  when 
suffering  from  injuries  received  by  the  oversetting  of  a  stage  coach. 
The  hkeness  is  not  without  defects,  "  In  personal  presence  he  was 
commanding  ;  his  height  six  feet ;  his  eyes  piercing;  his  countenance 
strongly  marked"  and  denoting  character.  By  two  marmges  he  had 
20  children,  18  of  whom  lived  to  adult  age  and  w.crc  married. 
VOL.  L  59 


vGooglc 


THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

The  Cape  Toivns  Awake  to  the  Importance  of  the  impending  Crisis.  —  A 
County  Congress.  —  Gov.  Gage  alarmed.  —  Countermancls  his  Orders  for 
a  Meeting  of  the  General  Court.  —  The  Court  meet  and  denounce  him.  — 
Eesolve  themselves  into  a  Continental  Congi-ess. — Battie  of  Lexington. 
—  ACall  to  Arms.  — Bunker  Hill.  —  Congi'ess  prepares  for  Defence. — 
Commander-iii-Chief.  —  Local  Items.  —  Vigilance  to  counteract  the  To- 
ries.—  Importance  of  Cape  Cod  Harbor.  —  Letter  from  Hon.  James 
Otis.  ~  Defence  of  the  Coast. 

The  town  had  now  imbibed  largely  the  spirit  of  rev- 
olution. Public  meetings  were  being  lield  for  various 
public  objects,  all  tending  to  the  same  result  and  with 
one  great  general  object  in  view.  Committees  of  cor- 
respondence and  vigilance  were  appointed,  and  the 
spirit  of  the  masses  of  the  people  began  to  be  most  de- 
termined. A  Connty  Congress  was  held  in  Barnstsir 
ble,  Nov.  16, 1774. 

The  governor  of  Massachusetts  Bay  having  issued 
precepts  to  the  several  towns  in  the  province  for  the 
return  of  representatives  to  the  Great  and  General 
Court  to  be  convened  at  Salem,  Oct.  4,  had  become 
alarmed  at  the  preparations  which  he  saw  were  being 
made  to  resist  the  usurpation  of  chartered  rights,  and, 
countermanding  his  orders,  postponed,  by  proclama- 
tion, the  session.  Disregarding  his  mandate,  ninety 
representatives  elect  assembled.  They  waited  a  suita- 
ble time  for  the  governor  to  attend  and  administer  the 
several  oaths ;  but  he  not  appearing,  they  proceeded  to 
organize.  John  Hancock  was  chosen  president  and 
Benjamin  Lincoln  clerk.  After  passing  simdry  resolves 
in  regard  to  the  conduct  of  the  governor  and  other 
officers  of  the  crown,  and  in  reference  to  the  condition 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF    EAESSTABLH   COUNTY.  467 

of  the  country;  it  was  moved,  "  That  the  members 
present  do  now  resolve  themselves  mto  a  Proviscial 
CoNGRESSj  to  be  joined  by  such  persons  as  have  been  or 
may  be  chosen  for  that  purpose,  to  take  into  consider- 
ation the  dangerous  and  alarming  situation  of  public 
affairs  in  this  province,  and  to  consult  and  determine 
on  such  measures  as  they  shall  judge  will  tend  to  pro- 
mote the  true  interests  of  his  majesty,  and  the  peace, 
welfare  and  prosperity  of  this  province,"  The  Cape 
towns  were  generally  represented.-' 

'  TLe  first  session  of  this  Congress  was  held,  Oct.  7.  How  judi- 
cious, bold  and  active  were  the  proceedings  of  this  memorable  Con- 
gress, is  told  in  other  publications  more  in  extenso  than  is  compatible 
with  the  space  allotted  cliieiiy  to  local  annals.  We  there  learn  how 
wisely  the  committees  were  appointed ;  with  what  manly  dignity  the 
governor  was  addressed ;  what  prudent  foresight  was  exercised  in  ad- 
rising  the  withholding  of  the  public  moneys  from  the  receiver-gen- 
eral of  the  crown,  and  in  the  appointment  of  a  new  prorince  treasurer ; 
and  bow,  when  the  i-oyal  governor  commanded  them  to  "desist  from 
such  illegal  and  unconstitutional  proceedings,"  and  "  warned  "  them  of 
tbeir  '' danger,"  they  were  none  the  less  detei-mined — but  closing 
their  doors  to  prevent  intrusion  set  themselves  about  their  work  in 
good  earnest,  appointing  committees  of  safety  and  correspondence, 
proriding  for  a  more  effi<dently  organized  militia,  a  corps  of  minute- 
men  in  every  town,  an  increase  of  military  stores  —  intending  to  lay 
the  foundation  of  an  army.  The  loyalists,  in  the  meati  while,  were 
not  inactive.  Timothy  Ruggles,  formerly  of  Sandwich,  and  occupant 
of  the  Newcomh  T<wern,  {lawyer,  innholder,  general,  sometime  pro- 
fessed patriot,  at  last  undisguised  tory,)  now  of  HardwicJi,  an  active 
leader  in  concocting  measures  throughout  the  province  for  the  further- 
ance of  the  work  on  which  the  royal  governor  was  intent,  had  suc- 
ceeded in.  catiang  papers  to  be  circulated  in  every  town,  calling  on 
"  the  friends  of  government  to  unite  in  associations  to  counteract  the 
designs  of  the  patriotic ;  the  loyalists  denounced  the  whigs  as  "  bullies," 
who,  when  bbws  should  respond  to  woi-ds,  would  be  "as  agile  in 
retreat  as  their  tongues  were  now  nimble ; "  and  the  "  red-coat  military  " 
boasted  that  the  disafiected  provincials  were  but  a  "  mob  without  order 
or  discipline,"  who  would  be  "  easily  crushed  in  any  contest "  that 


vGooglc 


468  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

At  this  juncture,  a  meeting  of  committees  from  the 
several  towns  in  the  County  of  Barnstable  was  held. 
Assembling  in  the  court  house  in  Barnstable,  Wednes- 
day, Nov.  16,  Hon.  James  Otis  was  chosen  moderator, 
and  CoL  Joseph  Otis  clerk  of  the  meeting.  Col.  Na- 
thaniel Freeman,^  Col.  Joseph  Otis,  Mr.  Thomas  Paine, 
Daniel  Davis,  Esq.,^  and  Mr.  Job  Crocker,  were  appointed 
a  committee  of  correspondence  —  to  communicate  with 
different  parts  of  the  county  and  with  other  counties  in 
the  province  as  occasion  might  require ;  and  a  commit- 
tee consisting  of  Hon.  Jaraes  Otis,  Col.  Otis,  Col.  Free- 
man, Capt.  Joseph  Doane,  Mr.  Paine,  Daniel  Davis,  Esq., 
and  Capt.  Jonathan  Howes,  were  appointed  "to  consider 
further  the  public  grievances  and  the  state  of  this 
cmriiy,  and  report  at  the  time  to  which  this  meeting 
shall  be  adjourned."  Having  thus  laid  the  foundation 
for  united  concert  of  action,  "  thanks  were  voted  to  the 
moderator,  clerk,  and  to  Col.  Freeman  for  their  good 
services,"  and  the  meeting  separated  —  stout  hearts 
strengthened  by  the  interview,  their  purpose  more 
than  ever  resolved,  and  their  hopes  and  expectations 
brightened.* 

'  Dr.  Freeman's  commission  first  as  lieutenant  colonel  was  under 
the  great  seal  of  the  Council  assembled  at  "VVatertown.  His  appoint- 
ment as  colonel  was  by  the  General  Court,  Jan.  7,  1776. 

"  Hon.  Daniel  Davis  was  a  gentleman  highly  esteemed  and 
always  prominent  in  the  business  of  both  town  and  county.  He  was 
one  of  the  justices  of  the  Common  Pleas,  from  1770  ;  member  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  ;  of  the  Council  from  1776  to  the  commencement 
of  the  State  Constitution  ;  appointed  judge  of  Probate,  1778  ;  and,  in 
1781,  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas,  and  then  chief  justice  —  holding  the 
last  two  ofiiccs  fo  the  time  of  his  death.  For  the  portrsut  of  bim, 
which  is  here  given,  we  are  indebted  t»  his  great-grandson,  Daniel 
Cobb,  Esq.,  merchant,  of  New  Tovk, 

We  have  refen'ed  in  a  previous  note  to  a  provision  for  "minute- 
men,"  and  to  discussions  looking  to  the  raising  of  an  army.  The 
Provincial  Congress  bad  resolved  that  for  the  defence  of  the  province 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  469 

AVe  have  no  Beed  to  look  abroad  or  into  ancient  his- 
tory for  models  of  true  patriotism :  they  are  found  at 
home  now  and  henceforward  in  the  promptitude,  toils, 
daring,  and  sacrifices  of  our  revolutionary  sires.  They 
■were  not,  like  many  of  the  champions  of  invaded 
Greece,  unchained  from  the  workshops  and  doors  of 
their  masters,  nor  were  they  even  those  whose  vocation 
was  the  bearing  of  arms ;  but  men  of  pacific  habits, 
ready  for   liberty's    sake   to   contemn    tlie    threats  of 

a  number  of  iijliabitauts  should  be  enlisted  to  stand  "  ready  to  mai-cli 
at  a  minute's  warning ; "  and  now,  in  Koveinber,  agents  were  sent  to 
New  Hampshire,   Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut,  to  request  their 
cooperation  in  order  to  provide  an  army  of  20,000  men  to  act  in  any 
emergency.     In  the  same  time,  the  British  Parliament  had  convened, 
and  tte  king  in  his  opening  speech  infoimed  the  members  that  "a 
most  daring  resistance  to  the  laws"  prevailed  in  Massachusetts  which 
was  encoun(,el  by  nnhwful  combinations  in  other  colonies,  and  ex- 
pi'essed  his  film  deteimmation  to  withstand  any  attempt  to  weaken  or 
impiur  the  rojal  authoiity     Ihe  two  Houses  expressed  then- hearty 
concurrence      Still  when  the  Britisli  ministry  brought  the  American 
papers  befoie  P^llnment  Lord  Camden  arose  and  ssud,  "Theway 
must  be  mimedntely  opened  foi    reconciliation.     It  will  soon  be  too 
late.     They  say  we  have  no  right  to  tax  them  without  their  consent. 
They  say  truly  representation  and  taxation  must  go  together ;  they 
are  inseparable.     This  wise  people  speak  out.     They  do  not  hold  the 
language  of  slaves.     They  do  not  ask  you  to  repeal  the  laws  as  a 
favor ;  they  claim  it  as  a  right.     They  tell  you  they  will  not  submit  to 
Ihem.     And  I  tell  you,  the  acts  must  be  repealed,  and  you  must  go 
through  the  work.    Yo\i  must  declare  you  have  no  right  to  tax.    Then 
they  may  trust  you."     But  Chatham's  views  for  conciliatory  measures 
were  negatived  by  a  large  majority.     Petitions  from  the  merchants  of 
London  and  other  commercial  cities  were  consigned  to  the  committee 
of  oblivion ;   and  Benjamin  Franklin  and  other  commercial   agents 
were  absolutely  refused  a  hearing  on  the  plea  that  they  were  ap- 
pointed by  illegal  assemblies.     Thus  the  voice  of  three  millions  of 
people  in  the  attitude  of  applicants  for  right  was  put  to  silence.    Par- 
liament charged  the  Americana  with  "  wishing  to  become  independ- 
ent," and  determined  "  to  crush  the  monster  in  its  birth  at  any  price 
or  hazard." 


vGooglc 


470  TILE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

tyranny,  and,  if  needs  be,  leave  their  own  liappy  fire- 
sides and  meet  tlie  privations  of  the  camp  and  the 
perils  of  the  field.  No  anxiety,  it  is  true,  was  felt  that 
written  memorials  of  their  sacrifices  and  daring  should 
be  preserved  —  it  has  always  been  true  of  Cape  Cod  ; 
and  hence  much  that  might  have  been  of  thrilling  in- 
terest has  perished  unrecorded — irretrievably  lost  — 
biuied  in  the  graves  of  the  unassiiming  citizen  patriots 
who  did  much  to  assure  the  liberty  and  prosperity  of 
posterity,  and,  strange  to  say,  no  one  has  hitherto  cared 
to  rescue  surviving  facts  from  oblivion.  In  all  the 
histories  that  have  been  written,  Cape  Cod  has  been 
treated  (we  have  before  intimated)  as  if  it  were  a 
Urra  incognita.  If,  indeed,  it  is  alluded  to,  its  agency  in 
great  political  events  is  singularly  overlooked ;  and  its 
noble  patriots  are  unmentioned,  or  if  the  names  of  any 
miist  necessarily  be  spoken,  the  fact  of  their  origin  and 
the  scene  of  their  laboi-s  is  negligently  concealed.  It 
■was  not  here,  as  in  the  old  world,  that  the  nation  was 
identified  with  the  capital,  and  the  capital  with  the 
court,  so  that,  as  in  France,  if  Paris  falls,  the  nation 
succumbs  with  it ;  but  in  every  town  and  village,  the 
great  questions  at  issue  were  under  discussion,  and 
from  seemingly  unimportant  positions  the  fiat  went 
forth,  "America  must  and  shall  be  free."  Cape  Cod 
was  emphatically  revolutionary  ground. 

We  turn  from  important  public  events  to  notice 
matters  of  mere  local  interest;  but  have  only  to  say, 
that -the  General  Court  appropriated  tliis  year  £135 
"  to  enable  the  inhabitants  of  Provincetown  to  support 
a  Protestant  minister ; "  and  that,  notwithstanding  all 
the  toils,  perplexities,  and  privations  of  the  years  that 
ensue,  the  interests  of  justice,  morality  and  religion 
were  not  neglected. 


vGooglc 


AimMM   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTY.  471 

In  1775,  Thomas  Gage  still  remained  in  office;  but, 
fortunately,  was  the  last  ever  appointed  for  Massaehu- 
setts  by  the  crown.^  The  battle  of  Lexmgton,  in  April, 
became  the  signal  for  war.''  A  letter  addressed  at  this 
time  to  Col,  Freeman  of  Sandwich  by  Mr.  Watson  of 
Plymouth,  is  illustrative  of  the  excitement  occasioned 
by  this  event,  and  the  spirit  of  the  tinies.^    It  shows, 

'  Several  regiments,  we  have  said,  followed  Gage  soon  after  his 
arrival.  He  had  begun  to  repair  the  fortiftcations  upon  Boston  Neck  ; 
had  seized  the  ammunition  in  Charlestown  arsenal ;  and  had  again  been 
recruited,  so  that  his  forces  were  10,000  strong.  He  now  sent  out  a 
detachment  to  take  possession  of  the  stores  at  Salem  and  Concoi-d. 

'  When  Gage  sent  his  troops  to  seize  tlie  stores  at  Concord,  tlie 
marcli,  though  in  tie  night,  was  discovered ;  and  early  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  19th,  as  the  troops  under  Colonel  Smith  and  Major  Pit- 
cairn  reached  Lexington,  they  found  about  seventy  men  of  the 
"  minute  company "  of  that  tovifu  under  ai-ms.  Pitcaira  riding  up  to 
them,  called  out,  "  Disperae,  you  reheU ! "  and  not  being  obeyed  at 
once  discharged  his  pistol  and  ordered  his  troops  to  fire.  Eight 
Americans  were  killed  and  others  wounded.  It  was  the  intention  of 
the  people  so  to  conduct  as  to  place  their  adversaries  in  the  wrong  ; 
determined  that  if  hostilities  must  commence,  England  should  be  the 
;  but  it  was  equally  llieir  determination  to  repel  wiih  firm- 
s  the  first  hostile  attack.  This  is,  to  say  the  least,  one  of  the  few 
battles  comparatively  in  which  human  blood  has  not  been  shed  in  vain. 
It  was  truly  an  occasion  on  wliich  the  blood  of  patriots  proved  to 
be  the  seed  of  libei-ty ;  the  beginning  of  that  sanguinary  contest  that 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  American  independence.  —  On  the  re- 
turn of  the  troops  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  had  very  generally 
gathered  in  arms,  and  the  retreating  troops  were  attacked  in  all  direc- 
tions. At  Lexington,  a  British  reenforcement  came  to  the  rescue  and 
secured  the  retj-eat  of  the  red-coats  to  Boston,  after  the  damage  of  60 
killed  and  180  wounded.  Tlie  American  1ms  was  50  killed  and  34 
wounded. 

*  The  letter  of  Mr,  Watson  may  not  be  witliout  interest :  — 

"  Plymouth,  April  24, 1775. 
"Dear  Col.  Freeman, — 

"I  congratulate  you  and  our  good  friends  in  Sandwich  on  the  grand- 
est event  that  ever  took  place  in  America :  I  mean  the  late  battle  at 
Concord,  &c.    That  700  poor,  despised  Yankees  (I  glory  in  the  name) 


vGooglc 


472  TIIE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

too,  that  party  animosities  were  not  more  strong  than 
■was  the  conviction  of  right  and  a  confidence  in  tiie  ap- 
proval of  Heaven  in  the  patriot  breast.  The  religious 
element  was,  indeed,  potential  throughout  the  entire 
of  events,  and  no  doubt  contributed  power- 


should  hare  put  to  flight  and  totally  defeated  1700  of  Loi-d  North's 
best  picked  troops,  consisting  of  grenadiers  and  Earl  Percy's  regi- 
ment of  Welsh  Fusileersjis  a  circumstance  deeply  mortifying  to  those 
who  thought  themselves  invincible  One  of  our  Kingston  fi'iends  was 
in  Boston  when  the  vanquished  tioops  retumecl,  and  was  it  the  feriy 
when  they  were  brought  o^ei,  who  saja  he  cannot  e\press  the  mortili- 
calioa,  disappointment  and  chagrin  that  appealed  in  their  counte- 
nances. Cartloads  of  the  wounded  were  hurried  to  the  hospital, 
(many  of  whom  are  since  dead,)  their  mouths  belching  out  i-urses  and 
execrations.  We  have  disarmed  our  tones,  and  they  are  in  a  melan- 
choly situation —  suing  and  hogging  for  reconciliation  on  any  terms. 
We  are  in  high  spirits,  and  don't  think  it  is  in  the  power  of  all  Europe  to 
subjugate  us  ;  for  it  is  evident  that  the  Lord  of  Hosts  has  declared  in 
our  favor,  and  to  this  God  let  ua  ascitbe  all  the  glory  and  all  the 
praise.  The  poor,  wicked,  mandamus  paity  are  fled  to  the  ships ;  and 
to  what  can  they  fly  next '  I  im  sure  thpy  have  not  a  good  con- 
science to  flee  to.  I  wi  h  them  futuie  happiness ;  hut  I  cannot  in 
conscience  wish  them  much  good  in  this  hfi,  I  sincerely  wish  and 
most  heartily  pray  that  a  proper  sense  of  this  very  remarkable  inter- 
position of  Pi-ovidence  in  our  favor  may  have  a  proper  effect  on  the 
minds  of  a  much  injured  and  greatly  insulted  people.  Ned  Winslow 
was  in  the  action,  and  had  his  horse  shot  under  him.  .  .  . 
"  I  am,  sir,  with  much  esteem,  and  most  sincere  affection, 
"Your  humble  servant,  in  great  haste, 

"W.Watson. 
"  Col.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Sandwich. 

"  P.  S.  Please  forward  this  to  Col.  Otis  of  Barnstable,  after  Col. 
Freeman  has  read  it." 

The  foregoing  letter  was  evidently  dictated  io  haste  and  under  the 
inspiration  naturally  induced  by  tbe  intelligence  he  had  jnst  received. 
It  is  worthy,  however,  to  be  preserved  as  characteristic  of  a  period 
when  every  occurrence  was  pregnant  with  interest  —  One  fact  is  not 
a  little  remarkable  in  this  connection,  as  showing  the  injustice  that  is 
sometimes  awarded  to  those  who  have  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF    EAIlNSl'AliLE    COUNTY.  473 

fully  to  prevent  despondency  and  to  secure  the  final 
result.  The.  evidence  of  this  is  every  where  apparent 
throughout  the  revolutionary  movement.  Whether 
presumptuous,  superstitious,  or  well  founded,  the  im- 
pression seems  to  have  been  strong  in  the  minds  of  the 
patriots,  that  their  cause  was  the  cause  of  God  and  that 
God  would  defend  the  right.* 

The  Provincial  Congress,  in  May,  declared  Gage  an 

the  day  in  a  good  cause ;  and  as  illustrative  of  the  mutations  that 
await  poUticiil  influence,  power,  and  place :  in  the  time  of  our  career 
as  an  independent  government,  the  writer  of  the  aforesaid  lelter,  who 
was  by  all  who  knew  him  ranked  among  ihe  most  zealous  and  ap- 
proved whigs,  highly  respected,  was  rotated  from  ofiiee  in  consequence 
of  representations  made,  doubtless  with  sinister  intent,  to  President 
Jefferson,  the  burden  of  the  charge  being  that  he  was  "  an  old  tory." 
A  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1751,  he  was  through  a  long  life, 
extending  from  1730  to  1815,  a  zealous  advocate  for  the  tights  and 
Kberties  of  his  country,  and  a  man  of  high  integrity.  He  was,  in 
1775,  the  fii-st  postmaster  appointed  for  Plymouth  by  the  Provincial 
Congress ;  in  1782,  was  appointed  by  the  General  Court  naval  offi- 
cer ;  and  in  1789  received  a  commission  under  President  Washing- 
ton as  collector  of  the  port  of  Plymouth.  President  Jefferson 
removed  him  in  1808. 

1  Among  the  papers  published  under  the  name  of  the  "  American 
Archives "  appears  a  letter  from  Col-  Freeman,  dated  "  Sandwich, 
May  2,  1775,"  addressed  "to  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety,"  Dr.  Church,  in  which  an  expression  occurs  so  singularly  co- 
incident with  that  used  eight  days  after,  by  Gen.  Allen  at  the  taking 
of  Ticonderoga,  that  we  venture  to  notice  it  as  at  least  one  of  the  in- 
stances corroborating  the  pervading  influence  of  the  religious  clement 
referred  to.  Gen.  Allen,  when  asked,  May  lO,  by  De  La  Place,  his 
authority  for  demanding  the  surrender,  replied,  "  I  demand  it  in  the 
name  of  the  great  Jehovah  and  of  the  Continental  Congress."  Col. 
Freeman's  letter,  May  2,  after  reporting  the  success  of  an  expedition 
intrusted  to  hiin  by  resolves  of  the  general  committee  of  safety,  con- 
cludes, "Any  further  orders  from  the  honorable  committee  in  the 
cause  of  God  and  my  country  I  am  ready  to  execute  with  the  great- 
est pleasure," 

VOL.  I.  60 


vGooglc 


474  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

enemy,  disqualified  for  his  office  and  unworthy  of  obe- 
dience ;  and  Ms  functions  were  from  that  time  confined 
to  Boston.^ 

Thus,  as  related  before,  a  memorable  crisis  had  come 
with  the  shedding  of  blood.  No  pen  can  portray  the 
feeUngs  which  the  event  had  excited.  Couriers  had 
been  despatched  in  all  directions  conveying  the  news 
as  they  flew,  (for  we  can  hardly  say  rode,)  and  this  was 
speedily  carried  every  where,  spreading  in  an  increas- 
ing circle  like  electric  light  throughout  the  land. 
"Wherever  the  news  reached,  though  on  Sunday,  if  in 
the  time  of  divine  service,  the  messenger  at  once 
entered  the  church  and  proclaimed,  "  War  is  begun ! " 
The  cry  was  every  where  repeated,  "  War  is  begun  ! " 
and  the  almost  universal  response  was,  "  To  arms  :  lib- 
erty or  death !  "  It  was  felt  that  the  question  was  now 
to  be  decided  —  abject  servitude  or  the  enjoyment  of 
inalienable  rights  and  liberties.  Public  meetings  were 
held ;  resolutions  approbatory  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress were  passed ;  and  no  people  in  the  whole  length 
and  breadth  of  our  land  were  more  ready  and  deter- 
mined for  the  contest  than  were  the  inhabitants  of 
Cape  Cod,  notwithstanding  the  great  sacrifices  they 
must  encounter.  The  fisheries  and  their  commerce  — 
the  main  support  —  it  was  clearly  foreseen  would  be 
cut  off  and  great  privations  must  ensue ;  but  these  con- 
siderations and  the  thought  of  danger  or  death  were  as 

^  In  June,  Gago  issued  a  proclamation  offering  pavdon  to  all  "  reb- 
els" except  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock.  Tiieir  offences  were 
"  too  flagitious  to  admit  of  any  other  consideration  than  that  of  condign 
punishment."  Tbey  were  then  members  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
of  wliich  the  latter  was  chosen  president,  May  24,  —  The  battle  of 
Breed's  Hill,  which  ensued,  doubtless  convinced  Gage  that  he  had  mis- 
taken the  chai-acter  of  the  Americans, 


vGooglc 


AJINALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUSTY.  475 

nothing  before  the  patriotic  blaze  which  was  now  en- 
kindled and  rising  high  in  every  bosom  where  true 
patriotism  had  a  home.  All  was  activity  and  prepa- 
ration.' 

A  bill  had  been  passed  by  Parliamentj  Febriiary  10, 
by  which  the  colonies  were  to  be  restricted  in  their 
trade  to  Great  Britain  and  her  West  India  possessions 
and  prohibited  also  from  fishing  on  the  Banlts  of  New- 
foundland ;  it  was  expected  that  these  prohibitions 
would  prove  particularly  distressing  —  the  idea  pre- 
vailing in  England  that  as  so  many  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  colonies  depended  on  commerce  and  the  fisli- 
eries  for  subsistence,  they  could  be  "starved  into  obe- 
dience." ^     The   fisheries   on   the  Atlantic    coast  were 

'  Tlie  Provincnl  Congiess  of  Mas  wl  ii,Ii  ■«  s  in  ae  s  n  when 
the  affair  at  Lexington  occuned  had  =ent  df  patches  to  Eiglind  ac- 
companied by  depositions  to  =how  who  i\<Te  the  f^gieisor=  —  the 
Congress  still  proiessmg  tie  lojnltyot  tie  people  totheciovn  hut 
at  the  same  time  protesting  that  they  would  not  submit  to  the  tyranny 
of  the  British  ministry,  and  solemnly  averring:  "Appealing  to 
Heaven  for  the  justice  of  our  cause,  we  determine  to  die,  or  be  free." 
Addresses  to  the  throne,  protests,  and  resolutions  multiform  we  may 
well  suppose  could  hardly  have  been  expected  by  the  leading  men  of 
the  day  to  have  much  effect  on  king,  ministry,  or  Parliament ;  they 
were  intended,  doubtless,  to  have,  as  they  did  have,  more  eerlous  effect 
upon  the  feelings  of  the  colonists  themselves — showing  them  their 
true  situalioii  and  danger  and  awaking  tliem  to  unity  of  action  and 
firm  resolve.  Still,  there  is  overwhelming  evidence  that  in  the  eon- 
test  now  begun  between  the  colonies  and  the  parent  country,  there 
were  thoughts  of  consanguinity  tliat  urged  to  the  very  exhausting  of 
attempts  at  reconciliation  on  honorable  terras. 

°  "When  the  report  of  former  proceedings  had  reached  England,  a 
joint  address  of  both  Houses  was  presented  to  the  king  declaring  that 
"i-ebellion  already  existed"  in  Mass.,  and  beseeching  his  majesty  to 
suppress  it  —  an  ai-my  of  10,000  men,  it  was  believed,  would  be 
amply  suificient  "to  reduce  the  rebels  to  submission."  Now  the  starv- 
ing process  must  also  be  tried.     But  liberty  and  patriotism  being  the 


vGooglc 


476  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

always  regarded  both  by  England  and  here  as  of  jirime 
importance,  and  so  in  fact  they  were,  and  ever  have 
been/  Various  were  the  means  to  which  resort  was 
had  for  inducing  submission,^ 

The  second  Continental  Congress,^  pursuing  the  pre- 
vious policy  so  pregnant  -with  proofs  of  a  desire  only 
for  right  and  for  reconciliation  on  terms  honorable, 
recommended  the  observance  of  a  day  of  humiliation 
and  prayer  "  to  implore  the  blessings  of  Heaven  on 
[their]  sovereign  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  and  the 

order  of  the  day,  although  there  were  always  some  whose  nerves  were 
sensibly  affected  by  England's  menaces,  aad  who  stood  aghast,  de- 
clining all  preparationa  for  rebistance,  the  ranks  were  amply  filled  by 
those  of  stronger  nerve  and  better  fitted  to  do  honor  to  themselves  and 
their  country, 

'  The  London  merchants,  alarmed  by  the  restraints  on  trade,  took 
action,  testifying  the  good  that  resulted  to  England  from  the  fishing 
trade  of  New  England.  They  showed  to  Parliament  tliat,  in  1764, 
New  England  employed  45,880  tons  of  shipping  and  6002  seamen, 
and  the  amount  of  her  sales  in  foreign  markets  for  that  yeav  was 
£322,220  16  sterling;  that  the  fisheries  were  since  greatly  increased, 
and  that  a  suppression  of  this  trade  would  actually  wound  the  com- 
merce of  Great  Britain  and  involve  thousands  of  its  people  in  ruin. 
Still  the  ministry  was  determined. 

^  A  bill  termed  a  conciliatory  proposition  ivas  introduced  by  Lord 
North,  providing  that  taxation  should  cease  in  any  colony  whenever 
certain  conditions  were  fulfilled  —  the  design  of  whidi  evidently  was 
to  disunite  the  colonies.  The  proposition  was  indignantly  rejected  by 
the  Congress  and  by  the  colonies ;  it  was  moreover  decided,  in  Eng- 
land, by  the  friends  of  America  in  Parliament,  to  be  nugatory,  since 
it  was  the  right,  not  the  mode,  of  taxation  that  the  colonies  disputed. 

*  It  may,  upon  reflection,  induce  a  smile  that  the  13  little  colonies 
should  imagine  themselves  '  the  continent '  and  call  their  assembly 
the  '  Continental  Congress.'  But  South  America  was  then  scarcely 
recognized  by  the  civilized  world ;  and  it  is  not  quite  certain  that 
there  was  not  then  indulged  the  remote  thought  that  the  continent 
itself  should  bo  self-governed  and  the  right  of  ail  usurpation  by 
European  power  he  denied  on  American  soil. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTY.  477 

interposition  of  divine  aid  to  remove  the  grievances  of 
the  people  and  restore  harmony  between  the  parent 
country  and  the  colonies  on  constitutional  terms. 
British  reenforcements,  however,  continued  to  arrive, 
■with  of&cers  who  had  acquired  distinguished  reputation 
in  the  war  between  England  and  France,  and  in  Bos- 
ton martial  law  was  in  full  force.^  The  news  of  the 
Bunker  Hill  battle  which  soon  followed,  excited  aston- 
ishment in  England,  and  increased  confidence  at  honie.^ 

I  It  was  d  m  1  bj  li  p  pie  to  annoy  and,  if  possible,  dis- 
lodge the  B  h  f  T  end  a  detacliment  of  1000  men 
under,  tlie  mn  d  f  Ccl  P  t  was  ordered,  June  16,  to  tlirow 
up  a  breas  k  B  k  H  1  They  had  nearly  completed  theiv 
design  befo  d  yl  I  u  d  d;  but  soon  after  the  day  began  to 
dawn,  ah  y  an  nad  iin  ed  from  the  British  ships  in  the 
harbor.  Th  An.  1  m  jn  while  received  a  reenforcement 
of  500  men  A  n  n  17  1  U  found  Gen.  Howe  advanciKg  with 
an  army  of  3000.  The  fire  of  the  Americans  was  so  dreadful  that 
the  whole  British  line  recoiled  and  was  thi-own  into  disorder.  Soon, 
however,  the  Americans  were  obliged  to  retreat  in  consequence  of  the 
failure  of  amraunilJon,  The  loss  of  the  British  was  1054  in  killed 
and  wounded  ;  diat  of  the  Americans  453.  Among  the  fallen  was  the 
brave  and  lamented  Maj.  Gen.  Warren,  who,  without  having  as  yet 
assumed  his  commission,  had  hastened  to  the  battle  as  a  volunteer. 
Whilst  the  British  troops  were  advancing  to  the  charge,  orders  were 
given  by  the  enemy  to  set  fire  to  Chariestown ;  the  entire  town  was 
laid  iu  ashes — a  barbarous  act,  of  no  advantage  to  the  British  cause, 
and  only  serving  to  exasperate  the  Americans  yet  more. 

^  The  British  ministry  began  to  see  that  they  were  engaged  in  a 
sanguinaiy  contest,  and  that  the  people  of  whom  they  had  been  ac- 
customed to  speak  in  terms  of  contempt  were  not  to  be  intimidated 
easily,  or  to  he  trifled  with.  Lord  Chatham,  Burke,  and  Fox,  con- 
sidering the  issue  doubtful,  as  well  as  disapproving  the  course  taken 
by  the  ministry  all  along,  now  earnestly  endeavored,  though  without 
success,  to  produce  an  immediate  change  in  the  measures  of  govern- 
ment. The  ministry,  notwithstanding  a  strenuous  opposition  to  their 
rash  procedure,  carried  a  decisive  majority ;  and  an  act  was  obtained 
to  employ  16,000  additional  mercenaries  to  reduce  the  colonies.     All 


vGooglc 


478  THE   HISTORY   0¥    CAPE   COD. 

Congress  at  onco  resolved  on  vigorous  measures  for  de- 
fence ;  but  at  the  same  time  agreed  on  a  second  peti- 
tion to  the  king,  and  also  issued  addresses  to  the  fe(ypU 
of  Great  Britain  and  Canada,  setting  forth  their  rea- 
sons for  taking  up  arms.  They  also  proceeded  to 
organize  a  coi4iiiefntal  anny,  and  for  commander-in-chief 
made  choice,  happily  for  the  cause  and  the  country,  of 
George  Washington  ;  and  his  head-quarters  were  soon, 
July  %  established  at  Cambridge, 

It  is  not  our  design  to  enter  more  fully  into  the  de- 
tails of  the  war  than  is  necessary  to  illustrate  the  part 
which  the  inhabitants  of  Cape  Cod  enacted  in  the 
eventful  struggle ;  and  we,  therefore,  yield  again  to 
relations  of  more  local  nature.  —  The  people  of  the 
Cape  were  not  prepared,  whatever  obstacles  might 
be  in  their  way,  to  be  driven  from  their  avocations 
upon  the  seas.^    Voyages,  with  the  approbation  of  the 

trade  with  the  colonies  was  suspended;  and  all  property  belonging  to 
the  same  taken  upon  the  high  seas  was  declared  forfeited  to  the  cap- 
tora.     The  force  against  America  was  now  50,000  men, 

^  We  find  Prince  Gorham  petitioning  to  the  Genei'al  Court,  Aug.  5i 
for  permission,  and  a  resolve  autSiorizing  iiimself  and  Eenj.  Cobb,  "to 
export  from  Cliatbam  to  the  Island  St.  Eustatia,  40  lihds.  of  old  Ja- 
maica and  new  scale  fish,  40  bis.  alewives,  and  2000  bush,  onions,"  but 
required  to  carry  "no  more  provisions  than  are  absolutely  necessai-y 
for  the  vessel's  use,  to  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  committee  of 
inspection  of  said  Chatham :  always  provided  that  the  said  fish,  &c. 
shall  not  be  cleared  out  for  any  of  his  Britannic  Majesty's  dominions." 
Other  and  similar  petitions  anc!  grants  were  made  from  time  to  time. 
A  petition  in  behalf  of  Elisha  Doane  and  others  of  Wellfleet,  praying 
for  liberty  to  send  out  a  number  of  vessels  on  whaling  voyages,  re- 
sulted, Sept-,  27,  in  the  following  resolve :  "  That  the  petitioners  and 
all  others  who  have  vessels  fitting  out  for  the  whale  fishery  be,  and 
they  are  beceby,  permitted  to  send  their  vessels  out  on  said  fishery, 
they  taking  no  more  provisions  than  is  necessary  for  the  said  voyages, 
and  giving  bond  to  the  receiver-general  of  this  colony  in  the  sum  of 


vGooglc 


ANNAI.8   OF   BAENSTABKE   COTINTY.  479 

General    Court,  ^    continued   to   be    made,   tliougli    at 
great  risk. 

It  was  found  necessary,  August  21,  "to  inquire  into 
the  conduct  of  certain  persons  in  the  county,"  as  ap- 
pears by  the  following  procedure  of  the  House  of 
Representatives :  — 

"  Whereas  it  is  represented  to  this  House  that  some 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Eastham,  and  some 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Chatham  and  other 
towns  in  the  county,  have  in  divers  instances  violated 
the  resolves  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  the  Con- 
gress of  this  colony :  Therefore  resolved  that  Colonel 
Nathaniel  Freeman  and  Colonel  James  Otis  be  desired 
to  make  inquiry  into  this  matter  ;  and  if,  upon  exam- 
ination, they  find  that  any  per«on  or  persons,  in  any 
of  the  towns  aforesaid,  have  been  guilty  of  violating 
any  of  the  resolves  aforesaid,  and  have  acted  or  are 
acting  in  direct  violation  of  the  liberties  of  the  col- 
ony; That  they  cause  such  person  or  peraons  to  be 
apprehended  and  secured  by  those  forces  that  are 
appointed  to  guard  the  coast  thereabout,  and  that  they 
be  safely  guarded  and  brouglit  up  to  this  court  to 
answer  for    their  conduct."     The  Massachusetts   Con- 

£2000  for  each  vessel ;  and  that  snid  vessels  with  their  cargoes  return 
to  some  part  of  this  colony,  and  there  land  the  same,  the  ports  of  Bos- 
ton and  Nantucket  excepted." — The  committee  of  correspondence  at 
Chatham  were  instructed  "  to  detain  the  schooner  belonging  to  John 
Prince  of  Salem,  a  tory," 

^  The  representatives  from  the  Cape  in  the  House  of  Eeprcsciita- 
tives  at  this  time,  at  Watertown,  were  "  Daniel  Davis  and  Joseph  Otis 
Esqs.,  Bariistahle;  Col.  Nathaniel  Freeman  and  Joseph  Nye  Jr., 
Sandwich  ;  Maj.  Enoch  Hallett,  Yarmouth ;  Amos  Knowles  Jr.,  East- 
ham;  Col.  Elisha  Cobb,  Wellfleet;  Col.  Joseph  Doane,  Chatham; 
Joshua  Nye,  Harwich ;  Moses  Swift,  Falmouth ;  and  Samuel  Har- 
ding, Tiwo ; "  and  CoL  James  Olis  of  Barnstable  was  of  the  Council. 


vGooglc 


480  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

gress  hadj  it  will  be  understood,  already  caused  meas- 
ures to  be  taken  to  disarm  all  disaffected  persons  or 
tories,  and  to  prevent  persons  removing  with  their 
effects  out  of  the  province. 

In  October  resolves  of  the  General  Court  were, 
"  That  the  selectmen  and  others  who  have  billeted 
the  soldiei^  raised  in  the  County  of  Barnstable  and 
stationed  in  the  Counties  of  Barnstable  and  Plymouth 
be  allowed  the  money  due  them  ;  "  that "  £100  be  paid 
to  Cdi','-  Joseph  Otis,  Col.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Major 
Enoch  Hallett,  and  Maj.  Joseph  Dimmick,  or  to  either 
of  them,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  four  pieces  of 
cannon,  from  four  to  nine  poimders,  and  ammunition 
for  the  same ; "  also  that  an  appropriation  "  of  £135  be 
made  for  the  support  of  the  gospel  ministry  at  Prov- 
incetown."  And,  December  1,  it  was  ordered  "  that  the 
speaker  of  the  House,  James  Warren,  and  Col.  Ome, 
with  such  as  the  honorable  board  shall  join,  be  a  com- 
mittee to  acquaint  his  excellency,  Gen.  Washington, 
with  the  importance  of  Cape  Cod  harbor,  and  consider 
with  him  on  some  method  to  deprive  the  enemy  of 
the  advantage  they  now  receive  therefrom."  —  Also, 
December  2,  Mr.  Joseph  Nye  3d  of  Sandwich  was  re- 
quested "  to  repair  forthwith  to  the  East  Regiment  in 
the  County  of  Barnstable,  and  use  his  utmost  endeav- 
ors to  raise  and  form  into  companies  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  men,  to  be  officered,  equipped,  paid  and 
supported  as  provided  for  —  the  said  men  to  be  at 
head  quarters  on  the  10th  instant."  —  On  the  16th, 
"  James  Prescott  Esq.  brought  down  from  the  Council 
a  letter  from  Hon.  James  Otis, '  relative  to  the  conduct 
of  certain  tories  in  Barnstable,  and  in  particular  a  per- 
son at  the  head  of  them  who  professes  himself  a  whig,' 
—  with  the  following  order  of  Council  thereonj  viz.: 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OE   BARKSTABLE   COUNTY.  481 

"  that  Walter  Spooner  and  Moses  Gill  Esqs.,  with  such 
as  the  House  shall  join,  be  a  committee  to  take  the 
foregoing  letter  and  collateral  papers  into  consideration 
and  report."  Whereupon  Col.  Freeman,  Mr.  Cooper, 
and  Col.  Gushing  were  joined;  and  it  was  ordered  by 
the  House  "  that  a  message  go  to  the  Hon.  Council 
desiring  that  they  will  direct  the  said  committee  to  sit 
forthwith." 

The  situation  of  the  county,  at  this  time,  was  one  of 
great  perplexity  and  exposure.  The  important  decision, 
whether  the  friends  of  liberty  were  ultimately  to  pre- 
vail, or  to  suffer  aa  rebels,  was  yet  to  be  made.  There 
were  causes  which  led  the  loyalists  still  to  cherish  san- 
guine hopes  of  triumph;  and  these  offended,  subtle, 
vindictive  men  were  unwearied  —  throwing  all  possible 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  active  friends  of  freedom, 
and  clandestinely  employing  every  means  of  comfort 
and  aid  to  the  enemy.  The  peculiar  position  of  the 
county  topographically  was  favorable  to  their  evil 
intent.  The  extended  peninsula  not  only  presented 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  sea-coast  liable 
to  hostile  incursion ;  its  most  capacious  harbors  abso- 
lutely indefensible,  and  at  the  will  and  convenience  of 
the  enemy's  shipping;  but  the  numerous  islands  on  the 
south  side  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  county  had 
already  become  the  resort  of  base-minded  persons,  who, 
fearing  to  practise  their  enormities  in  a  less  secure  re- 
treat, ventured  to  hope  for  impunity  on  these  islands 
where  British  men-of-war  constantly  in  sight  might 
afford  them  protection.  True,  on  these  same  islands 
were  many  firm  whigs ;  but  their  exposedness  forbade 
a  repression  of  the  invasions  to  which  they  were  sub- 
ject, nor  were  they  competent,  under  the  circumstances, 
to  expel  the  refugees  by  whom  their  every  movement 
VOL.  r.  61 


vGooglc 


482  TUE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

■was  watched,  and  who  were  among  them  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  instant  and  constant  coramimication 
with  the  enemy.  Nantucket,  Martha's  Vineyard,  and 
the  Elizabeth  Isles  were  positions  uncontrollable  by 
patriotic  zeal.  Depredations  from  these  lurking-places 
of  the  disaffected  and  from  the  enemy  were  constantly 
occurring.^  So  vital  had  become  the  importance  of  ap- 
plying some  remedy,  that,  December  18,  after  due  con- 
sideration by  the  Council  and  House,  special  action  was 
had,  and  Major  Joseph  Dimmick  was  commissioned  to 
begin  the  work  of  reform.  He  was  directed  to  embrace 
an  early  opportunity  and  with  sufficient  aid  *' repair  to 
Nantucket,  and  arrest  such  as  are  guilty  of  supplying 
the  enemy  with  provisions,"  The  disinterested  patriot- 
ism, the  indomitable  energy,  the  unflinching  courage 

'  As  early  as  May  31  of  the  present  year,  a  letter  from  Mr.  Ste- 
phen Nye  of  Sandmicli  to  Col.  Freeman  tlien  in  Boston,  was  laid 
before  tlie  aufhoritiea,  communicating  the  proceedings  of  the  British 
Captain  Lindsey,  at  the  islands :  "  He  received  a  reenforcement  fi'om 
Boston,  and  went  to  the  west  end  of  the  island  and  took  off  about  200 
sheep,  chiefly  from  Tucker's  Island,  belonging  to  John  AVing.  He 
then  came  down  to  the  Cove,  and  there  oi'dered  all  the  sheep  to  be 
yarded ;  insuking,  threatening  and  abusing  the  people  for  their  back- 
wardness in  assisting  him.  When  this  was  done,  he  concluded  to  let 
the  sheep  remain  until  towards  morning.  In  the  course  of  tlie  night 
word  was  brought  to  Falmouth  by  Nye,  and  a  number  of  men  well 
equipped  went  to  the  island ;  but  before  they  arrived  the  sheep  had 
all  been  turned  out  of  the  yard  into  the  woods.  The  people  from  the 
ship  were  euraged;  and  took  all  the  arras  they  could  find,  six  calves, 
and  the  hogs.  The  Falmouth  people  got  there  before  day  and  placed 
ihemseJves  in  the  bushes,  Ijang  undiscovered.  The  boat  came  to  the 
shore  agfun,  but  soon  returned  without  going  to  the  house,  and  went 
to  Holmes'  Hole."  Besides  similar  depredations  often  made,  supplies 
were  being  constantly  furnished  from  isolated  positions  by  those  in  the 
interest  of  the  enemy,  notwithstanding  the  providing  food  for  the  enemy 
snbjected  the  offender  !o  the  penalty  of  death. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  48a 

of  Ditmniek  of  Falmouth  have  long  since  passed  into  a 
proverb. 

On  the  28th,  new  and  increased  levies  of  men  were 
ordered  "for  the  defence  of  the  eea-coast,"  and  CoL 
Freeman  of  Sandwich  was  appointed  "to  issue  the  doc- 
uments necessaryfor  the  new'defence  establishment.'"^ 
Maj.  Hawley,  Mr.  Sullivan,  Mr.  Gerry,  CoL  Freeman  and 
Col.  Orne  were  also  appointed  "  to  consider  and  report 
some  proper  orders  and  regulations  to  be  observed  by 
the  militia  generally  when  drawn  out  on  any  alarm ; 
and  also  what  further  measures  ace  necessary  to  be 
taken  for  the  defence  of  the  colony." 

For  the  defence  of  Truro  some  slight  provision  was 
made,  January  15, 1776.'  The  Cape,  however,  with  all 
its  exposedness  and  trials  at  home,  must  bear  its  ftill 
share  of  distant  service.  Gen.  Washington  calling  for 
reenforcements,  six  regiments  of  728  men  each  must 
now,  January  18,  be  raised  in  the  several  counties  of 
the  province;  and  of  the  4368  privates  required,  260 
must  be  furnished  by  the  County  of  Barnstable/  Again, 

^  The  officers  selected  to  command  the  forces  at  Martta'a  TTmeyard 
and  the  Elizabeth  Islands,  were  Baracbiah  Bassett,  major;  for  com- 
pany 1,  Nathan  Smith  capt.,  Jeremiah  Manter  1st  It.,  Fortunatus  Bas- 
sett,  2d  It. ;  for  comp.  2,  Benj.  Smith  capt.,  Melatiah  Davis  1st  It, 
James  Shaw  2d  It,;  for  comp.  3,  John  Grannis  capt.,  James  Blossom 
let  It.,  Sam.  Hallett  2d  It. ;  and  for  comp,  4,  Elisfaa  Nye  capt.,  Steph. 
Nye  Jr.  Ist  It.,  and  John  Russell  2d  It 

"  The  following  persons  were  elected  and  appointed  by  the  court  to 
be  officers  for  a  military  company  to  be  stationed  at  Truro  for  defence, 
via. :  Joseph  Smith  capt.,  Hezekiah  Harden  1st  It.,  Seth  Smith  2d  It, 
and  Capt.  Sam.  Harden  commissary. 

^  The  com.  appointed  to  direct  this  duty  here  were  Col-  Otis  and 
Col.  Cohh.  Barnstable  and  Plymouth  Counties  were  conjointly  to  form 
one  regiment  of  732  men  ;  and  of  this  regiment  under  Col.  Carey  of 
Bridgewater,  Maj.  Bai-achiah  Bassett  of  Falmouth  was  appointed  It. 
col.,  Thos.  Hamilton  of  Chatham  adj't,  and  Nath.  Hall  of  Harwich 
surgex>n's  male. 


vGooglc 


484  THE  HISTORY  OP  CAPE  COD. 

January  21,  it  was  ordered  "  that  a  regiment  of  728 
men  be  raised  to  go  to  Canada."  Many  of  the  soldiers 
raised  at  this  time,  were  as  on  all  other  occasions,  Mash- 
pee  Indians.  The  employment  of  Indians  in  wars  be- 
tween civilized  nations  has  generally  been  reprobated ; 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Mashpees  were  no 
longer: '  savages."'  They  were  _  regular  and  orderly  sof. 
^ers;  and  excellent  soldiers  they  were  too —  brave  and 
enduring.  They  always  acquitted  themselves  well,  and 
during  the  entire  contest  were  most  valuable  auxilia- 
ries. No  other  people  furnished  in  proportion  to  their 
numbers  so  many  efficient  soldiers. 

That  the  restrictions  laid  upon  commerce  were  be- 

'-  The  Abbe  Haynal  says,  "  Carlton  tried,  first  to  arm  barbarous 
bands  in  Canada.  They  said,  in  answer  to  his  solicitations,  'It  is  the 
dispute  of  a  father  with  his  childi'en  :  we  do  not  think  it  right  for  us 
to  ent«r  into  this  family  squabble.'  It  was  asked  by  the  British,  'If 
the  rebels  come  to  attack  Canada,  will  you  not  help  us  to  drive  tliem 
back?'  The  Indiana  replied,  'Ever  since  the  peace,  the  hatchet  has 
been  buried  forty  fathoms  deep ;  the  helve  of  it  is  rotted,  and  we  can- 
not use  it.'  The  United  States,"  continues  the  Abbe  Kaynal,  "  were 
not  more  fortunate :  the  Oneidas  said, '  We  have  heaiMl  talk  of  some 
differences  between  Old  and  New  England,  but  we  shall  never  take 
part  in  such  atrocious  divisions  —  war  between  brethren  is  a  new  and 
strange  thing;  our  traditions  have  left  us  no  examples  of  this-'  Tlie 
Mashpees  alone  seemed  to  interest  themselves  in  the  cause  of  the 
Americans:  said  these  good  savages,  'There's  16  shillings  for  you  — 
'tis  all  we  have;  we  thought  to  have  bought  some  rum  with  it,  but 
we'll  drink  water  and  hunt — and  when  beasts  fall  by  our  arrows,  we'll 
sell  their  skins  and  bring  you  the  money.'  But,  in  time,  the  active 
agents  of  Great  Britain  succeeded  in  conciliating  to  it  many  nations  of 
these  aborigines."  Although  the  preceding  quotation  is  discrepant  in 
reference  to  the  progress  made  by  the  Mashpees  whom  the  learned 
and  amiable  foreigner  supposes  to  be  savages  and  yet  relying  on  bows 
and  arrows,  still  it  is  of  interest  as  an  exhibit  of  important  historical 
fitcta.  The  auxiliaries  of  the  British  were  acknowledgedly  savages ; 
the  Indians  who  served  in  the  American  ranks  were  civilized  men. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  485 

coming  exceedingly  irksome  to  many,  is  evident  by 
frequent  applications  now  made  to  the  Gen.  Court  for 
permission  to  venture  upon  the  seas,  and  by  repeated 
complaints  of  a  disregard  by  individuals  of  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  Provincial  and  Continental  Congresses.' 

The  militia  of  this  county  was  divided,  January  31, 
into  two  regiments.^  An  act  for  carrying  into  execu- 
tion a  resolve  of  Congress  "  for  ascertaining  the  number 

^  A.  petitioa  of  Benj.  Crocker  of  Falmouth  prayed  that  he  and  others 
having  ^700  due  them  at  Tobago  and  Grenada  might  have  leave  to 
sail  a  vessel  there  and  collect  the  same,  he  being  master.  The  prayer 
was  granted  with  restrictions  under  heavy  bonds.  A  letter  from  Mr. 
Benj.  Fessenden  touching  the  saihng  of  a  vessel  to  the  W.  Indies  con- 
trary to  congressional  orders,  and  enclosing  a  vote  of  the  com.  of  cor. 
in  Sandwich,  was  the  subject  of  legislation ;  the  vessel  belonged  in 
Falmouth.  Representations  were  also  made  against  certain  persons 
in  different  parts  of  the  province  charged  with  loading  vessels  for  the 
W.  Indies  and  conveying  produce  of  the  colonies.  Weilfleet  and  Barn- 
stable were  among  those  whose  inhabitants  were  the  subject  of  legis- 
lative inquiry  on  this  charge.  A  proclamation  prepared  by  a  com.  of 
both  houses  of  the  General  Court,  Jan,  23,  set  forth  the  justice  of  the 
American  cause,  and  enjoined  all  poisible  aid  from  the  whole  people ; 
also  pronounced  all  and  every  who  fail  in  this  duty  hostile  to  the  coun- 
try's best  interests.  This  proclamation  was  ordered  to  be  read  by  the 
clerks  of  every  court  of  justice  at  the  next  opening  of  the  same,  and 
recommended  to  be  read  by  all  ministei^  of  the  gospel  in  their  respec- 
tive assemblies  on  the  next  Lord's  day  after  its  reception,  immediately 
on  the  close  of  divine  service. 

^  The  Gren.  Court  elected  the  following  lield-offlcers  for  the  respec- 
tive regiments,  viz.:  for  the  1st,  including  Barnstable,  Sandwich,  Tar- 
mouth  aud  Falmouth,  Nalh.  Freeman  col.,  Joseph  Dimmick  It.  col., 
Joshua  Gray  1st  major,  Gteo.  Lewis  2d  major ;  for  the  '2d  reg't,  includ- 
ing Harwich,  Eastham,  Chatham,  Weilfleet,  Truro  and  Provincetown, 
Joseph  Doane  col.,  Elisha  Cobb  It.  col.,  Zenas  Winslow  1st  maj.,  Gid- 
eon Freeman  2d  maj.  Dimmick  declined  in  favor  of  Col.  Enoch 
Hallett,  and  accepted  the  office  of  1st  maj.  in  the  place  of  Gray  who 
declined.  Freeman  Parker  and  Thos.  Knowles  were  s 
appointed  adjutants. 


vGooglc 


48b  THE   HtS'FOllY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

of  inhabitants"  in  each  town  was  passed  Feb.  15.  Also, 
"upon  application  made  by  the  Council  of  Safety  in 
Charleston,  S.  C,  permission  was  given  by  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  to  Capt.  Robert  Cockran  to  en- 
list a  smmber  of  seamen,  not  exceeding  300,  within  the 
hounds  of  this  colony,  for  the  defence  of  South  Caro- 
lina ; "  —  a  courtesy  and  evidence  of  fraternal  sympathy 
that  need  not  he  forgotten. 

As  some  faint  intimation  of  the  straits  to  which  the 
colonies  were  sometimes  driven  in  their  struggle  for 
liberty,  it  may  here  be  mentioned  that  the  committee 
appointed  hy  the  court "  to  contract  for  building  ten 
armed  sloops,"  was  directed,  February  16,  "  to  suspend 
setting  up  more  than  half  that  number,  since  it  (was) 
found  to  be  impossible  to  procure  iron,  rigging,  or  other 
materials  for  the  whole."  ^ 

Silver  and  gold  coin  being  much  needed  by  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  for  the  supply  of  that  part  of  the  army 
gone  against  Quebec,  application  was  made  by  Congress 
to  the  General  Court  of  this  colony  requesting  that  an 
eflTort  might  be  made  in  the  several  towns  to  exchange 
continental  bills  for  specie ;  a  subscription  was  there- 
fore ordered  to  be  opened,  February  14, "  to  give  all 
persons  willing,  in  this  time  of  danger  and  distress,  an 
opportunity  to  aid  by  the  patriotic  act  "  of  exchanging 

^  Perhaps  a  more  striking  illustration  of  the  economy  called  for,  is, 
that  the  same  day  an  order  was  passed  that  "  inasmuch  as  the  colony 
cannot  be  supplied  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  paper  for  its  own  con- 
sumption without  the  particular  care  of  tlie  inhabitants  in  saving  rags 
for  the  paper-mills,  the  committees  of  inspection  and  correspondence 
in  the  several  towns  are  required  immediately  to  appoint  suitable 
agents  to  receive  rags  for  the  mills,"  and  "furthermore,  the  court  enjoin 
upon  all  people  to  be  very  careful  in  saving  even  the  smallest  quan- 
tity of  rags  as  a  further  evidence  of  their  disposition  to  promote  the 
general  good." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   01   BARNSTABLE   COUNIT.  4:87 

money  for  bills.  Each  person  so  disposed  was  requested 
to  aflix  to  his  or  her  name  the  amount  so  exchanged. 
Cols.  Otis  and  Doane  were  the  committee  for  Barnstable 
County  to  canvass  and  receive  the  subscriptions." 

A  letter,  February  19,  "  from  the  Hon.  James  Otis  to 
the  honorable  Council,  informed  that  on  Saturday  last 
a  French  vessel  ran  ashore  on  the  south  side  of  the  Cape 
with  upwards  of  one  hundred  hogsheads  of  molasses 
and  other  cargo.  The  goods  were  taken  into  custody, 
and  the  instructions  of  the  Court  were  asked.^ 

'  The  vessel  "had  a  French  master,  and  al^o  an  Enghsh  master  — 
a  Nantucket  man  ;  and  on  board  was  one  Mons.  Le  Baron,  who  had 
taken  passage  with  the  design  of  going  to  Philadelphia;  appeared  to 
he  much  of  a  gentleman,  and  said  he  had  been  mam  than  twenty  years 
in  the  King  of  Prussia's  service  ;  further,  Le  Baron  alleged  that  both 
the  French  and  English  masters  talked  of  going  to  Boston."  The 
letter  was  communicated  to  the  House,  and  "committed  to  Major 
Hawley,  Col.  Freeman,  Capt.  Batcheldor,  and  Mr.  Davis,  with  such 
as  may  be  joined  by  the  Council."  Subsequently,  April  2,  a  "  eom- 
mittee  appointed  to  inquire  of  Mons.  I*  Baron  de  Woldlke,  chevalier 
del  ordre  St.  Jean  Jerusalem  de  Malta,  relative  to  the  matter,  re- 
ported, "  That  from  the  account  of  Le  Baron  there  was  reason  to  suppose 
the  Frenchman  designed  to  go  to  Boston  with  his  cargo;  but  that 
upon  his  being  heard  in  his  own  justification,  and  from  the  evidence 
of  Capt.  Folger,  who  left,  the  West  Indies  but  a  few  days  before  him, 
the  committee  are  of  opinion  tliat  it  is  best  to  give  him  up  hia  papers, 
and  permit  him  to  sell  his  cargo.  The  committee  are  further  of 
opinion  that  Mr.  Otis,  before  whom  Le  Baron  was  examined,  and  by 
whom  he  was  forwarded  to  the  Council,  had  reason  to  suppose  that  tlic 
master  had  formed  a  design  of  going  into  Boston  harbor,  and  that  his 
Honor's  conduct  merits  applause." 


vGooglc 


THE   lilSTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


Gen.  Gage  retires,  and  Howe  is  in  Command.  —  Gen.  Washington  takes 
Possession  of  Boston.  —  The  Couxioil  the  Administration,  with  Hon.  James 
Otis  of  Barnstable  President.  —  The  Cape  Towns  instruct  their  Hepre- 
sentatires  to  obtain  from  the  Continental  Congress  a  Declavation  of  Inde- 
pendence. —  Independence  declared.  —  The  Colonies  reduced  to  great 
Struts.  —  AppUcatiou  from  South  Carolina.  —  British  Transport-ship  ashore. 

—  Loyalists.  —  French  Ship  ashore.  —  Captures  by  the  British,  —  Loy- 
alists. —  Ship  ashore  at  Provincetown  with  Refugees.  —  Salt  Manufectures. 

—  Loca!  Affairs.  —  New  Coostitudon. 

Genekal  Gaqe  left  the  province  in  1775,  and  Boston 
being  a  garrison  town,  subject  to  martial  law,  the  chief 
command  devolved  on  G-en.  Howe  —  the  appearance 
only  of  a  lieutenant  governor  and  mandamus  Council 
being  kept  up ;  but  Howe,  with  his  troops,  men-of-war, 
&c.,  was  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  evacuating,  March 
17, 1776 ;  and  the  same  day  a  detachment  from  the 
army  under  Gen.  Washington  took  possession.  From 
this  time  until  a  new  constitution  or  frame  of  govern- 
ment went  into  eifect,  which  was  not  until  October  25, 
1780,  all  public  concerns  were,  in  the  recess  of  the 
General  Court,  directed  by  the  Council  annually  chosen 
Tinder  the  charter  granted  in  the  third  year  of  the 
reign  of  William  and  Mary.  The  eldest  of  the  coun- 
cillors present,  it  was  determined  should  be  the  presi- 
dent of  the  CounciP  for  the  time  being.  Thus  there 
was  an  inierrepittm,  as  it  were,  of  five  years. 

The  American  army  investing  Boston  had  amounted 

'  Col.  James  Otis  of  Barnstable  was  president. 


vGooglc 


ASNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  409 

to  15,000  men;  but  these  were  in  great  measure  desti- 
tute of  suitable  arms,  ammunition,  clothing,  and  experi- 
enced officers.  The  number  was  now  soon  increased 
to  20,000 ;  and  to  encourage  enlistments  in  the  conti- 
nental service  unusual  inducements  were  oiFered.^  The 
crisis  was  so  important  that  a  day,  extraordinary,  for 
general  Fasting  and  Prayer  was  appointed.^ 

Gen.  Washington  sent  to  the  General  Court,  March 
13,  a  letter  enclosing  sundry  papers  relative  to  a 
"  transporlrship  called  the  Friendship,  Capt.  James 
Holmes,  cast  ashore  on  the  back  of  Cape  Cod,  February 

'  Gen.  Washjngtoa  having  lepresented  to  the  Geneitd  Court 
the  necessities  of  the  army,  requesting  immediate  assiafance  in  pro- 
curing blankets  for  the  soldiers,  committees  were  appointed  to  re- 
pair to  the  selectmen  of  every  town,  and  request  their  assistance  in 
providing  the  same.  The  sum  of  £2600  was  placed  in  the  Kartds  of 
these  committees  for  the  purpose.  Capt.  Amos  Knowles  Jr.  of 
Eastham  received  the  proportion  for  the  County  of  Barnstable,  viz., 
£190.9;  and  203  men  were  required  of  the  county  —  from  Barn- 
stable 45,  Sandwich  40,  Yarmouth  40,  Harwich  40,  Eastham  40, 
Wellfleet  18,  Chatham  26,  Falmouth  26.  Maj.  Hallett  was,  with 
Capt.  Knowles,  on  this  committee  for  thfe  county. 

""It  having  been  the  laudable  practice  of  this  government  to 
recommend  and  appoint  days  of  fasting  and  prayer  upon  solemn  and 
special  occasions,  beside  the  annual  fasts ;  and  as  this  Court  appre- 
hend that  the  present  time  is  big  with  the  most  important  events  to 
this  and  other  colonies,  and  that  these  events  are  in  the  hand  of  the 
Supreme  Grovemor  of  the  universe :  therefore  resolved,  that  the  hon- 
orable Board  be,  and  hereby  are,  desired  to  set  apart  Thursday, 
March  7,  to  he  observed  as  a  day  of  solemn  humiliation  and  prayer, 
devoutly  to  implore  of  Almighty  God  that  the  vocal  dispensations  of 
Providence  in  the  peculiar  events  that  have  lately  taken  place  may 
be  duly  resented,  and  the  great  end  for  which  they  were  designed 
happily  accomplished;  that  He  will  also  command  His  blessing  upon 
our  Councils  and  Arms  in  the  present  struggle  with  Great  Britain  for 
those  inestimable  rights,  civil  and  religious,  with  which  God  and 
Nature  has  invested  us,  and  made  it  our  duty  to  endeavor  at  any 
hazard  to  hand  down  to  posterity." 

vol.  I.  62 


yGoogle 


490  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

29;"  desiring  the  court  "to  supply  the  camp"  -with 
sundry  articles.^  "  A  sloop  loaded  with  English  goods, 
household  furniture,  &c.,  having  sailed  from  Boston  to 
Halifax,  with  sundry  Tories  and  a  large  number  of 
women  and  children,  some  of  whtjm  were  sick  with 
small-pox,  was  cast  ashore  at  Provincetown  tlie  last  of 
March;  the  court  appointed  Colonel  Freeman  and 
others  a  committee  to  repair  forthwith  to  the  place  and 
prevent  the  escape  of  the  passengers  and  crew,  and  se- 
cure the  vessel  and  cargo."  This  was  effected,  and  the 
men  were  ordered  to  Boston  for  trial* 

^  The  selectmen  of  Truro  were  directecl  to  aid  the  committee  of 
correspondence,  inspection,  and  safety,  "in  seeuring  the  remains  of 
said  ship,  and  to  take  care  of  the  rigging  and  other  appurtenances,  as 
also  of  the  provisions,  powder,  eannon,  ammunition,  and  other  stores  on 
hoard,  and  to  forward  tj>  the  commissary,  for  Gien,  Washington,  the 
vinegar,  boxes  of  titt,  bolts  of  canvas,  tuid  kegs  of  pfunt,  tirst  causing 
them  to  be  appraised."  It  was  also  recommended  to  the  captors  "to 
restore  lo  Capt,  H.  his  peraoual  effects  and  private  papers,  including 
all  the  money  found  to  be  his  private  property."  Holmes,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  leniency  of  the  court,  demanded  the  greater  part  of 
the  cargo.  Tills  led  to  a  particular  direction  of  the  court,  that  their 
recommendation  be  understood  to  apply  to  his  "  clothing,  cabin  furni- 
ture, sea-books,  cash,  and  private  papers  only  —  said  Holmes  making 
it  appear  that  the  cash  was  actually  his  —  and  not  to  any  part  of  the 
cargo  or  stores." 

^  An  incident  is  related  as  oceuiTing  about  this  time  so  character- 
isijc  of  the  American  commander-in-chief  that  it  may  well  he  men- 
tioned. A  letter  was  sent  by  Gen.  Howe,  the  British  commander,  to 
Gen.  "Washington,  addressed  "  George  Washington  Esq."  But  the 
indignity  was  repelled;  Gen.  "Washington  refused  to  receive  it.  An- 
other was  sent,  "  Gleorge  "Washington,  &c.,  &e.,  &e."  He  still  de- 
clined receiving  any  communication  unless  addressed  to  him  in  hia 
proper  official  character.  Subsequently  it  appeared  that  Sir  William 
Howe  and  Admiral  Lord  Howe  were  commissioned  to  propose  terms 
of  accommodation  —  offering  pai'dou  forthepast  by  way  of  concession  : 
but  Washington  said,  "  The  Americans  have  taken  up  arms  to  defend 
their  indisputable  rights,  and  conscious  of  no  guilt  they  desire  no 
pardon." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  491 

The  committee  of  Falmouth  petitioned  for  a  guard 
of  soldiers  to  be  placed  on  the  Neck  in  that  town,  April 
5.  A  letter  also,  April  8,  from  the  committee  of  cor- 
respondence of  the  town  of  Eastham,  informed  the 
Court  that  "a  member  of  the  House  of  Representor 
tives "  was  in  Eastham  endeavoring  "  to  prevent  the 
currency  of  the  bills  of  credit  of  the  United  Colonies ; " 
whereupon  that  member  was  ordered  by  the  House  to 
return  to  Boston  and  report  himself  forthwith.  A  let- 
ter also  from  Joseph  Nye  Esq,  of  Sandwich,  to  Col. 
Freeman  of  the  House,  was  read,  April  9,  informing  of 
"  the  arrival  of  a  vessel  at  Barnstable  after  a  short  pas- 
sage from  the  West  Indies,  passengers  by  which  arrival 
reported  that  more  than  one  half  the  American  vessels 
that  have  sailed  the  present  year  have  been  taken  by 
the  armed  vessels  of  the  enemy ; "  also  that  "  a  large 
quantity  of  tea  was  imported  in  said  vessel."  A  com- 
mittee of  inquiry  was  appointed  ;^  also  a  committee  to 

^  Joseph  !Nje  and  Seth  Freeman  Esqs  of  Sandwich,  and  Joseph 
Nye  Esq.  of  Harwich,  were  appointed  to  make  inquisitiou  in  refer- 
ence to  the  accusation  against  certain  person-,  of  being  concerned  in 
the  importation  of  tea  and  English  good"  At  the  same  time,  the  com- 
mittees in  the  several  towns  and  plantationo  weie  diiected  to  report 
to  the  court  the  names  of  all  persons  nho  may  have  violated  in  any 
manner  the  i-esolvea  of  the  Continental  oi  Provincial  Congresses,  or 
resolves  of  the  General  Couit ,  all  who  have  acted  against  or  opposed 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  country  or  who  signed  or  voted  an 
address  to  Gen.  Gage,  approving  of  his  errand  or  administration,  since 
the  dissolution  of  the  General  Court  at  Salem,  1774;  or  to  Gov. 
Hutehinson  after  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Gage;  or  to  Gen.  Howe;  or 
who  have  joined  or  promoted  any  association  for  joining  or  assisting 
the  enemies  of  the  continent;  and  of  such  as  have  fled  from  the 
country  to  the  British  army,  fleet,  or  elsewhere;  together  with  their 
respective  crimes,  accompanied  with  depositions ;  also  to  take  an  in- 
ventory of  the  estates  of  such  persons  —  unless  such  persons  shall 
have  already  given  complete  satisfaction  to  the  public  of  their  sincere 


yGoogle 


492  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

consider  what  restrictions  need  be  imposed  upon  com- 
merce.^ 

Beating  orders  were  now  issued  for  enlisting  a  regi- 
ment of  728  men  in  the  several  comities  "  to  defend 
and  secure  the  town  and  harbor  of  Boston."  It  was 
also  decreed  that  "  one  third  part  of  the  proceeds  of 
captures  made  by  vessels  commissioned  to  cruise  in 
quest  of  British  property,  be  given  to  the  captors." 
Letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  had  some  time  before 
been  granted.  Cruisers  were  also  now  employed  "  to 
guard  the  coast  and  restrain  the  sending  of  supplies  to 
the  enemy,"  as  also  "  to  intercept  the  enemy's  store- 
ships  arriving  on  the  coast."  A  bill  was  passed  "  to 
carry  into  execution  the  resolve  of  Congress  for  dis- 
arming of  persons  who  are  disaffected  to  the  cause  of 
America."  The  courts  of  the  county  were,  by  special 
act,  postponed  from  May  to  October  on  account  of  the 
small-pox  being  prevalent  in  Barnstable.  A  petition 
from  Col.  Freeman  of  Sandwich  setting  forth  that  he 

eontrilJon,  tlioroiigh  reformation,  and  firm  atlachmeiit  to  the  rights 
and  interests  of  this  and  the  other  United  Colonies  of  America. 

'  It  was  resolved  at  the  same  time,  April  9,  "  Whereas  it  is  appre- 
hended that  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  colony  may  be  induced, 
from  a  regard  to  their  own  interest,  to  employ  their  vessels  tlie  ensu- 
ing season  in  the  business  of  fishing ;  and,  in  order  to  avoid  the  incon- 
veniences they  may  be  exposed  to  by  an  Aet  of  Parliament  prohibiting 
all  mannef  of  trade  and  commerce  with  the  thirteen  United  Colonies, 
and  declaring  forfeited  all  such  vessels,  cargoes,  &c,,  may  think  to 
make  over  their  property  in  their  vessels  to  some  inhabitants  of  I^ova 
Scotia;  to  the  intent  therefore  that  none  may  unwarily  enter  upon 
such  a  method  of  conduct,  it  is  Resolved,  That  if  any  inhabitant  of 
this  colony  shall  upon  any  pretence  whatever  transfer  his  property  in 
any  vessel  to  any  inhabitant  of  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  he  will 
thereby  violate  a  resolve  of  the  Congress  prohibiting  all  intercoui-^e 
with  the  inhabitants  of  that  province,  and  may  expect  to  be  required 
to  submit  to  the  pains  and  penalties  due  to  such  offence." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARKSTABLE   COUNTY.  493 

and  others  received  funds  from  the  public  treasury  for 
the  purchase  of  cannon  for  the  use  of  the  forces  at  Tar- 
paulin Cove,  and  asking  for  instruction  in  regard  to  a 
balance  yet  remaining  on  hand,  was  referred,  and  the 
balance  of  £51.2  paid. 

It  having  been  recommended  by  the  Continental 
Congress  to  encourage  the  raanufadure  of  salt,  and  docu- 
ments having  been  transmitted  setting  forth  the  im- 
portance of  its  being  attempted  in  this  colony,  the 
General  Court  also  recommended  "  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  several  seaport  toAvns  to  use  their  utmost  en- 
deavors "  to  attain  the  end  so  desirable. 

The  Council  sent  down  to  the  House,  May  1,  the 
following:  "Whereas  it  is  represented  to  this  court, 
that  a  nav^aUe  canal  may,  without  much  difficulty,  be 
cut  through  the  isthmus  which  separates  Buzzard's  Bay 
and  Barnstable  Bay,  whereby  the  hazardous  navigation 
around  Cape  Cod  both  by  reason  of  the  enemy  and  the 
shoals  may  be  prevented,  and  a  safe  communication 
between  this  colony  and  the  Sonthem  colonies  he  so 
far  secured :  Therefore  be  it  resolved  that  James  Bow- 
doin  and  William  Sever  Esqs.  with  such  as  the  House 
shall  join,  or  a  major  part  of  them,  be  a  committee  to 
repair  to  the  town  of  Sandwich  and  view  the  premises, 
and  determine  whether  the  cutting  of  a  canal  as  afore- 
said be  practicable ;  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  to 
employ  any  necessary  assistance  of  surveyors  and  en- 
gineers for  the  purpose."  Col.  Freeman,  Brig.  God- 
frey, and  Mr.  Cushing  were  joined  on  the  part  of  the 
House. 

It  was  proposed  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
May  9,  "  that  the  several  towns  in  the  colony  be  recom- 
mended to  give  instructions  to  their  representatives 
with  respect  to  a  Declaration  by  Congress  of  the  Inde- 


vGooglc 


494  THE   ffiSTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

pendence  of  the  United  Colonies;"  and,  tbe  following 
day,  it  was  "  Resolved,  as  the  opinion  of  this  House, 
that  the  inhabitants  of  each  town  in  this  colony,  ought, 
in  full  meeting  warned  for  the  purpose,  to  advise  the 
person  or  persons  who  shall  be  chosen  to  represent 
them  in  the  next  General  Court,  whether,  if  the  hon- 
orable Congress  shall,  for  the  safety  of  the  colonies, 
declare  them  independent  of  the  kingdom  of  Great 
Britain,  they  the  said  inhabitants  will  solemnly  engage 
with  their  lives  and  fortunes  to  support  Congress  in 
the  measure."  The  towns  generally  instructed  their 
representatives  to  use  their  influence  to  obtain  from 
the  Continental  Congress  such  declaration,  and  pledged 
themselves  accordingly.  "We  say  the  towns  generally, 
did  this :  the  one  only  exception  wc  may  have  occasion 
to  notice  hereafter.^ 

^  The  i-ight  of  instructing  those  chosen  to  be  members  of  a  delib- 
erative body,  whoie  duties  involvi"  an  interchange  of  opinions,  and 
free  and  full  discussion  for  securing  greater  circumspection  in  the  final 
action  that  shall  determine  what  is  for  the  gi-eatest  good,  was  evidently 
a  question  which  at  this  early  and  eventful  period  occasioned  some 
diversity  of  judgment  Hence,  it  would  seem  the  proposition  made 
the  previous  day  to  instruct,  was  by  the  final  action  on  the  succeeding 
day  so  modified  as  to  secure  for  the  representative  a  knowledge  of  the 
fact  whether  his  constituents  will,  or  will  not,  sustain  Congress  in  the 
measure  contemplated,  should  it  be  adopted.  The  measure  in  con- 
templation was  one  of  amazing  moment,  and  called  for  unity  of  feeling 
and  resolve.     The  wariness  with  which  the  subject  was  approached 

—  the  assembEng  of  the  inhabitants  of  eich  town  m  full  meeting 
warned  for  the  purpose  to  advise  whethei  if  the  Congress  shall, 
moved  by  a  regard  fur  the  safety  of  the  colonie--  dechre  them  inde- 
pendent, the  inhabitants  will  solemnly  engage  to  suppoit  the  measure 

—  excites  our  admiration,  and  is  worthy  of  all  commendalion.  That 
the  doctrine  of  the  right  of  instruction  was  held  to  be  valid  by  the 
great  majority  is  clear ;  for  in  the  town  meetings  the  right  seems  never 
to  have  been  disputed,  and  subsequently,  at  vai'ious  times,  opposing 
parties  acted  unhesitatingly  in  the  pi-esumption  of  its  validity. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  495 

The  controversy  was  henceforwarcl  not  for  consiUiir 
iionai  l&erty,  but  for  independence;  and  a  motion  was 
made  in  Congress  to  this  effect,  June  7,  by  Ed.  Henry 
Lee  of  Virginia,  whereupon  a  committee  consisting  of 
Jefferson,  Adams,  Franldin,  Sherman  and  Livingston, 
was  appointed  to  prepare  a  Declaration  op  Independence. 
The  draft  being  made,  such  declaration  was,  after  full 
discussion,  adopted,  signed,  and  promulgated. 

Whilst  these  proceedings  were  being  had,  a  company 
of  100  men  were  enlisted  to  serve  on  Martha's  Vine- 
yard — "  to  pass  muster  before  Maj.  Joseph  Dimmick 
and  to  be  under  the  command  of  Maj.  Barachiah  Bassett 
—  for  the  defence  of  the  island,"  It  was  also  ordered 
by  the  General  Court,  "that  the  selectmen  of  Sand- 
wich be  paid  £^  18s.  2d.  for  barracks,  wood,  cartridges, 
powder,  and  flints  furnished."  Also,  "that  600  cwt.  of 
cannon  balls  be  supplied  to  Truro."  It  was  further 
ordered,  Jane  25,  "  that  5000  men  be  raised  in  this  col- 
ony to  cooperate  with  the  continental  troops  in  Canada 
and  New  York."  And,  July  2,  it  was  "  recommended  to 
the  inhabitants  generally,  it  being  an  object  of  great 
importance  to  the  defence  of  the  colony,  to  give  up 
their  leaden  window-weights  to  be  cast  into  bullets." 
"  Clothing  for  the  army,"  was  often  required ;  and  the 
urgent  demand  was  now  for  "coats,  waistcoats,  breeches, 
felt-hats,  shirts,  hose,  and  shoes." ' 

From  the  present  period,  July  4, 1776,  the  national 
existence  of  the  United  States,  properly  so  called,  com- 
menced. The  annals  of  the  world  do  not  furnish  another 
instance  of  a  nation  rising  in  so  short  a  space  of  time 
from  its  first  settlement,  to  an  equal  degree  of  intelli- 
gence, power,  and  in6exible  resolve  for  liberty  or  death. 

^  For  the  procuring  of  these  in  Barnstahle  County,  Joseph  Nye  Esq. 
of  Harwich  was  appointed  hy  the  General  Court. 


yGoogle 


496  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

The  progress  made  is  no  doubt  to  be  attributed  chiefly 
to  the  fact  that  the  first  settlers  were  emigrants  from 
countries  advanced  in  civilization  and  under  the  admin- 
istration of  laws  efficient  and  generally  wise  and  good ; 
and  that  a  large  portion  of  the  loading  men  wiio  came 
were  distinguished  for  intelligence,  enterprise  and  vir- 
tue. Hence,  they  not  only  brought  with  them  the  arts 
of  civUized  life,  but  paid  great  attention  to  the  promo- 
tion of  education ;  and  however  much  it  is  to  be  regret- 
ted that  at  the  first  many  were  intolerant  in  their 
religious  views,  still  a  predominant  respect  for  religion, 
and  the  practice  of  morality  and  piety,  preluded  right 
views  of  liberty,  civil  and  religious,  in  the  end. 

A  resolve  was  passed  by  the  General  Conrt,  Jnly  10, 
"  to  draft  every  25th  man "  to  reenforce  the  northern 
army  —  "a  measure  of  the  last  consequence  to  the  safety 
of  the  United  States."  Amos  Knowles  Jr.  of  Eastham, 
and  Joseph  Nye  Esq.  of  Sandwich,  were  appointed  agents 
for  this  county,  "  to  see  that  the  resolve  is  carried  into 
effect."  Truro  was  excused  from  furnishing  its  quota. 
A  solemn  Fast  was  recommended  to  be  observed  the 
last  day  of  July. 

These  were,  indeed,  times  of  great  exactions  and  of 
amazing  solicitude ;  but  of  unflinching  patriotism.  It 
was  now  ordered,  Sept.  10,  "  that  one  fifth  part  of  the 
entire  militia  of  this  state  be  drafted  at  once  to  reen- 
force the  army ;"  and  precepts  to  that  effectwere  issued 
to  the  brigadiers  of  the  several  counties,  this  included. 
It  was  also  required  that  they  be  furnished  "  with  each 
a  good  firelock,  bullet-pouch,  and  powder-horn  or  car- 
tridge-box, bayonet,  cutlass  or  hatchet,  20  bullets  fitted 
to  their  gun,  knapsacks  and  blankets."  The  men  draft- 
ed from  the  Barnstable  County  brigade  were,  by  subse- 
quent act,  ordered  to  Ehode  Island  instead  of  New  York. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  4y  / 

Joseph  Nye  and  others  were  appointed  agents  to  pur- 
chase 60  whale-boats  with  oars,  to  be  dehvered  at  Fal- 
mouth or  some  convenient  point  on  the  Buzzard's  Bay 
to  convey  the  troops  to  Rhode  Island,  and  £360  was 
appropriated  for  these  purchases. 

The  committees  tor  procuring  clothing  for  the  army 
were  again  directed, Nov.  2,  "to  procure  20,000 woollen 
jackets  with  sleeves,  20,000  shirts,  10,000  blankets, 
10,000  felt  hats  or  leather  caps,  20,000  pair  of  hose, 
20,000  pair  of  shoes,  and  10,000  overalls."  A  general 
embargo  on  vessels  was  laid,  Dec,  7.  A  convention  "  to 
regulate  the  public  currencies  and  for  various  other 
purposes,  prices  included,"  was  proposed ;  an  order  was 
also  passed  "for  numbering  the  male  inhabitants  above 
16  years  of  age."  Authentic  accounts  being  received 
of  the  arrival  of  a  large  number  of  the  enemy's  ships-of- 
war  and  transports,  in  Newport  harbor,  a  portion  of  the 
militia  of  this  county  were  ordered  thither,  Dec.  9,  sub- 
ject to  the  direction  of  Gen,  Lincoln.  The  annual  public 
Thanksgiving  was  appointed  by  the  Council,  at  the  de- 
sire of  the  House  of  Representatives,  to  be  observed 
Dec.  12.' 

'  From  the  proclamation,  we  make  an  abstract,  as  additionally  sug- 
gestive of  the  feeling  of  the  moment ;  "  With  grateful  devotion  to  offer 
solemn  praises  to  the  all-gracious  Author  of  eveiy  pood,  for  the  Tarious 
invaluable  benefits  conferred  on  and  continued  to  this  state  in  pariicu- 
lar  and  to  the  "United  States  in  genera! ;  especial!y  that,  whilst  British 
avarice  openly  claims  and  British  tyranny  vigorously  endeavors  to 
wrest  from  us  the  free  exercise  of  those  rights  which  Heaven  alike 
bestowed  on  all  mankind  and  without  which  human  life  is  less  a  favor 
than  the  grave.  He  has  given  these  states  a  just  sense  of  their  worth  and 
of  the  impossibility  of  assigning  those  rights  to  man  without  the  guilt 
of  rebellion  against  God,  treason  to  the  present  and  treachery  to  all 
future  generations!  that  He  has  united  these  states  in  a  resolved  vin- 
dication of  those  rights,  even  to  the  last  extremity;  has  given  them  a 
general  council  of  patriots  wise  to  direct;  raised  up  generals  faithful 
VOL.  L  63 


vGooglc 


498  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

At  the  opening  of  the  year  1777,  unprecedented  were 
the  privations  and  sufferings  of  this  whole  commuuity. 
Unfortunately,  in  some  instances,  neighbors  and  kindred 
were  yet  involved  in  political  animosities.  The  man  of 
traffic  found  his  vocation  gone.  The  agriculturist,  few 
were  these,  might  plant ;  but  might  he  cultivate  ?  — 
might  sow ;  but  what  assurance  had  he  that  the  next 
levy  would  not  preclude  his  reaping?  This  entire 
county  whose  lords  were  chiefly  mariners,  and  whose 
chief  estates  were  at  the  water's  edge,  was  held  in  a 
condition  of  most  anxious  suspense.  The  whole  length 
of  its  sea-coast  under  the  surveillance  of  British  cruisers, 

to  execute  tlie  measures  neoesaary  for  their  defence ;  and  animated  so 
many  of  the  sons  of  America  to  grasp  the  sword  and  with  manly  cheer- 
fulness endure  the  fatigues  of  war  in  support  of  that  freedom  which 
is  the  birtliright  of  all ;  has  led  them  by  the  Jiand  from  step  to  step 
till  we  have  seen  these  states,  compelled  through  oppression,  to  assert 
their  native  right  to  freedom  and  independence  in  a  united  declara- 
tion which  the  impartial  world  must  justiiy;  . .  .  has  waited  to  our 
shores  most  valuable  cargoes  of  warlike  and  other  stores  necessary  for 
our  defence  and  support  at  the  yery  time  when  most  needed  ■  returned 
our  adventurers  on  the  sea  generally  eoriclied  and  victorious  detected 
very  dangerous  conspiracies  when  at  the  crisis  of  then  execution , 
and  to  add  fervent  prayers  . .  ■  that  our  public  oouncds  and  the  gen- 
eral congress  in  particular  may  be  inspired  with  wisdom  unanimity 
and  firmness  .  .  .  that  our  brethren  every  where  may  be  spirited  to 
take  the  field,  when  called  in  so  great  a  cause ;  that  all  the  movements 
of  our  armies  may  be  ordered  in  divine  mercy,  and  that  they  may  be 
victorious  in  every  engagement ;  that  our  foes  may  he  defeated  in  all 
their  hostile  designs,  driven  from  our  land,  and  permitted  no  more, 
either  by  bribery  or  corruption  to  sap  our  civil  and  religious  rights,  or 
by  fire  and  sword  to  waste  and  destroy ;  that  peace  may  be  restored 
on  a  just  and  permanent  basis,  and  the  rights  and  liberties  of  America 
secured  to  the  latest  generation  ;  that  this  people  may  be  placed  under 
the  wisest  and  best  form  of  government ;  that  the  union  of  the  Amer- 
ican states  may  be  established  by  a  confederation  never  to  be  dis- 
solved :  tiiat  the  Spirit  of  God  may  he  plentifully  poured  out,  and  a 
universal  reforaiation  of  heart  and  life  ensue.  ..." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS  OP  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.  499 

the  fisheries  and  all  commerce  were  completely  ob- 
structed. Embargo  enactments  were  unnecessary  to 
effect  this  now.  The  bone  and  muscle  of  the  Cape, 
whose  yearnings  were  most  naturally  towards  the  seas, 
miist  needs  see  their  craft  rotting  at  the  moorings,  or 
betake  themselves  to  privateering^  —  peradventure 
must  abandon  the  idea  even  of  this  resort,  and  take 
their  turn  in  the  continental  service  ashore  wherever 
they  were  called  —  leaving  their  families  to  be  pro- 
vided for  by  neighbors  whose  hands,  to  be  sure,  they 
were  well  satisfied,were  always  open  when  claims  upon 
their  sympathy  were  known.  Doubtless  there  would, 
in  some  instances,  have  been  less  reluctance  felt  at  the 
leaving  of  home  for  a  perilous  service  had  there  been 
as  complete  assurance  that  the  (^iMy  to  afford  relief 
would  never  fail,  as  there  was  that  the  kindly  sympathy 
would  remain.  It  is  creditable  to  the  Cape  that  tliere 
was  a  disposition  to  effect  that  assurance,  and  that  in  so 

^  The  alternntive  waa  not  always  rejeeted,  though  sometimes  em- 
braced at  sorrowful  cost.  The  British  priaon-shipa'  inhumanity  is  a 
tale  that  can  never  he  written  in  shades  dark  enough  to  depict  the 
reality.  The  condition  of  such  as  became  captured,  was  in  too  many 
instances  made  revolting  beyond  description,  their  sufferings  having 
scarcely  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  cruelty.  Full  many  of  the  suffer- 
ers were  from  the  Cape  ;  but  it  is  matter  of  gratulation  even  at  the 
present  day,  that  none  of  these,  so  far  as  known,  were  backward  to 
spurn  the  offer  of  release  and  promotion  on  condition  that  they  would 
join  the  royal  party;  preferring  even  a  noisome  dungeon  and  death 
itself,  to  the  dishonor  of  deserting  the  cause  of  liberty.  Nor  were 
those  who  essayed  to  do  service  to  their  country  upon  the  seas,  always 
foiled.  They  were  often  greatly  successful.  Swift-sailing  American 
privateers  had  at  the  above  date,  since  the  middle  of  1776,  not  only 
scoured  every  sea,  even  those  of  the  British  Islands ;  but  had  already 
captured  no  less  than  500  British  vessels.  The  English  govei-nment 
itself  acknowledged  that  notwithstanding  the  magnitude  and  vigilance 
of  its  navy,  these  letters  of  marque  had  "  perpetrated  depredations 
upon  British  commerce  that  were  enormous." 


vGooglc 


500  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

many  instances  the  people  were  ready  in  open  town- 
meeting  to  unite  in  a  public  pledge  that  "the  town  will 
provide  "for  the  families  of  the  valorons  absent.  At 
best,  however,  these  were  trying  times.'  The  poor  — 
the  poor  were  indeed  among  ua !  Noble  the  fortitude, 
the  patience,  the  never-yielding  patriotism,  that  in  the 
hour  of  such  depression  endured.  The  conviction  of  eight 
so  strong,  tyranny  itself  must  own 

"who'd  force  the  soul,  tilts  with  a  straw 
Agjiinst  a  champion  cased  in  adamant." 

We  are  already  weary  with  reciting  the  requisitions 
that  were  constantly  made^  and  the  privations  endured, 

'  The  expense  of  the  war  thus  far  had  been  trnly  onerous.     The 

country  was  burdened  with  debt.     The  proposition  this  year  to  raise 

five  DiilUons  of  doiliira,  as  recommended  by  the  General  Congress,  was 

startling.  This  sura  was  to  be  furnished  in  the  following  proportions : — 

Mass.,  $820,000         Md.,   $520,000         N.H.  &  N.Y.,  200,000  ea. 

Va.,       800,000         S.  C,    500,000         R.  I., 100,000 

Pa.,        620,000         N.  J.,    270,000         Ga., 60,000 

Ct.,         600,000         N.  C,   250,000         Del., 60,000 

'  The  militia  officers  in  Falmouth  were  directed,  Jan.  1,  to  detach 
from  the  several  companies  in  that  town,  25  able-bodied  men,  including 
1  It.,  2  seijeants,  and  2  corporals,  to  he  stationed  at  Naushon  for  the 
defence  of  the  harbor  of  Tarpaulin  Cove.  Subsequently,  it  was  oi-- 
dered  that  53  men  be  enlisted  for  the  same  purpose.  Again,  Jan.  20, 
5000  blankets  were  demanded  for  the  army,  of  which  this  county  was 
to  supply  160,  viz.:  Barnstable  32,  Sandwich  25,  Yarmouth  23,  Easl^ 
ham  17,  Wellfleet  13,  Chatham  9,  Harwich  20,  Falmouth  19,  and 
Truro  11.  And  Jan,  26,  a  resolve  passed  requiring  the  drafting  of 
"  every  7th  man  to  furnish  the  slate's  quota  for  the  continental  army," 
I  e  a  number  amounting  to  one  seventh  pait  of  "all  the  male  inhab- 
itanfs  over  16  years  of  age  whether  at  home  or  abroad."  This,  of 
coutse,  boie  peculiarly  hard  upon  a  community  made  up  so  largely 
ot  seamen  The  extraordinary  number  of  88  battalions  to  serve  dur- 
ing the  n  at,  or  for  the  term  of  3  yeaisweie  to  he  raised  by  the  United 
Colomes,  of  which  15  battahona  weie  the  share  of  Massachusetts 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OP  BARSSTABLE  CODNTY.         501 

and  must  in  some  measure  stay  our  pen  touclimg  these 
matters  leat  we  also  wearj  the  reader.  And  yet  some 
reference  to  them  is  necessary  to  any  adequate  view  of 
the  subject.  We  have  intimated  in  the  preceding  pages, 
that  notwithstanding  all  that  might  have  been  expected 
to  unite  the  people  as  one  in  the  common  cause,  there 
existed  some  diversity  of  opinion  and  contrariety  of 
action  and  feeling.  In  fact,  there  remained  those  whose 
sympathies  were  with  the  cause  of  the  oppressor,  whilst 
a  yet  larger  number  were  too  little  animated  with  the 
spirit  of  true  patriotism.  So  serious  were  the  difficul- 
ties arising  from  these  causes,  that  the  interposition  of 
the  General  Court  became  nece,ssary  not  alone  to  check 
the  traitorous  movements  of  individuals  whose  rendez- 
vous was  on  the  islands,  but  to  arrest  the  spirit  of  insub- 
ordination in  some  of  the  towns.  Action  of  the  General 
Court  was  at  this  juncture  had.  "relative  to  animosities 
subsisting  at  Sandwich  and  Barnstable,"  viz. :  ''  Whereas 
it  has  been  represented  to  this  court  by  the  selectmen, 
committee  of  correspondence,  and  military  officers  of 
the  town  of  Sandwich,  that  divers  persons  in  said  town  " 
[thirteen  persons  are  specified,  whose  names  we  here 
suppress  agreeably  to  an  intention  before  intimated  — 
especially  as  the  omission  compromises  nothing  essen- 
tial to  history]  "who  were  drafted  under  a  late  act 

Bay.  The  country  had  become  convinced  of  the  impolicy  of  short 
enlistments.  The  whole  aiTangement  was  expected  to  be  completed 
on  or  before  the  Ist  of  March.  In  view  of  this  requisition,  it  was 
thought  expedient  to  issue  aa  address  to  be  sent  to  each  minister  of 
the  gospel  within  the  State  with  a  request  that  he  would  read  it  to  the 
people  the  first  Sunday  after  its  reception ;  also  to  be  sent  to  each 
commander  of  a  military  company  to  be  read  to  his  company  under 
arms.  It  was  also  required  that  an  equal  proportion  of  slioes,  stocli- 
ings,  and  shirts  be  furnished ;  and  Joseph  Otis  Esq.  was  appointed 
the  receiver  of  the  same  for  this  county. 


vGooglc 


502  THE   HISTORY   OF  CAPE   COD. 

entitled  'An  act  for  providing  a  reenfovcement  to  the 
American  army/  and  refused  to  march  agreeable  to  the 
orders  given,  were  thereupon  in  conformity  to  said  act 
ordered  to  jail  in  said  county  ;  and,  being  countenanced, 
aided  and  abetted  by  divers  like  ill-minded  persons  iii 
the  town  of  Barnstable,  made  their  escape  from  the 
custody  of  the  keeper  of  said  jail  without  paying  their 
fines  or  being  regularly  discharged :  therefore,  resolved, 
that  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  without  delay  apprehend 
the  bodies  of  the  said  (persons),  or  so  many  of  them  as 
have  not  since  paid  their  fine,  and  them  commit  to  the 
jail  and  retain  in  close  custody  until  they  fully  comply 
with  the  act  aforesaid;  and  in  case  he  shall  meet  with 
any  opposition  in  the  execution  of  his  office,  make 
return  to  tliis  court  of  the  names  of  all  such  as  thus 
offend  that  they  may  be  dealt  with  as  the  nature  and 
aggravation  of  their  offences  may  require.  Also  re- 
solved that  in  case  any  of  the  said  delinquents  have 
since  paid  their  fines,  the  same  be  improved  to  refund 
so  much  as  has  been  expended  in  hiring  men  to  go  in 
their  stead,  in  coming  to  this  court  with  a  memorial  of 
their  conduct,  and  also  the  expenses  of  the  jailer'w 
attendance  here  —  the  remainder  to  be  disposed  of  ac- 
cording to  said  act." ' 

'  Cotmeeted  with,  and  immediately  following  the  preceding,  was  this 
alsn  :  "  And  whereas  Nath.  Freeman  Esq,  hath  petitioned  that  a  com- 
mittee of  this  court  may  be  sent  into  the  county  to  inquire  into  the 
true  state  of  the  facts  relative  to  a  petition  from  the  town  of  Barnsta- 
ble against  Joseph  Otis  Esq.  and  himself;  together  with  said  Otia  and 
Freeman's  memorial  or  answer  thereto,  and  also  several  petitions  from 
civil  and  military  officers,  &c, ;  and  whereas  great  contentions,  animos- 
iliea  and  differences  have  of  late  prevailed  in  the  towns  of  Sandwich 
and  Barnstable :  wid  whei'eas  the  selectmen  Sea.  of  the  town  of  Sand- 
wich have  in  their  memorial  to  this  court  represented  that  great  diffi- 
culties have  arisen  and  many  impediments  are  thrown  in  the  way  oi' 


vGooglc 


AJINALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   CODNTY.  503 

The  preceding  gives  sufficient  intimation  of  the  nature 
of  the  "  animosities  "  to  which  reference  is  made  in  the 
title  of  the  act  and  resolves.  On  the  7th  of  February 
further  action  waa  had  ;  it  was  "  voted  that '  Whereas 
this  court  is  informed  that  divers  persons  inimical  to 
the  rights,  liberties,  and  happiness  of  the  United  States, 
have  concerted  and  are  endeavoring  to  carry  into  exe- 
cution plans  highly  injurious  and  detrimental;  it  is 
necessary  that  a  sum  of  money  be  lodged  in  the  hands 
of  a  committee,  to  be  applied  in  the  most  secret  man- 
ner, according  to  their  discretion,  for  the  discovery 
thereof:  therefore,  resolved,  that  the  sum  of  £200  be 
granted  and  paid  out  of  the  public  treasury  to  James 
Warren,  Aaron  Wood  and  Samuel  Freeman  Esqs.  who 
are  appointed  a  committee  for  the  above  purpose,  and 
who  are  authorized  to  dispose  of  the  same  accordingly, 
and  hereafter  account  with  this  court  for  the  expendi- 
ture thereof" 

raising  the  men  ordered  to  be  drafted  from  the  militia  of  that  town 
for  the  defence  of  the  United  States,  by  some  ill-minded  persons  in 
that  towa  and  the  town  of  Barnstable :  therefore  resolved,  that  Sam- 
uel Holten,  John  Pitts,  aad  Wm.  Story  Esqs.  be  a  committee  to  repair 
to  the  towns  of  Sandwich  and  Barnstable,  whose  business  it  shall  be 
to  inquire  particularly  into  the  causes  of  the  difficulties,  and  ascertain 
who  are  the  authors  of  them ;  and  in  general  to  endeavor  to  discover 
the  grounds  and  reasons  of  the  discontents,  animosities  and  uneasi. 
nesses  that  of  late  have  prevailed  in  said  towns,  and  which  in  part 
have  for  some  time  prevented  the  due  execution  of  the  laws  &c.  to 
the  detriment  of  the  righteous  cause  in  which  we  are  engaged ;  and 
the  said  committee  are  hereby  empowered  to  send  for  persons  and 
papers  for  this  purpose."  John  Taylor  Esq.  was  substituted  on  this 
committee  in  place  of  Samuel  Holten,  Feb.  5.  The  expenses  attend- 
ing the  commission  were  ^41  8,  and  3  sixths  part  of  this  sum  was  by 
order  of  the  court  added  to  the  tax  of  Barnstable,  2  sixths  to  that  of 
Sandwich,  and  1  sixth  to  that  of  Yarmouth.  Joseph  Otis  Esq,  wa< 
muster  and  pay  master  for  the  troops  furnished  by  this  county. 


yGoogle 


504  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

A  "new  constitution  of  government"  being  tliought 
advisable,  the  towns  were  recommended,  May  5,  "to 
instruct  their  representatives  to  propose  such  constitu- 
tion and  form  of  government  to  be  submitted  to  the 
popular  vote."  Orders  were  issued,  June  24,  for  draft- 
ing "  1500  men  to  march  to  Rhode  Island."  The  num- 
ber apportioned  to  this  county  was  88.'     Again,  July  4, 

'  A  requisition  was  again  made,  subsequently,  for  tiie  defence  of 
Rhode  Island,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  tbe  militia  of  tbis  county 
were  in  actual  service  in  that  State  during  the  autumn  months  under 
the  command  of  Col.  Freeman.  A  very  imperfect  view  of  the  service 
performed  by  the  militia  of  this  county  ia  had  from  the  public  resolves. 
A  manuscript  "oi'der-book  "  is  before  us  giving  some  idea  of  the  detail 
of  the  duties  of  tlie  service  in  Khode  Island  and  of  the  fatigues  and 
incessant  vigilance  required.  A  recital  of  the  events  of  one  short 
month  alone  from  Oct.  3,  would  make  a  volume  full  of  interest.  As 
a  few  extracts  may  present  a  more  vivid  impression  of  the  toils  to 
which  even  the  militia  were  subjected  at  this  eventful  crisis,  as  also  an 
inkling  of  tlie  internal  difficulties  that  were  encountered,  we  subjoin; — 
"  Head  Qaarters  near  Hoivland's  Ferry,  Oct.  3,  1777. 
"Parole,  Spooner;  countersign,  Lovell,  General  Orders: 
"  As  it  is  certain  that  the  enemy  are  busily  employed  in  thi-owing 
up  works  on  the  island,  and  as  advice  is  j-eceived  that  they  are  medi- 
tating a  descent  upon  us, it  demands  our  close  attention  to  prevent  any 
surprise.  If  the  general  cause  of  freedom  and  the  happiness  of  man- 
kind {in  tbe  idea  of  which  every  thing  personally  dear  to  us  is  involved) 
is  a  cause  favored  of  Heaven,  then  we  may  humbly  hope  for  His  favor ; 
but  it  must  not  be  expected  unless  our  conduct  is  spirited  and  orderly. 
The  commanders  of  brigades,  regiments,  and  companies,  will  therefore 
cause  a  very  cai'eful  review  of  arms  and  accoutrements  so  as  to  be  able 
to  march  on  the  notice  of  any  single  hour.  They  will  impress  upon 
the  minds  of  all  inferior  officers  and  privates,"  &c.  &c, ..."  The  chief 
sargeons  of  tlie  several  regiments  will,"  &c.  fcc  ..."  The  commanders 
of  regiments  will  set  guards  upon  the  heights  and  roads  which  are  ex- 
posed to  the  view  of  the  enemy,  to  prevent  any  unnecessary  exposure 
of  such  numbei-s  as  may  lead  the  enemy  to  suspect  our  designs,  and 
no  more  than  ten  men  will  be  permitted  to  pass  together  without  the 
general  permit,  ...  As  the  call  to  action  will  be  sudden,  tlie  general 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   BAHNSTAELE   COUNTY.  505 

an  effort  was  made  "  to  encourage  the  mannfacture  of 
salt ;  "  and  tlie  General  Court  decreed  that  "  a  bounty 
of  3s.  per  bushel  be  paid  out  of  the  State  treasury  for 

expects  that  all  will  be  ready  on  the  skortest  notice,  and  he  doubts  not 
they  will  act  aa  spirited  and  brave  aa  our  brethrea  in  the  action  near 
Bennington  and  every  way  worthy  of  the  great  cause  of  liberty." 

"Taunton,  Oct.  6, 1777. 

"  Parole,  Sherburne ;  C.  sign,  Elliot.  Regimental  Orders  :  [for  Col, 
Freeman's  regt.] 

"  The  sevei'ai  captains  are  to  take  particular  care  to  sixe  their  men 
and  march  them  on  grand  parade  at  9  o'clock  A.  M.  and  at  5  P.  M., 
with  drummers  and  fifera,  both  officers  and  men  duly  equipped,  , .  . 
They  will  be  careful  to  exercise  their  men  twice  a  day.  The  adjutant 
will  cause  a  reveille  to  beat  at  daybreak,  the  troop  at  9  o'clock,  the 
retreat  at  5,  and  the  tattoo  at  8 ;  and  will  be  careful  to  exercise  both 
officers  and  men,"  &c.  &c. 

"Brigade  Orders:  Col.  Freeman's  regiment  to  furnish  a  fatigue 
party  to-morrow,  consisting  of  one  capt.,  2  sub.,  2  serg.,  4  cor.,  1  drum, 
1  life,  and  70  privates,  to  be  at  the  fort  near  Howland's  Ferry  by  8 
o'clock." — "By  General  Orders  of  yesterday,  the  Hon.  Major  Gen. 
Spencer  has  directed  the  brigadiers  from  the  State  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  to  send  for  all  drafted  persons  who  have  not  joined  their  respec- 
tive regiments  or  are  absent  without  leave,  that  they  maybe  dealt  with 
as  deserters.  In  obedience  to  said  Genei-at  Orders,  Brig.  Gen.  Lovel 
directs  Col.  Freeman  to  send  without  delay  to  the  commanding  officers 
of  the  several  regiments  of  militia  to  which  such  absent  persons  belong 
that  they  may  immediately  send  them  to  head  quarters."  ..."  Col. 
Freeman's  regiment  to  send  100  boatmen  to  Dartmouth  properly  offi- 
cered, to  march  immediately  with  three  days'  provisions." 

"Tiverton,  Oct.  7,  1777. 

"  Parole,  Connecticut ;  C.  sign,  Trumbull.     Brigade  Orders  : 
"  Col.  Freeman's  regiment  to  furnish  a  picquet  consisting  of  1  capt., 
2  snb.,  4  sei^.,  4  cor,,  and  50  privates  to  march  to  Howland's  Ferry 
this  evening  to  parade  at  the  general's  at  8  o'clock." 

We  regret  to  And  in  this  connection  evidence  that  all  (though  our 
own  county  was  not  singular  in  this  respect)  were  not  so  ready  and 
patriotic  as  they  should  have  been,  in  joining  their  respective  compa- 
nies when  drafted ;  Col.  Freeman  received  orders,  Oct  8,  "  to  repair 
VOL.  I.  64 


vGooglc 


506 


THE   HISTOHY    OF   CAPE   COD. 


salt  manufiictured  within  the  State  and  produced  from 
sea^water."  And  "in  view  of  the  serious  aspect  of  war 
affairs,  eapecialiy  on  the  frontiers,"  where  savages  were 

without  delay  to  tlie  County  of  Barnstable  to  liave  lalien  up  such  de- 
linquents as  being  drafted  have  not  joined  the  regiment,  that  they  may 
be  forwarded  to  the  camp  as  soon  as  possible  :"  a  necessity  involviog 
of  course  displeasure  on  the  part  of  the  unpatriotic  in  whose  view  a 
stem  discharge  of  duty  would  be  regarded  as  pei-sonal  offence.  It  is 
gratifying  to  iind  the  acknowledgment  from  head  quarters  in  a  few 
days  that  "  the  general  is  rejoiced  to  hear  that  a  noble  and  patriotic 
spirit  has  induced  a  number  of  brave  men  to  join  as  volunteers." 

"Oct.  9;  Col.  F.'s  I'egt.  to  furnish  the  picquet  to-morrow;  2 
cap.,  4  sub.,  8  serg.,  8  cor.,  and  100  rank  and  file,  at  sundown."  — 
"  Oct.  13 :  directed  that  a  party  of  oarsmen  be  formed  out  of  Col. 
F.'s  regt.,  to  be  at  Rowland's  Ferry  at  7  P.  M.,  1  cap.,  3  sub.,  4  serg., 
4  cor.,  100  rank  and  file ;  also  for  the  picquet  to-night  from  the  same 
regiment,  2  cap.,  4  sub.,  8  serg.,  8  cor.,  and  100  rank  and  file." 

"  Head  Quarters,  Oct.  11, 1777. 

"  Parole,  Freeman ;  C.  sign,  CrafVs.     General  Order  : 
"  Major  John  Handy  is  appointed  to  do  the  duty  of  brigade  major 
for  the  brigade  commanded  by  Col.  Commandant  Sherburne. 

"Brigade  Orders:  Col.  F.'s  regiment  to  furnish  2  capt.,  2  sub.,  4 
serg.,  4  cor.,  and  81  rank  and  file  to  serve  as  an  advance  guai'd  to  the 
brigade;  also  2  sub.,  2  serg.,  and  28  rank  and  tile  as  a  flank  guard 
ditto ;  the  regt  to  form  platoons  consisting  of  32  in  front  properly 


"  Head  Quattors,  Tiverton,  Oct.  15, 1777. 

"  Parole,  Crafls ;  C.  sign,  Freeman.      Gen.  Orders  .- . .  . 

"  Brigade  Orders:  Col.  Freeman's  and  Col.  Robertson's  regts.  will 

march  undiscovered  down  to  Little  Corapton  this  niglit,  where  Col. 

Hawes'  troops  are  quartered,  to  be  in  a  body  as  near  as  possible- 

They  will  march  with  as  much  caution  as  possible." 

"  General  Orders,  2d. :  Determined  to  make  trial  to  dispossess  the 
enemy  of  E.  Island ;  ...  the  time  draws  near  that  must  determine  the 
character  for  bravery  —  the  valor  of  the  eastern  militiaof  these  states; 
and  in  all  probability  the  time  is  hastening  that  will  determine  the  fate 
of  the  United  States  of  America  for  ages  yet  unborn.  . .  ." 

"Oct.  16,  Brigade  Orders:  That  the  officers  in  command  of  the 
advance  guard  furnish  themselves  with  60  oarsmun,  one  half  to  he  at 


yGoogk' 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTy.  507 

employed  by  the  enemy  to  ply  the  horrid  work  of 
indiscriminate  butchery,  it  was  thought  expedient  to 
appoint  an  extra  day  for  fasting,  humiliation  and  prayer 

Quaket  Pond  by  sunset.  The  brigade  wiH  furnish  128  boatmen  for 
the  body,  which  the  commanditig  olflcer  of  each  regiment  will  see  to ; 
and  the  brigade  will  march  down  near  the  mill  going  over  to  Pogland 
Ferry,  by  10  o'clock  this  eveaing  without  fail; .  . .  60  men  of  the 
main  body  will  parade  at  Quaket  Pond  with  those  from  the  advance 
guard  about  sunset"  "Oct.  18  :  . .  .  the  officers  ...  to  distribute  the 
buck-shat .  .  to  the  fiont  guard,"  ..."  Oct.  19;  That  the  brigade  pa- 
rade by  8  o'clock  thif  evening  ...  in  the  way  by  the  lane  to  Fogland 
Ferry  .  .  .  will  immediitely  march  to  the  place  of  embarkment. .  ■  . 
That  100  onisnien  he  at  Quaket  at  4  o'clock  P.  M.  from  the  main 
body;  and  10  men  at  the  creek  before  sunset  fo  take  charge  of  the 
scow  and  one  boat  at  that  place."  ..."  Oct.  20 :  Col.  F.'s  regt.  to  re- 
lieve guard  at  Punkal«ese  Creek  to-morrow  at  9  o'clock ;  1  cap.,  2 
sub.,  2  serg.,  2  cor.,  50  rank  and  file."  "  Oct.  21 :  Regimented  Orders: 
Lt.  Baker  to  take  command  of  Capt  Lewis'  company,  he  being  dis- 
missed unfit  for  service ;  and  Lt.  Howland  to  act  as  Ist  It.,  and  Allen 
Crocker  as  2d  It.  until  further  orders."  "  Oct.  22  :  Capt.  Higgins  to 
join  Capt.  Lewis'  company  and  take  command."  At  this  juncture  a 
court  martial  adjudged  certain  delinquents  liable  for  desertion,  all  of 
Capt.  Allen's  company  in  Col.  Cotton's  regt,  "  Oct.  23 ;  Brigade 
Orders:  That  the  oarsmen  immediately  repair  to  their  boats  at  the 
creek,  and  assist  in  getting  the  boats  from  Punkateese  to  another  creek 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  above ;  and  that  the  whole  brigade  parade  at 
the  Four  Comers  by  11  o'clock  this  night,  equipped  with  every  neces- 
sary for  an  attack  upon  the  Island."  .  .  . 

"  Head  Quarters,  Tiverton,  Oct.  25, 177". 

"  Parole,  Gates  ;  C.  sign,  Lincoln.     Gen.  Orders : 
"  A  general  court  martial  to  sit  this  day  at  S  o'clock  to  try  such  per- 
sons as  shall  be  brought  before  them.    Col.  Freeman,  president ;  Capt, 
Plympton,  judge  advocate." 

It  would  occupy  too  much  space  here  to  recount  the  repetition  of 
orders ;  the  commendations  bestowed  by  the  general  in  command  on 
the  soldier-like  manner  of  the  troops,  and  the  alertness  of  the  boatmen 
when  called  out ;  his  confidence  expressed  that  the  brave  army  will 
persevere  with  patience  and  resolution  until  Providence  shall  give  a 


vGooglc 


508  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

to  be  observed  with  all  due  solemnity  on  the  28th  of 
August  The  board  of  war  was  requested,  Aug,  17,  "to 
fnmish  field-pieces  and  ammunition  for  the  defence  of 
Truro  ; "  and  it  was  ordered  "  that  a  company  be  raised 
in  Truro  and  adjoining  towns  to  be  constantly  in  prac- 
tice to  be  ready  at  all  times  "  to  prevent  all  intercourse 
with  the  British  men-of-war  in  Cape  Cod  harbor  or  else- 
where, as  well  as  for  protection. 

Happily  a  gleam  of  light  at  last  appeared  in  the  hori- 
zon enabling  the  court,  Oct.  22,  to  unite  in  a  public 
acknowledgment  of  the  divine  goodness.  The  capture 
of  Burgoyne  and  his  army  was  a  grand  eveiit,^ 

Until  the  present  year  the  colonies  had  really  been 
united  in  no  bond  but  that  of  common  danger  and  com- 
mon love  of  liberty.  Congress  resolved  to  render  the 
terms  of  this  union  more  definite,  and  to  ascertain  and 

suitable  season  to  prosecute  the  design,  &c  &c  Oet.  25,  Capt.  Hig- 
gtna  who  had  command  of  Capt.  Lewis'  company,  being  aiso  sick,  Lt. 
Baker  was  directed  to  take  command  of  the  company  from  Bai-nsta- 
hle ;  and  Capt.  Higgins'  company,  consisting  of  men  fi-om  Chatham, 
Wellfleet  and  Eaatham  were  joined  to  Capt,  Bangs'  company. 

^  "  Whereas  we  have  received  authentic  intelligence  of  the  defeat 
and  surrender  of  Gen.  Burgoyne  and  his  army  to  onr  forces  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Gates;  and  whereas  such  an  important  event  and 
remarkahle  appearance  of  divine  Pi-ovidence  in  favor  of  this  state 
and  the  United  Stales  calls  for  an  immediate  acknowledgment  of  grat- 
itude, praise  and  thanks^ving :  therefore  be  it  resolved,  that  the  Eev. 
N.  Cooper,  chaplain  of  the  General  Court  now  sitting,  be,  and  he  here- 
by is,  requested  to  attend  the  court  to  the  Old  Brick  Meeting-House, 
to-morrow  at  11  o'clock  A.  M.,  to  acknowledge  tlie  divine  goodness, 
and  to  offer  by  prayer  a  tribute  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  Him 
who  governs  the  nniverse  and  whose  is  the  glory  and  the  victory  ;  and 
that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chaoncey  be  also  desired  lo  preach  a  sermon  suita- 
ble to  the  occasion.  Also  that  the  commanding  officers  of  the  fortresses 
at  Castle  Island  and  Fort  Hill,  be,  and  hereby  are,  directed  to  fire  each 
13  cannon,  at  1  o'clock  P.M." — A  resolve  was  aloo  passed  by  the  House 
requesting  the  hon.  Council  to  appoint  a  general  thauksgiving  to  be 
i  Nov.  20. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  509 

define  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  several  colonies  and 
their  mutual  obligations  to  each  other.  "Articles  of 
Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union,"  providing  that  the 
United  Colonies  as  hitherto  generally  called  should  as- 
sume the  name  of  "The  United  States  of  America;"  and 
defining  the  sovereignty,  freedom  and  independence  of 
each  —  each  to  retain  every  power,  jurisdiction  and  right 
that  was  not  by  the  Confederation  expressly  delegated 
to  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  —  proposed 
a  firm  league  for  mutual  defence.  The  articles  further 
determined  the  powers  of  Congress,  the  mode  of  raising 
money,  and,  generally,  all  measures  for  government  de- 
fence. These  articles  were  adopted,  and  having  been 
transmitted  to  the  several  State  legislatures  and  ap- 
proved, were  ratified  Nov.  15. 


vGooglc 


610  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

New  Constitution.  —  Refugees.  —  Eequisitiona  for  the  Army.  — Home  De- 
fences,— Tories.  —  Ship  Somerset.  —  Depredations  by  the  Enemy. — 
Eeenlistmenta  for  the  Army.  —  General  Distress.  —  Decease  of  Col. 
Otis.  —  Magee  Storm.  — Alliance  with  France.  —  Vigilance  to  comif«ract 
the  Designs  of  Tories, — Prices  regulated.  —  Gloomy  Aspect.  —  Grievous 
Exactions. — Dissensions.  —  State  Constitution.  —  Requisitions  and  De- 
fences.—  Importance  of  the  Fisheries. — A  dai'k Hour.— Cessation  of 
Hostilities. — Peaee.  — Effect.  —  Decease  of  James  Otis  Jr. 

The  new  Constitution  and  Form  of  Government 
went  into  operation,  March  4,  1778.  Requisitions  for 
soldiers,  supplies,  &c.,^  for  the  army,  and  also  for  coast 
defences ;  various  domestic  dif&cultles,^  and  local  legis- 
lation,^   occupied  much    of  the  time  of  the  General 

'  The  people  at  large  were  requested,  March  8,  "  to  collect  volun- 
tarily," within  their  respective  towns,  donations  of  shirts,  shoes,  and 
stockings,  for  the  army.  Money  also  was  raised  freely  in  Uie  several 
towns  to  encourage  enlistments  in  the  continental  service. 

^  The  small-pox  raging  in  Boston,  the  Genei-al  Court  adjourned  to 
Roxbury ;  and,  April  8,  smoke-houses  were  provided  at  the  Eoxbury 
line,  at  "WiQisimet  Ferry,  and  at  Charlestown  Neck,  "to  cleanse  all 
persons  passing  from  the  town  of  Boston  by  causing  them  to  be 
smoked  as  also  all  papers  in  their  possession,  money,  baggage,  &c." 
In  a  few  days  the  directions  given  were  fouod  inefficient  —  some  who 
had  been  exposed  to  the  infection  refusing  to  be  smoked ;  and  "  it 
being  necessary  to  prevent  the  spreading  of  the  contagion  that  the 
rules  be  observed,"  a  heavy  penalty  was  annexed  for  every  violation. 

'  It  was  found  necessary,  March  23,  by  special  act  to  provide  for 
suspending  the  regular  holding  of  the  eoui'ts  in  this  comity,  sundry 
of  the  justices  and  officers  of  these  courts  being  members  of  tiie  Glen- 
oral  Court,  and  "matters  of  great  importance  requiring  their  atteml- 
anee."   Adjournments  by  special  legislation  were  frequently  necessaiy. 


vGooglc 


AHNAL8    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  511 

Court,  and  continued  to  engross  a  large  sliare  of  the 
attention  of  the  people  of  this  county.  Legislation 
touching  the  estates  of  persons  who,  sympathizing  with 
the  enemy,  had  fled  the  country ;  or  in  relation  to  the 
requests  of  those  who,  having  fled,  were  either  desirous 
of  returning,  or  of  being  joined  by  their  families,  were 
very  common.  Some  whose  persistency  hitherto  in  re- 
fusing the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  whose  generally  un- 
friendly course  in  regard  to  all  patriotic  movements, 
had  marked  them  as  "enemies  of  their  country,"  be- 
came at  last  desirous  of  giving  in  their  adhesion ;  but 
whether  from  a  conviction  of  their  error,  or  simply  to 
escape  disabilities  and  perhaps  banishment,  was  a  ques- 
tion  that   demanded  rigid    scrutiny.^      One    thing   is 

the  officers,  the  jorors,  and  people  having  husiness  ia  the  same,  beiag, 
much  of  the  time,  so  occupied  ia  pubhe  business  devising  measures 
for  the  salvation  of  the  country,  or  occupied  incessantly  and  absolutely 
ia  means  of  defeace  against  a  eommoa  enemy,  that  repeated  provis- 
ioaa  by  the  legislature  for  holding  the  courts  out  of  the  usual  course 
were  necessary  during  the  whole  period  of  the  revolution, 

'  We  regret  being  obliged  to  say  that  some  portions  of  this,  as  a 
whole,  moat  patriotic  and  energetic  county,  came  in  for  a  full  share  of 
such  legislation.  Ia  determining  as  carefully  as  is  consistent  with 
truthfulness  to  avoid  all  personalities  of  an  invidious  nature,  we  have 
not  been  unmindful  of  tiie  question,  whether  the  withholding  names 
of  those  who  became  refugees,  or  who,  remaining  in  the  colony,  were 
regarded  as  tories,  may  not  leave  curiosity  reaching  still  uninformed 
perhaps  to  the  discredit  of  the  invariably  patriotic?  This  apprehen- 
sion certainly  cannot  extend  to  any  who  were  boldly  and  prominently 
sons  of  liberty :  they  were  too  active  and  well  known  not  to  have  left 
their  mark  upon  the  age.  We  do  not  fear,  indeed,  that  any  persona 
will  suffer  by  the  omission,  nor  do  we  conceive  that  it  is  essential  to 
the  cause  of  history  —  which  should  be  strictly  a  narratioa  of  facts 
and  events  —  that  hiogrccphj  should  in  all  instances  accompany  it. 
If  any,  however,  vuish  our  determination  were  othei-wise,  we  can  but 
say  the  advice  of  the  Wise,  "  Be  not  curious  in  unnecessary  mat- 
ters," Ecclus.  iii.  23,  commends  itself  to  our  consideration. 


vGooglc 


512  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

very  evident:  the  impressiou  began  to  fasten  upon  the 
minds  of  all  that  no  retrograde  movement  on  the  part 
of  the  friends  of  freedom  could  be  expected,  and  that, 
however  the  contest  might  be  prolonged,  the  determi- 
nation was  liberty  or  death.  It  is  more  than  we  dare 
assert,  that  there  were  no  instances  of  suspicion  en- 
gendered by  vague  or  trivial  causes  ;  no  cases  of  pe- 
culiar hardship  ;  no  instances  of  accusation  the  evi- 
dences leading  to  which  were  not  magnified  or  distorted 
by  the  imdue  influence  of  personal  pique  :^  but  iliis  we 
may  confidently  claim,  that  after  a  full  examination,  as 
we  think  impartially  conducted,  there  is  apparent  a 
general  desire  on  the  part  of  the  dominant  party  to  be 
kindly  lenient,  and  so  to  administer  for  the  safety  of 
the  cause  as  neither  to  endanger  it  by  relaxing  their 
vigilance,  nor  to  be  unnecessarily  exacting.    The  proof 

^  Indeed,  at  a  later  stage  of  the  struggle,  there  was  some  momenta- 
ry dissetiaion  among  the  wliigs  themselves,  as  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  notice.  "  To  err  is  human."  That  there  was  almost  perfect 
unanimity  of  ieeling  and  action  to  the  very  l^t  among  the  majority, 
is  proof  of  the  equity  of  tbeir  cause,  and  can  be  referred  only  to 
the  goodness  of  an  overruling  Providence.  The  only  instance  that 
has  fallen  under  our  observation  in  all  the  history  of  the  revolutionary 
period  of  an  approximation  to  magnify  supposed  delinquencies  in 
this  county,  and  which  inay  have  been  caused  by  misapprehension  on 
the  part  of  some,  growing  out  of  the  personal  relaiions  lowai'ds  each 
other  of  two  prominent  individuals  in  the  same  town,  was  that  in  case 
of  a  petition  numerously  supported,  and  at  this  time  before  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  complaining  of  the  political  course  of  an  influential  and 
highly  respectable  citizen,  he  being  a  representative,  and  praying 
"  that  he  be  excluded  from  the  public  counsels  forever."  This  has 
been  adverted  to  page  i80.  How  much  of  private  pique  entered  into 
this  proceeding,  it  is  not  for  us  here  to  say.  Suffice  it,  at  present, 
to  remark  that  there  are  considerations  entitled  to  respect  that  seem 
to  qualify  this  particular  complaint,  and  that  subsequent  events  attest 
the  patriotism  of  the  gentleman  whose  principles  and  action  had  been 
impugned. 


yGoogle 


A^JNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    C0UN5Y.  513 

of  this  is  clear  and  satisfactory.  It  is,  to  be  sure, 
painful  at  thi?  remote  day  to  contemplate  the  mortifi- 
cation to  which  not  a  few,  by  their  own  act,  had  sub- 
jected themselves.^  To  feel  constrained  at  last  to  turn 
back  from  the  pursuit  of  royal  favor,  and  to  become 
humble  suppliants  at  the  doors  of  neighbors  and 
fellow-citizens  whose  patriotism  they  had  reviled, 
whose  measures  for  the  general  good  they  had  op- 
posed, and  whose  toil  and  sacrifice  they  had  confidentiy 
hoped  woiild  end  in  discomfiture,  must  have  been  hu- 
miliating.    Better  so,  than  that  a  cause  so  great  and 

'  Sundry  persous,  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Sandwich,  "  who  were 
committed  for  refusing  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  fidelity,  hav- 
ing made  application  to  the  court,  confessing  their  error,"  the  court 
felt  constrained,  March  IS,  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  decision  of  the 
committee  of  correspondence,  inspection  and  safety  of  said  town. 
That  committee,  consisting  of  Col,  Freeman,  Stephen  Nye,  and  Selh 
Freemaa  Esqs.,  Simeon  Fish,  Joseph  Lawrence,  and  Micah  Black- 
well,  evinced  a  commendable  disposition  to  tres|t  the  application  wilh 
lenity ;  but  felt  embarrassed  by  the  consideration  that  certain  of  these 
petitioners  had  been  notoriously  "  enemies  "  to  the  cause  of  liberty  — 
one  of  them  especially,  "  an  old  offender,  son-in-law  of  the  infamous 
Buggies"  —  all  of  them  more  or  less  conspicuous  by  their  former 
"  hostility  "  to  their  country's  freedom ;  and  even  the  least  exception- 
able among  them,  with  whom  becaase  of  the  general  esteem  in  which 
he  had  been  held  as  a  neighbor  the  sympathies  of  the  committee  were 
peculiarly  enlisted,  and  whose  intelligence  and  position  in  society  gave 
him  much  influence,  had,  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
being  read,  "  trooped  scornfully  and  indignantly  out  of  meeting."  At 
a  later  day,  these  persona  still  remaining  in  Barnstable  jail,  the  sub- 
ject again  came  up,  and  after  various  correspondence  and  due  conces- 
sions by  the  applicants,  the  order  of  court  "  that  upon  producing  a 
certificate"  from  the  aforesaid  committee  "that  sd.  com.  believe  Ihey 
will  now  approve  themselves  faithful  subjects  of  the  State,  truly  and 
honestly  conducting  themselves  in  accordance  with  the  plain  intent 
and  meaning  of  sd.  oath  of  allegiance  and  fidelity,  and  giving  bond 
and  sureties  to  this  efiect,  they  shall  be  dischai^ed  from  confinement 
and  be  permitted  to  take  the  oath  "  was  complied  with. 
VOL.  I.  65 


vGooglc 


514  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE    COD. 

good  should  fail,  and  noble  patriots  stand  as  rebels  at 
tlie  gate  of  royalty, 

"  And  humbly  thus,  with  halters  on  their  necks, 
Expect  His  Highness'  doom  of  life  or  death." 

The  State's  quota  for  the  Continental  army  was 
found,  April  17,  to  be  yet  incomplete,  some  of  the 
towns  having  been  derelict  in  duty.^  "  A  penalty  of 
£150  "  was  determined  "  for  every  man  found  wanting." 
It  was  further  ordered,  April  20,  "to  raise  1300  men 
additional  for  North  River,  and  200  additional  for  Rhode 
Island."  These  were  "to  be  marched  severally  to 
Peekskill  and  Providence  forthwith."  The  brigadier,  or 
commanding  officer  in  this  county  -was  instructed  to 
"  detach  70  men  with  proper  officers  to  command,  to 

^  One  of  these  towns  was  Wellfleet;  hut  this  town,  June  18,  me- 
morialized, setting  forth  the  fact  "  that  great  numbers  of  its  inhabit- 
ants had  removed  out  of  town,  and  that  the  circumstances  of  such  as 
remained  were  those  of  distress."  One  half  its  State  tax  was  there- 
fore abated.  Gen.  Joseph  Otis  had  already,  May  29,  in  a  letter  to 
the  Council,  made  representations  of  the  condition  of  the  county  on 
the  entire  of  which  exactions  most  onerous  were  constantly  enforced 
without  regard  to  its  cireumstaaees,  and  which  was  strangely  ex- 
pected to  fomisii  its  full  quota  of  men,  money,  provisions,  &c.,  as  if 
its  condition  were  in  all  respects  equal  to  that  of  tlie  most  favored  in- 
land counties.  Gen.  Otis  truly  said,  "  We  have  more  men  in  the  land 
and  sea  service  than  our  proportion.  We  have,  from  Wareham  line, 
a  sea-coast  of  60  miles  to  Chatham,  where  thei-e  is  scarcely  a  day 
that  the  enemy  are  not  within  gun-shot  of  some  part  of  the  coast,  and 
they  very  ofl«n  anchor  in  our  harbors.  Under  these  circumstances  to 
detach  men  from  their  property,  wives  and  children  to  protect  the 
town  of  Providence  in  the  heart  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Isknd,  and 
not  so  much  in  danger,  causes  great  uneasiness.  Not  a  word  is  said 
against  filling  up  the  Oontinental  army,  although  every  man  costs 
$450,  which  is  owing  to  our  men  that  are  fit  for  the  service  being 
aboard  the  navy  or  in  captivity  by  being  taken  by  the  enemy's 
fleet." 


vGooglc 


AMNAL8   OF   BAEJJSTABLE    COUKTV.  515 

Rhode  Island."^  Again,  June  12,  it  was  ordered  "to 
raise  1800  men  for  the  defence  of  this  State  and  Rhode 
Island."  This  county  was  to  furnish  78  of  the  num- 
ber. "  Shoes,  stockings,  shirts,"  &c.,  were  also  included 
in  the  requisition ;  and  a  strong  appeal  was  made  to 
the  public,  that  "as  justice,  humanity  and  every  reason- 
able principle  of  the  human  heart  urge  the  necessity  of 
rendering  the  situation  of  our  brethren  who  are  risking 
their  lives  in  the  fields  of  battle  for  the  defence  of 
the  country  as  comfortable  as  possible,"  immediate  and 
cheerful  compliance  should  be  made  with  the  proposals 
for  the  sapply  of  their  necessities.^  The  number  of 
each  article  of  the  above  "necessaries"  exacted  of 
Barnstable  County,  was  505  f  and  £30  was  to  be  the 
forfeit  for  any  delinquency. 

Letters  from  the  commanding  officer  in  the  county, 
Brigadier  Otis,  reported  the  defenceless  state  "  of  the 
islands,  &c.,  in  and  around  the  county."  Some  ad- 
ditional provisions  were  made  by  the  courts  It  was 
also  peremptorily  ordered  "  that  if  difficidties  still  exist 
in  procuring  the  quotas  of  men,  by  reason  of  the  efforts 
of  persons  inimical  to  this  State  and  to  the  United 
States,  such  persons  must  be  punished  and  restrained." 
It  is  very  evident  that  although  within  the  bounds  of 

'■  Barnstable  to  furnisli  15,  Yarmouth,  14,  Eastham  and  Harwich 
12  each.  Sandwich  8,  Falmouth  6,  Chatham,  Welltleet  and  Truro 
5  each,  including  officers. 

^  Letters  from  Brig.  Gen.  Otis  to  the  Council  were  read,  June  18, 
"  representing  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  carrying  into  effect  the 
court's  resolves;"  whereupon  "it  was  at  once  recommended  that 
efiectual  measures  be  lalicn  for  restraining  and  punishing  persons 
inimical  to  the  government." 

"  The  number  required  of  Barnstable  was  82,  Yarmouth  73,  East- 
ham  65,  Harwich  64,  Sandwich  55,  Wcllfleet  45,  Falmouth  43,  Truro 
42,  Chatham  30,  and  Provincetown  C. 


vGooglc 


516  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

the  county,  those  of  tory  prochvlties  are  less  bold,  their 
secret  influence  has  not  a  whit  abated ;  and  that  the 
islands  are  more  than  ever  the  resort  of  the  enemy  and 
the  scene  of  constant  depredations.  Indeed  the  ques- 
tion quite  naturally  arises  whether  the  lenient  course 
which  waa  beginning  to  be  exhibited  towards  such 
as  had  been  heretofore  in  the  opposition,  did  not 
strengthen  and  embolden  those  with  whom  they  had 
hitherto  acted  in  unison.  Certain  it  is  that  these  were 
trying  times,  and  that  difficulties  thickened.^ 

Brigadier  Otis,  in  a  letter,  dated  "  Falmouth,  Sept. 
10,"  says,  "  I  came  here  in  answer  to  express,  with 
part  of  my  brigade.  The  fleet  from  Dartmouth  were 
about  to  land  and  destroy  the  place.  Fifty  sail  came 
through  Quixes'  Hole  and  anchored  in  Holmes'  Hole. 
Five  ships  and  a  galley  stopped  at  Wood's  Hole  and 
sent  a  boat  ashore  ;  but  it  soon  returned,  and  they  fol- 
lowed the  fleet.  Five  of  onr  coasters  run  into  a  harbor, 
seven  miles  hence,  to  keep  out  of  their  way ;  but  the 
enemy  sent  two  row-galleys  and  a  niimber  of  boats, 
and,  the  tide  being  up,  carried  off  four  and  burned 

'  'WliBther  it  be  a  fact  that  Brigadier  Otis,  unlike  liis  venerated 
father,  ("  now  by  reason  of  age  much  retired  from  public  action,"  )  is 
with  all  his  activity  and  patriotism  become  somehow  weary  with  in- 
creasing annoyances  and  somewhat  querulous;  or  whether  the  whole 
political  machinery  has  become  so  out  of  joint  that  his  complaints  are 
just,  we  cannot  undertake  to  say :  but  a  letter  from  him  to  the  Council, 
August  18,  says,  "'Wellfleet  has  not  yet  raised  a  man.  It  minds  no 
orders.  A  little  town,  though  rich,  lays  easy  and  quiet  whilst  its 
neighbors  are  put  to  great  trouble  and  prodigious  expense.  A  few 
ambitious,  disappointed,  purse-proud  men  are  on  hand  to  do  all  they 
can  to  retard  the  raising  of  men."  He  speaks  also  of  "timid  men,  if 
not  tones,  who,  because  the  game  is  most  up,  crawl  forth  (despicable 
characters)  to  devour  the  laurels  of  those  who  dared  to  act  when 
destruction  hung  over  their  heads,"  &c.  &c. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY.  517 

one  before  our  men  could  get  there.     The  mOitia  are 
under  arms  and  watching  the  motions  of  the  enemy." 

In  a  despatch,  dated  "Barnstable,  September  17," 
Brigadier  Otis  says,  "I  have  returned  from  Falmouth. 
The  fleet  sailing  westward  the  15th,  I  sent  to  the  Vine- 
yard and  found  they  had  demanded  10,000  sheep,  400 
head  of  horned    cattle,  all   the   arms    and    accoutre- 
ments on  the  island,  and  confined  the  head  whigs  as 
hostages  for  the  performance.     They  eat  and  carried 
off  more  than  9000  sheep  and  about  350  head  of  cattle. 
About  400  arms,  &c.,  were  delivered  up.     The  enemy 
burned  a  brig,  three  or  four  smaller  vessels,  all  the 
boats  they  could  find,  and  even  took  up  and  destroyed 
some  that  were  sunk  in  four  fathoms  of  water.     They 
carried  off  and  destroyed  all  the  corn  and  roots  within 
two  miles  around  Holmes'  Hole  harbor.     They  dug 
up  the  ground  every  where  to  search  for  goods,  even 
disturbing  graves ;   rifled  houses,  broke  windows,  &c. 
They  said  they  wanted  to  visit  Falmouth  ;  termed  us 
a  pack  of  .  .  .  rebels ;  but  said  we  had  at  Falmouth 
5000  strong  with  plenty  of  artillery,  and  were  as  thick 
as  bees.     They  seized  the  rate  bills,  and  all  the  pubHc 
money  in  the  hands  of  the  collectors.     The  militia  be- 
haved well,  and  were  much  disappointed  at  being  called 
from  home  at  such  a  busy  time  without  being  able  to 
come  at  the  enemy.     The  salt  hay  cut  was  carried  off 
and  lost  by  tides  in  their  absence.     A  perfect  plain 
half  a  mile  deep  between  the  town  and  the  sound, 
affords  fine  ground  for  disciplined  troops,  but  very  bad 
for  raw  ones  —  not  a  stone  or  bush  for  shelter ;  but 
our  people  behaved  well." 

In  a  letter,  September  20,  acknowledging  orders  sent 
in  compliance  with  a  resolve  to  raise  fifty  men,  in  his 
brigade,  to  go  to  Providence,  Gen,  Otis  says, "  As  the 


vGooglc 


518  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

enemy  are  around  and  threaten  danger  here,  it  is  like 
dragging  men  from  home  when  their  houses  are  on 
fire ;  but  I  will  do  my  best  to  comply." 

Upon  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Gen.  Otis,  September 
29,  the  Council  were  desired  by  the  House  "  to 
order  the  coinpany  of  militia  under  the  command  of 
Capt.  Job  Crocker  and  now  on  duty  in  Barnstable,  to 
march  to  Boston  to  do  duty  under  Gen.  Heath."  It 
was  also  resolved  "  that  inasmiicli  as  the  militia  of  the 
county  have  been  and  continue  to  be  greatly  harassed 
by  the  appearance  of  the  enemy's  ships  and  the  land- 
ing of  troops  in  their  vicinity,  the  county  be  excused  for 
the  present  from  raising  men  agreeably  to  the  order  of 
Council."  ^ 

A  letter  ftom  Gen.  Joseph  Otis,  November  8,  an- 
nounces the  wreck  of  the  British  ship  Somerset  strand- 
ed on  the  banks  at  Truro.  He  says,  "  The  480  men 
saved  from  the  wreck  are  near  me,  brought  to  this 
place  by  Col.  Hallett." "  These  men  were  subsequently 
marched  to  Boston  as  prisoners. 

^  In  Nov-ember  "  the  British  squadroa  appeared  in  audi  force  in 
Barnstable  Bay  and  in  Cape  Cod  harbor,"  the  impression  was  strong 
that  a  general  engagement  was  meditated.  Fearing  that  Boston 
would  be  the  point  of  attack,  nine  regiments  were  oi'dered  thither. 
Again,  the  fleet  landing  men  at  Newport,  then  at  Dartmouth,  then 
again  at  Martha's  Vmeyard,  the  vigilance  of  the  community  was  ex- 
ceedingly perplexed. 

^  Gen.  Otis  adds,  "  Shearjashub  Bourne  Esq.  and  a  Provineetown 
man  (one  Spencer)  have  gone  to  Plymouth  to  libel  the  ship.  Spencer 
put  Col  Do.  "W  llfl  board.     From  all  that  I  can  learn 

(here  i  k  d  w    k  eck  —  riotnua  doings.      The  Truro 

and  P         cetown  d         division  of  the  clothing,"  &c.  &e, 

"Truro  k  wo-1  1  a  d  P  ovincetown  one  third.  There  is  a 
very  plu  1  ga        h     w  y       There  seems  to  have  been  much 

misapp    h  d        he  right  of  parties  during  this  whole 

affair.      Th  1    -as  directed  by  special  order  of  the 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OF  BAKNSTABLE  COUNTY.         619 

In  the  same  letter,  Gen.  Otis  apologizes  for  his  Bot 
giving  his  own  personal  and  undivided  attention  to  this 
matter :  his  venerable  father  was  at  the  point  of  death.'- 
The  decease  of  this  distinguished  man  —  noble  com- 
peer with  Samuel  Adams,  Quincy,  Hancock  and  other 
illustrious  patriots  —  occurred  the  following  day,  in 
Barnstable,^ 

General  Court,  January  9,  "to  file  a  bill  against  the  ship;"  the 
sheriff  oi^  the  county  was  directed  to  take  possession,  February  11 ; 
aud  the  Board  of  War  was  directed,  February  19,  to  sell  the  effects, 
reserving  for  the  State  the  cannon,  &c.  Provision  was  made  for 
remunerating  the  salvors. 

^  The  aged  patriot's  thoughts  in  hia  last  moments  were  stiU  upon 
the  future  of  the  country  he  had  long  served  with  fidelity ;  and  he 
now  requested  his  son  to  say  for  hiia  to  the  Council,  "  I  am  soon  to 
leave  this  world  and  desire  to  be  no  more  concerned  in  civil  matters; 
but  I  .shall  be  greatly  gratified  if  the  Hon.  Mr.  Davis  may  be  ap- 
pointed to  succeed  me  as  judge  of  Probate.  He  is  an  honest  mau 
and  of  course  a  friend  to  his  country ;  and  the  appointment  will  be 
one  in  which  the  whole  country  on  the  friendly  side  will  acquiesce." 
It  may  be  needless  to  remark  that  Mr.  Davis  was  appointed. 

^Col.  James  Otis,  of  Barnstable,  chief  justice  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  from  1764,  succeeding  Chief  Justice  Ezra  Bourne, 
and  re-appointed,  (with  Daniel  Davis,  Nathaniel  Freeman,  and  Rich- 
ard Baxter,  associates,)  Oct.  11, 1775,  being  the  first  commission  by 
the  governor  and  people  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  died  Nov.  9.  See 
page  274.  Col.  Otis,  although  educated  to  mechanical  employment, 
soon  became  distinguished  by  his  intellectual  powers,  and  turning 
his  attention  to  the  law,  attained  to  eminence  in  the  profession 
and  secured  an  extended  practice.  Trivial  circumstances  often  de- 
termine important  events ;  it  was  thus  that  Mr.  Otis'a  attention  was 
directed  to  the  law.  Being  at  court  as  a  spectator,  he,  being  then  by 
profession  a  tanner,  was  requested  by  a  neighbor  who  had  a  case  in 
court  but  was  unprovided  with  counsel,  to  assist  him  in  his  difficulty. 
Consenting,  he  managed  the  cause  with  such  ability  and  discovered 
such  power  of  argument  that  at  the  close  members  of  the  court  com- 
plimented him  and  judicious  friends  earnestly  advised  him  to  offer 
himself  as  a  practitioner.  Procuring  books  he  devoted  himself  to 
study,  ever  reading  and  constantly  practising.     Great  natural  talent 


vGooglc 


520  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  the  winter  of  this  year,  December  26  and  27, 
occurred  that  awful  storm  generally  known  as  'the 
Magee  storm/  in  which    several  valuable    citizens    of 

and  good  learning,  although  not  what  is  ordinariiy  denominated  a 
'  liberal  education,'  soon  secured  him  a  commanding  position.  Colonel 
of  militia  at  a  time  when  both  honor  and  influence  attached  to  the 
office;  he  became  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Legislature  in  1775, 
and  was  speaker  of  the  House  1760  and  '61,  Being  now  recognized 
as  a  leading  politician,  his  continued  election  was  negatived  by  the 
governor.  Still,  he  was  appointed  judge  of  Pi-obate  in  1763,  and  chief 
justice  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  1764.  In  1764  elected  a  member  of 
the  Council,  he  was  again  negatived  by  the  royal  governor ;  and 
although,  during  the  last  years  of  Bernard's  adminiatvation,  uniformly 
elected  to  the  Council,  the  government  continued  persistently  to  reject 
him  as  often  as  chosen  until  the  year  1770,  —  for  his  bold,  manly, 
uncompromising  maintenance  of  the  rights  of  the  colonies.  Upon 
Hutchinson's  coming  into  power,  he  was  approbated  as  a  councillor 
and  was  continued  at  the  Council  Board  to  the  opening  of  the  revo- 
lutionary war,  and  then,  during  the  first  iive  yeare  of  the  war,  was 
president.  For  a  long  period  a  leading  man  m  town,  county  and 
province,  he  proved  himself  at  all  times  of  inflexible  integrity,  and 
was  greatly  honored.  His  reading  had  been  directed  especially  to 
diligent  study  of  the  principles  of  law  as  connected  with  political  insti- 
tutions; (his  prepared  him  to  engage  not  only  with  ardor,  hut  with 
understanding,  in  asserting  American  rights.  True  at  al!  times  to 
his  expressed  opinion  that  "  if  the  British  Parliament  be  successful, 
the  prosperity,  freedom  and  honor  of  this  country  will  be  dimmed," 
he  remained  fii-m  to  the  last  whatever  discouragements  were  in  the 
way  —  always  self-possessed  and  unyielding;  and,  although  (like 
Moses  who  prevailed  for  others)  he  was  not  permitted  to  go  over  the 
limits  of  the  revolutionary  era  to  possess  the  good  land  crowned  with 
the  blessings  of  liberty  and  peace,  he  lived  long  enough  to  see  his 
country  glorious  in  her  struggles  for  freedom  with  the  pmspect  full  in 
view  thai  her  mighty  efforts  to  secure  independence  would  be  suc- 
cessful. This  venerable  man  had  long  stood  conspicuous  among  the 
younger,  but  not  more  influential  or  determined,  sons  of  liberty. 
His  noble  son,  bearing  the  same  name,  has  generally  been  designated 
"the  patiiot;"  hut  the  illustrious  father  is,  to  say  the  least,  equally 
entitled  to  that  distinction.     "Inter  omnea  unus  eminet."     Politically 


vGooglc 


ANKAIS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  521 

tills  county  perished  on  board  a  government  vessel 
driven  ashore  near  Plymouth  harbor.^ 

Applications  continued  to  be  made  by  disaffected 
persona  for  permission  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity,  or 
by  refugees  for  liberty  on  parole  to  visit  their  families 
and  settle  their  affairs;  also  froia  the  families  of  refu- 
gees for  leave  to  join  their  seli-exiled  friends  in  the 
British  provinces.^  Petitions  were  also  presented  from 
persons  on  the  Cape  "  desirous  of  removing  to  the  Ken- 
nebec, and  wishing  permission,  notwithstanding  the 
embargo,  to  carry  their  cattle  and  goods  by  water." 

The  French  nation  having  acknowledged  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States,  a  treaty  of  alliance  was 
made  February  6.  The  question  of  a  new  constitution 
of  civil  government  for  the  State,  it  was  provided  should 
be  submitted  to  the  people  the  last  Wednesday  in  May. 

and  morally,  it  may  be  saitl  of  !iim,  "  Towering  his  height,  and  ample 
was  his  bresist." 

^  The  brig  Gen.  Arnold,  mounting  20  guna,  with  a  cvew  of  105 
men  and  boys,  commanded  by  Capt.  James  Magee,  had  sailed  from 
Boston,  Dec.  24,  on  a  cruise.  The  vessel  became  enveloped  in  snow 
and  ic6!  the  entire  shores  were  congealed,  and  no  assistance  could  be 
rendered.  Among  those  who  perished  were  Lieut.  John  Eusseil  of 
Barnstable,  commander  of  the  marines,  and  others  of  the  Cape.  Sev- 
enty dead  bodies  frozen  were  found  when  the  vessel  was  boarded, 
strewed  on  the  deck  or  attacbed  to  the  shrouds  and  spars ;  thirty  ov 
more  exhibited  signs  of  life,  but  were  unconscious.  Nearly  all  of 
them  died.  Mr.  Downs,  belonging  to  Barnstable,  survived ;  b«t  with 
the  loss  of  both  his  feet. 

^  Certain  other  persons,  belonging  in  Sandwich,  having  petitioned, 
Jan.  29,  for  the  privilege  of  the  oath  and  for  release  from  confinement, 
promising  never  again  to  counteract  any  meaiiures  for  the  defence  of 
the  country,  but  to  demean  themselves  as  good  citizens  of  the  same, 
were,  on  making  a  full  confession  of  their  former  error,  granted  the 
prayer  of  their  petition  on  the  same  conditions  proposed  to  former 
applicants. 

VOL.  I.  66 


vGooglc 


522  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

The  town  of  Falmoiith  "  and  the  shores  along  the  Vine- 
yard Sound  and  Buzzard's  Bay"  contmued  to  be  in- 
fested "  by  the  enemy's  ships  and  tenders."  Cattle  were 
plundered  and  other  depredations  committed.^  These 
ravages  were  continued  for  a  long  time,  and  repeated 
attempts  were  made  to  land,  plunder  and  destroy  the 
towns.^ 

An  order  was  issued,  June  8,  for  the  raising  of  2000 
men  to  reenforce  the  Continental  army,  and  Col.  I'ree- 
man  was  appointed  superintendent  for  this  county.^ 
Again,  June  21,  the  county  was  called  upon  to  furnish 
its  quota  of  shirts,  shoes,  and  stockings  for  the  army, 
and  Col.  Enoch  Hallett  was  appointed  receiver.*  A 
State  Convention  was  ordered,  *■'  to  form  a  new  Consti- 
tution of  Government,"  to  meet,  Sept.  1,  at  Cambridge. 
Measures  were  also  taken  "  to  look  after  lands,  &c.,  be- 

^  A  company  of  men  was  ordered  to  he  raised  and  stationed  at 
Falmoutb,  Feb.  23 ;  and  the  sheriff  was  directed  "  to  talte  with  hica 
a  sufftcient  force  and  go  to  the  island  of  Cuttyhunk  and  arrest  persons 
engaged  ia  aiding  and  secreting  certain  tories,  and  in  sending  provis- 
ions to  the  enemy,"  —  also  "to  break  open  in  the  daytime  and  search 
the  premises  of  any  persons  in  the  county  snspected  of  having  in  their 
possession  any  stores  from  the  ship  Somerset  contrary  to  Saw." 

^  The  brigadier  of  the  county  was  ordered,  April  9,  "  to  detach 
from  that  part  of  his  brigade  in  the  towns  west  of  Harwich,  a  large 
force,  officered  and  equipped,  to  be  stationed  at  Falmouth,  the  former 
forces  being  insufficient  for  the  emergency,"  The  Board  of  War  was 
authorized  to  deliver  to  Col.  Freeman,  "  2  field  pieces,  4  pounders, 
with  can-iages  and  appurtenances  complete,  halls  and  other  ammuni- 
tion, to  he  deposited  at  his  discretion;  also  £300  for  supplies,  and  in 
addition  a  quantity  of  beef  and  flour." 

"The  quota  for  this  county  was  87,  viz. :  Barnstable  16,  Sand- 
wich 12,  Yarmouth  14,  Eastham  10,  Harwich  11,  Wellfleet  5,  Chat- 
ham 5,  Truro  5,  and  Falmouth  9. 

'  The  number  of  each  article  required,  was  of  Barnstable  82, 
Sandwich  55,  Provincetown  6,  Harwich  64,  Eastham  65,  TjTiro  42, 
Wellfleet  45,  Falmouth  43,  Chatham  30,  and  Yarmouth  73. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  523 

longing  to  conspirators  in  every  county,  who  had  acted 
against  the  government  and  liberties  of  the  country/ 
A  resolve  was  passed,  June  25,  "  laying  an  embargo  on 
all  outward  bound  vessels ;  excepting  wood  and  oyster 
craft  within  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Ann,  such  vessels  to 
obtain  permits.  —  Falmouth  and  the  shores  adjacent 
were,  Sept.  27,  "stiU  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  the 
enemy's  fleet  in  the  Sound."  ^ 

^  Their  property  was  liable  to  conflseation.  Agents  wcro  appointed 
for  every  county.  Joseph  Nye  Esq.  of  Sandwich  i^s  designated 
for  agent  in  this  county.  Sept.  2S,  persons  were  appointed  to  make 
sale  of  tlie  confiscated  property.  The  commissioners  for  the  purpose 
in  Barnstable  Co,  were  Solo.  Freeman,  Esq.,  of  Harwich,  Capt.  John 
Howes  of  Yarmouth,  and  Maj,  Joseph  Dinimick  of  Falmouth,  to  act 
"  in  behalf  of  the  State." 

?  "  Some  of  the  militia  of  the  adjacent  towns  "  having  "  refused  or 
neglected  to  comply  with  their  duty  when  ordered  out  as  guards,"  the 
brigadier  was  directed  "  to  detach  from  the  upper  towns  63  men  un- 
der tlie  direction  of  field  officers  of  the  1st  reg't,  to  do  duty  along  the 
shores  of  the  Vineyard  Sound  and  Buzzard's  Bay  j "  and  heavy  pen- 
alties were  attached  to  any  default  on  (he  part  of  officers  or  privates. 
The  officer  in  command  being  under  the  necessity,  in  several  cases  of 
alarm,  of  impressing  horses  to  expedit*  the  march,  was  threatened  by 
the  disaffijcted  with  prosecution,  so  that  it  was  found  necessary,  the 
next  year,  March  24,  for  the  Gleneral  Court  to  pass  a  "  resolve  for  pre- 
venting any  prosecutions  in  the  Connty  of  Barnstable  of  officers  who 
impressed  horses  on  the  late  alarms  in  said  county;"  as  follows; 
"Whereas  it  appears  to  this  court,  that  during  the  late  alarms  in  the 
County  of  Barnstable,  whilst  they  were  invested  at  Falmouth  with  the 
enemy's  fleet  and  threatened  with  devastation,  it  was  thought  neces- 
sary by  the  commanding  officer,  who  accordingly  issued  orders  to  his 
officers,  to  impress  horses  m  order  to  expedite  the  march  of  the  miUtia 
to  that  town ;  in  consequence  of  the  execution  of  which  orders,  divers 
persons  who  had  their  horses  impressed  have  threatened  the  officers 
with  prosecution  for  taking  their  horses  as  aforesaid ;  which,  unless 
prevented,  may  prove  vexatious  and  chargeable  to  the  officers,  and  very 
discouraging  to  the  militia  in  future ;  It  is  therefore  Resolved,  that 
no  person  or  persons  whose  horses  were  impressed  or  taken  as  afore- 


yGoogle 


524  THE   HISTOEY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

A  grant  of  $200,000  was  made,  Oct.  1,  to  Col.  Na- 
thaniel Freeman  of  Sandwich,  and  Maj.  Samuel  Osgood 
of  Andover,  as  commissioners  "  to  repair  to  the  camp 
of  the  American  army  ^  for  certain  purposes ; "  and  the 
treasurer  of  the  State  was  directed  "  to  pay  the  same 
out  of  the  pubhc  treasury ;  also  to  issue  his  warrant 
for  such  further  sums  of  money  as  might  be  found 
necessary  to  enable  said  commissioners  to  carry  said 
purposes  into  execution."  Subsequently,  Nov.  18,  the 
commissioners  having  performed  to  acceptance  the 
duty  assigned  them,  their  accounts  were  "found  right- 
said  by  any  officer  or  his  order?,  ai  aforesaid,  in  time  of  the  late 
alarms  in  said  county,  shall  be  allowed  to  bring  forward  any  action  or 
prosecution  against  any  such  officer  for  impressing  his  horse  or  horses 
as  aforesaid,  or  to  recover  any  damage  or  coats  therefor  in  any  court 
of  record,  provided  the  horses  were  taken  for  the  service  on  the 
alarm,  and  were  returned  to  the  owners  again  in  proper  season,  with- 
out any  great  damage ;  and  in  case  any  such  action  or  prosecution 
shall  be  brought  against  any  such  officer,  this  Eesolve  may  be  plead 
in  perpetual  bar  to  the  same,  any  law  to  the  contrary  notw  it  list  an  ding ; 
Provided,  tbia  Resolve  shall  not  be  construed  to  justify  any  militia 
officers  in  future  for  impressing  horses  in  an  illegal  manner." 

^  One  of  the  commissioners  above  named  related  to  the  writer  that, 
■when  on  this  service  at  West  Point,  the  attention  of  the  commission- 
ers was  arrested  by  certain  inexplicable  movements  among  the  French 
troops  encamped  at  some  distance  from  the  American.  Perceiving 
that  they  had  kindled  numerous  fires  in  the  adjoining  fields,  and  were 
running  about  in  strange  disorder,  Maj.  Osgood  and  himself,  accom- 
panied by  Gen.  Washington  and  other  officers,  mounted  horses  and 
rode  to  the  encampment.  It  was  found  that  the  Frenchmen  were  en- 
joying rare  sport  in  a  camp^gn  against  the  grasshoppers  which  were 
unusually  numerous  at  that  time.  These  insects,  as  soon  as  captured, 
were  impaled  upon  a  sharpened  stick  or  fork  and  held  for  a  moment 
over  the  fire  and  then  eaten  with  great  ffusto.  The  fires  were  fur- 
nished with  fuel  of  deposits  from  cattle  in  the  fields,  made  by  the  ex- 
cessive heat  and  drought  of  the  autumn  sufflcienlly  dry  and  com- 
bustible. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  525 

cast  and  well-vonched,"  tliey  having  drawn  for  £60,000 
and  expended  £32,307  12,  and  returned  the  balance/ 

A  special  Fast  was  suggested  by  the  House  to  the 
Council,  Oct.  9.^  A  letter  from  Gen.  Joseph  Otis  to 
Daniel  Davis  Esq.  was  communicated  by  the  latter,  a 
representative,  to  the  House,  Oct.  2,  the  substance  of 
which  letter  was  as  follows;  "  Yesterday  the  tories^  in 

^  For  their  services  ami  expenses,  £280  8  2  was  voted — the 
balance  due  them.  Their  mission,  as  subsequently  transpired,  was 
to  "confer  with  Gen.  Waahington,  as  also  with  the  generals  and  field 
officers  belonging  to  this  State,  and  assure  both  officers  and  men  of 
the  high  sense  entertmned  of  their  services  and  merit ;  arrange  for 
the  settlement  of  their  accounts;  provide  for  their  comfort ;  and  use 
endeavors  to  secure  the  reenlistment  if  possible  of  the  entire  State's 
quota,"  Col.  Fi-eeman,  besides  private  interviews  and  consnltatioiK 
held  by  Maj.  Osgood  and  himself  with  the  Massachusetts  officers, 
publicly  addressed  the  troops  assembled  for  the  purpose.  The  de- 
sired arrangement  for  the  conlinaance  of  the  service  of  the  State's 
quota  was  effected. 

^  The  Council  were  requested  to  appoint  said  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer,  inasmuch  as  "  it  is  the  indispensable  duty  of  a  people  in  times 
of  great  public  calamity  to  implore  the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  all 
their  concerns,  and,  as  the  present  day  is  one  of  great  expectation,  and 
most  important  plans  are  laid  to  extricate  us  from  the  troubles  wherein 
we  are  involved,  in  the  execution  of  which  we  cannot  promise  to  our- 
selves success  without  the  kind  interposition  and  blessing  of  Divine 
Providence." 

*  As  the  term  iory  so  often  occurs,  it  may  be  pertinent  to  remark 
toncHng  the  cognomen  respectively  of  parties  whig  and  tory  at  the 
time  of  the  revolution  and  since  in  so  general  use,  that  the  origin  is 
confessedly  involved  in  some  obscurity.  The  two  parties  in  England 
that  b^an  to  divide  the  kingdom  in  the  time  of  Charles  I.  were  de- 
nominated Gavcdiers  and  Soundheads.  The  former  were  for  the  king, 
aa  were  the  latter  for  parliament.  After  the  restoration,  in  the  time 
of  Charles  II.,  these  parties  began  to  be  designated  as  Tories  and 
Whigs,  each  term  being  applied  by  the  opposing  party  aa  a  reproach. 
The  origin  of  these  reproachful  epithets,  it  is  generally  conceded,  was 
as  follows :  In  the  mountains,  and  in  the  isles  formed  by  bogs  in 


yGoogle 


526  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

the  Sound,  about  a  league  off  Highano's  harbor,  took  a 
veasel  bound  out  of  said  harbor  to  Stonington,  owned 
by  one  Palmer,  loaded  with  dry  fish  ;  and  drove  another 
ashore  on  the  eastward  part  of  Falmouth,  loaded  with 
cheese,  cider,  &c.  They  cut  the  vessel's  deck  to  pieces, 
as  the  owners  had  scuttled  her.  In  short,  the  refugees 
have  got  a  number  of  Vineyard  pilot-boats,  (about  20,) 

Ireland,  were  a  class  of  Irish'handiiti  (some  time  known  by  the  name 
of  Sapparees,)  then  generally  known  as  iories,  that  being  t!ie  word  in 
Irish  for  savaffes.  As  the  king's  opponents  aflcused  him  of  favoring 
the  Irish  rebellion  which  broke  out  about  Ihat  time,  they  gave  to  his 
adherents  the  name  of  tories.  An  epithet  so  odious,  because  so  preg- 
nant with  significance  most  insulting  and  humiliating,  was,  of  course, 
duly  resented ;  and  the  adherents  to  the  king  in  order  to  be  even  with 
their  opponents  who  were  closely  united  with  the  Scots,  called  them 
whigs  —  a  name  used  in  Scotland  originally  to  designate  a  certain 
class  of  inhabitants.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  loyalists  had  not 
the  advantage  of  a  term  so  opprobrious  to  apply  as  that  already  fixed 
upon  themselves;  for  the  term  whig  is  thus  derived:  the  south-west 
counties  of  Scotland  seldom  producing  corn  enough  to  serve  them,  and 
tlie  northern  parts  having  a  supeimbundance,  those  in  the  west  were 
wont  to  come  with  their  teams,  in  summer,  to  buy  at  Leith  the  stores 
that  came  down  from  the  north.  From  a  word  used  in  the  west  of 
Scotland  in  driving  horses, '  wkig-am,'  those  that  drove  the  teams  came 
to  be  called  wkigairwrs,  and  finally,  for  shortness,  wMgs.  To  illus- 
trate; says  Burnet,  "In  that  year,  before  the  news  came  down  of 
Duke  Hamilton's  defeat,  the  ministers  animated  their  people  to  rise 
and  march  to  Edinburgh ;  and  they  came  up  marching  at  the  head  of 
their  parishes  with  an  unheard-of  fury,  praying  and  preaching  all  the 
way  as  they  came.  The  Marquis  of  Argyle  and  his  party  came  and 
headed  them,  they  being  about  6000.  This  was  called  the  wigga- 
more's  inroad.  And  ever  after  that,  all  that  opposed  the  court  came, 
in  contempt,  to  be  called  whigs ;  and  from  Scotland  the  word  was 
brought  into  England,  where  it  is  now  one  of  okir  unhappy  terms  of 
disunion."  But  some  have  it  that  the  term  whig  is  from  the  Saxon 
for  whei/,  a  name  applied  to  those  in  Scotland  whose  principal  food 
was  sour  milk.  We  think  the  former  derivation  the  legitimate,  or,  in 
all  probability,  the  true  one. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OF  BAKNSTABLE  COUNTY.  527 


and  man  them,  and  run  into  our  aborea  and  take  every 
thing  that  floats."  Gen.  Otis  appHes  for  "  eight-pound- 
ers, swivels,"  &c. ;  and  engages  "  to  procure  two  small 
vessels  and  get  them  manned  to  scour  the  sound."  He 
says, "  Highanos  is  much  exposed ;  and  to  draw  off  the 
men  to  Falmouth  causes  much  uneasiness." 

Again,  October  12,  despatches  from  Uen.  Otis  show 
that  "  Greorge  Leonard  has  sent  a  flag  of  truce  for  ex- 
change of  prisoners."  He  represents  Leonard  as  at  the 
head  of  "  a  refugee  gang  in  the  sound."  Leonard  was 
desirous  of  exchanging  "Barnabas  Eldridge  and  Isaac 
Matthews  of  Yarmouth  held  as  prisoners,  and  Manasses 
Swift  and  James  Wing  of  Falmouth  on  parole  "  for  cer- 
tain "  men  taken  by  Falmouth  people  "  at  the  capture 
of  "  the  Gen.  Leslie  in  Old  Town  harbor."  Gen.  Otis 
says, "  The  taking  of  the  Gen.  Leslie  was  a  bold  and 
gallant  action.  She  had  twenty-seven  men  and  ten 
four-pounders;  the  Falmouth  vessel  had  twenty-five 
men,  and  two  three-pounders,  with  two  zvoodm  guns. 
They  went  to  Old  Town  harbor  where  lay  the  Leslie 
and  a  sloop  mounting  twelve  nine-pounders,  with  three 
prizes  anchored  between  them.  They  first  made  for 
the  twelve-gun  sloop,  intending  to  hoard  her  and  sweep 
the  harbor;  but,  the  wind  and  tide  setting  out,  fell 
about  a  biscuit  toss  astern,  and  could  not  fetch  again. 
This  was  night  work.  Tlie  sloop  being  alarmed,  began 
to  fire.  They  then  immediately  run  the  Leslie  aboard 
amidst  the  fire  from  the  other  sloop  —  firing  a  volley 
of  small  arms  into  the  Leslie,  wounding  one  of  her  men 
since  dead,  and  receiving  a  volley  which  hurt  nobody ; 
then  jumping  on  board,  about  twenty  men  drove  the 
Leslie's  men  below,  cut  the  cable,  and  brought  the 
Leslie  to  Highanos."  "  Capt.  Dimmick  of  Falmouth " 
is  mentioned  as  the  hero  of  this  transaction.    Gen.  Otis 


vGooglc 


Oao  THE   HISTORT   OF    CAPE    COD. 

subsequently  ascertained  that  Leonard,  "on  board  the 
ship  Kestoration  off  Holmes'  Hole,  Oct.  1,"  had  issued 
a  proclamation  "  to  all  inclined  to  peace  and  good 
government,  to  lay  down  the  amis  now  fm'ced  into 
their  hands ; "  promising  "  they  shall  be  protected  and 
supplied  with  every  comfort,"  in  case  of  complia:ice. 

Committees  had,  before  the  close  of  the  year,  been 
chosen  to  regulate  the  prices  of  tlie  necessaries  of  life. 
Prices  were  fixed ;  and,  as  far  as  possible,  extortion  and 
speculation  were  cheeked.  The  paper  currency  bad 
become  so  depreciated  that  but  little  value  could  be 
attached  to  it  at  any  rate  of  discount,  and  the  difficulty 
of  providing  means  either  for  the  army  or  expenses  at 
home  was  greatly  exaggerated. 

The  year  1780  opened  with  a  gloomy  aspect  The 
paper  money  system  adopted  by  the  Continental  Con- 
gress was  not  only  producing  its  legitimate  effects  of 
ruin  and  distress,  the  bills  being  already  depreciated  to 
one  thirtieth  of  their  nominal  value,  so  that  the  pay 
of  officers  and  soldiers  was  totally  inadequate  to  pro- 
cure even  clothing  for  them  ;  but  the  funds  of  Congress 
and  its  credit  were  alike  exhausted.'    The  only  altema- 

^  Some  patriotic  leaders  and  private  capitalists  did  what  tbey  could 
in  this  gloomy  state  of  affairs  in  granting  loans  to  government ;  but 
their  self-sacrificing  advances  were  only  as  a  drop  to  the  retired 
waters  of  ocean  in  comparison  with  the  need.  Adequate  loans  were 
as  yet  in  vain  solicited  abroad.  The  destitution  of  the  army  was,  in 
fact,  auch  that  desertion  and  revolt  were  seriously  apprehended  should 
this  state  of  things  be  permitted  to  continue.  Slill,  like  martyrs  the 
troops  bore  and  forbore.  A  requisition  on  the  State  caused  a  call  on 
this  county,  Jan.  13,  for  a  large  supply  of  blankets,  and  similar  calls 
came  in  quick  succession.  On  the  Ith  of  May,  shirts,  shoes,  stockings, 
blankets,  were  the  demand :  of  Barnstable  57,  Provincctown  4,  Sand- 
wich 39,  Harwich  45,  Eastham  4o,  Trui-o  29,  Falmouih  30,  Yarmoutli 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BABN8TABLE   COUNTY.  529 

tive  was  to  extend  the  Teqiiisitions  upon  the  several 
States  so  as  to  include  provisions  and  forage. 

The  country  burdened  with  debt ;  soldiers  and  their 
families  subjected  to  great  hardships ;  the  salaries  of 
all  in  public  employ  (the  clergy  included)  reduced  to 
a  mere  pittance  available  ;  ^  the  lukewarm  murmuring ; 
symptoms  of  insubordination  rife,  —  the  utmost  vigi- 
lance and  prudence  were  required  !  The  "  dark  day  " 
which  occurred  May  19  —  an  event  that  was  the  occa- 
sion of  some  alarm,  and  of  much  speciilation  among 
the  learned,  seemed  in  keeping  with  the  times.^ 

As  if  all  the  gloom  that  enveloped  the  circumstances 
of  the  country  were  not  sufficient,  questions  of  eti- 
quette and  policy  must  needs  arise  to  disturb  the  equa- 
nimity and  confidence  of  leading  patriots  themselves. 
The  commanding  officer  in  the  county,  in  the  exercise 
of  his  discretion,  gave  offence  to  nearly  all  those  who, 
associated  with  him,  had  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of 
the  day  and  had  hitherto  moved  on  with  him  in  perfect 
harmony.     The  proximate  cause  of  dissatisfaction  was  a 

51,  Chatham  21,  Wellfleet  32,  of  shirts,  pairs  of  shoes,  and  stockings, 
and  half  the  number  of  blanlcets. 

^  Some  idea  of  the  imraenao  depreciation  of  paper  money  may  be 
formed  in  view  of  an  act  of  the  General  Court,  June  3,  giving  "  to 
Provincetown  £3000  in  addition  to  the  annual  grant  of  £45,  for  the 
support  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  as  minister  of  the  gospel  in  that 

"  "We  regard  it  as  an  important  event  worthy  to  be  noticed  here, 
that,  in  the  midst  of  these  trials,  the  legislature  of  one  of  the  confed- 
erate States,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  month  of  March  recognized  the 
obligation  to  extend  to  others  a  portion  of  that  freedom  which  every 
patriot  desired  for  himself:  it  was  enacted  that  no  child  bom  there- 
after in  this  State  should  be  a  slave;  and  that  negi-o  and  mulatto 
children  then  in  bondage  should  be  servants  only  until  twenty-eight 
years  of  age  and  then  free.  The  Northern  States  were  not  slow  to 
follow  the  example,  and  noiv  reap  the  benefit. 
VOL.  L  67 


vGooglc 


530  THE  HiaiORy  of  cape  cod. 

certain  nomination  by  him  made  ;  the  remoter  cause  was 
evidently  the  neglect  for  some  reason  to  confer  as  for- 
merly with  judicious  and  patriotic  associates,  thus  to 
assure  the  public  good  and  to  secure  unanimity  of 
thought,  feeling  and  action.  The  matter  created  in- 
tense interest  at  the  moment;  we  note  the  affair 
therefore  somewhat  minutely.  The  nomination  called 
forth  from  the  Council;  Jan.  7,  their  marked  disap- 
proval.^ To  this  act  of  Council,  Gen.  Otis  replied  in 
missives,  Feb.  8  and  12,  expressing  his  mortification 
at  the  censure  imposed,  petulantly  reflecting  upon 
a  leading  patriot,  and  threatening  that  he  would  him- 
self "  resign  were  it  not  for  fear  as  to  his  successor."  ^ 

i"To  Brig.  Gen.  Joseph  Otis.  Sir:  The  Coimfiil  cannot 
approve  of  the  use  you  have  made  of  the  privilege  by  law  allowed 
you  in  the  Eominatioo  of  a  brigade  major.  Reason  must  dictate  that 
such  privilege  was  given  you  to  improve  to  the  advantage  of  your 
country  iu  the  harmony,  and  of  consequence  thereof,  in  the  strength 
of  its  jaternal  force.  But  to  our  surprise  you  have  used  it  in  the  de- 
slruclion  of  both  in  your  recommendation  of  .  .  ,  a  private  of  no 
distinguished  merit,  to  the  rank  of  brigade  major;  not  to  mention  the 
affront  you  have  thereby  given  to  this  Board,  while  they  depended  on 
your  care  and  prudence  in  the  discharge  of  the  high  and  important 
office  committed  to  you  in  the  rank  of  a  brigadier  general.  Sir,  you 
cannot  be  insensible  to  the  very  great  uneasiness  that  subsisted  in 
your  brigade.  .  .  Tet  notwithstanding,"  &c.  .  .  "To  avoid 
greeable  consequences,  you  will  call  upon  .  .  for  his  conimis 
and  return  it  to  this  office,  and  prevent  any  further  proceedings 
thereon  by  this  Board,  or  any  dL'honor  to  the  young  man.  In  the 
name  and  behalf  of  the  Council,  I  am,  sir,  your  humble  servant, 

Jeremiaii  Poweli.,  President." 

"  To  this  personality,  generally  regarded  as  undignified,  there  was 
a  calm,  but,  to  Gen.  Otis,  somewhat  damaging  reply  addressed  to  the 
Council,  Feb.  16.  The  persistency  of  the  commanding  officer,  which 
would  allow  him  neither  to  ask  nor  hear  advice,  was  most  unfortunate 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  531 

He  expressed  also  an  earnest  "  hope "  that  the  young 
man  whose  nomination  had  been  the  occasion  of  the 
present  misunderstanding  might  at  least  be  permitted 
to  qualify  and  be  thus  placed  in  a  situation  to  resign 
honorably  —  an  opportunity  of  "which  he  would  un- 
doubtedly avail  himself.  The  Council,  in  deference  to 
Gen.  Otis'  urgent  request  that  the  appointee  might 
have  this  indulgence  extended  to  him,  submitted  the 
matter  to  his  discretion  and  withdrew  the  censure. 
Some  time  having  elapsed,  and  no  resignation  taking 
place,  the  field  officers  of  the  First  Regiment  felt  "  con- 
strained "  again  to  present  the  case  to  the  consideration 
of  the  Council,^  enclosing  also  "  a  memorial  from  the 
commissioned  ofiicers  of  the  regiment."^     As  late  as 


for  his  popularity ;  but,  move  than  all,  the  splenetic  aeerbity  of  his 
utterances  was  injurious  to  his  cause. 

"  Vain  a  e  the  r  hopes  who  fa     y  t"  nhent 
Byfo    eofpcdgroB  orfane  ormert 

Such  reliance  may,  indeed  bc^pt  a  siipeicilous  ind  otherwise  excep- 
tious  deportment  that  is  not  m  keeping  with  a  w ell-con '.idered  pride 
of  noble  parentage;  and  may  m  some  buccp  sion  more  di'ipaiagmgly 
develop.  We  are  sorry  to  siy  that  the  mflnence  of  the  Gfneral 
began  from  this  time  to  wane  though  he  was  still  treated  with  con- 
sideration in  reapect  for  his  paat  services 

'  The  letter  enclosing  the  memontl  was  presentel  some  time  in 
March,  and  expressed  regiet  that  the  bngadier  Geneial  had  been 
so  much  off  his  guard  that  resentment  led  to  mi  apprehensions  and 
expressions  that  reflect  dishonor  on  hia  ofiice  This  domment  was 
signed  by  Nathaniel  1  reeman  Col  Eno^^h  H^Uett,  Lt  Col  Joseph 
Dimmick,  Major;  Getrge  Lewis  2d  Major 

^  Tl  e  m  morial  represents  that  the  nomination  was  made  in  disre- 
ga  d  of  the  wishes  of  the  entire  regiment ;  that  it  was  persisted  in 
aga  =t  the  earnest  advice  of  some  in  whose  judgment  and  disinterested 
J.  itr  ot  sm  the  public  repose  the  utmost  confidence ;  that  it  was  well 
k  o  vn  before  made  that  it  would  he  considered  exceedingly  impolitic, 


yGoogle 


532 


THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


April  3,  the  promised  resignation  iiad  not  been  ten- 
dered ;  and  the  Council  felt  obliged  to  press  immediate 
compliance.' 

and  derogatory  to  the  respect  due  to  every  officer  who  was  in  service ; 
and  that  they  could  not  in  self-respect  acquiesce  in  an  appoiDtment 
which  they  regarded  as  improper  and  imprudent  for  very  weighty 
reasons  aside  from  the  youth  and  inexperience  of  the  appointee.  Thu 
Mgners  claim  tliat  the  remonstrance  bears  the  signatures  of  those  who 
have  never  dissembled  or  fettered  in  the  hour  of  trial  —  "  most  of  us 
accepted  office  at  the  very  first  at  the  hazard  of  life  and  fortune  when 
traitors  were  throwing  all  the  obstacles  in  our  way  which  malice 
could  suggest,  and  witii  malicious  grin  were  waiting  for  the  (to  them, 
happy)  period  when  we  should  be  offered  up  a  sacrifice  to  their  am- 
bitious and  malignant  desires ;  whilst  others  whose  timid  nerves  ever 
prevented  their  acting  with  firmness  on  the  enemies'  side,  kept  their 
distance  and  only  sneered  at  our  audacity  —  many  of  whom  of  either 
sort,  disappointed  in  their  expectations  and  lust  of  power,  now  under 
the  specious  pretext  of  being  actuated  by  more  prudence  and  moder- 
ation than  others,  excuse  thdr  timidity  or  enmity  to  the  countiy,  and 
court  the  smiles  of  that  government  they  till  lately  spurned  as  wicked, 
or  contemned  as  weak."     The  paper,  as  found  in  the  State  archives 

of  the  revolution,  is  dated   "  Bai-nstable,  Feb.  29,  1780,"  and    is 

signed  by 

Samuel  Fish,     Capt. 

Joseph  Palmer,    " 

Ward  Swift, 

Micah  Hamlen,    " 

Simeon  Fish,        " 

Elisha  Hedge,     " 

Lot  Crowell,         " 

Micah  Chapman, '' 

Nathan  Nye  Jr.,Adj't. 

Jacob  Lovell,    Capt. 

Nath'l  Lothrop,    " 

Daniel  Butler,    Lt. 

'  The  brigadier  general,  on  being  again  thus  peremptorily  addressed 

by  the  Council,  expressed  much  surprise  at  the  brief  time  allowed 

him  and  the  summary  manner  in  which  the  performance  of  his  prom- 
ise was  demanded,  but  yielded  to  the  call.     We  cannot,  in  feithfulness, 


John  Nye,  I 

Eleazer  Hatch,     ' 
Jolm  Nickei-son,  ' 
Slmbal  Baker,      ■ 
Jerem'h  Howes, 
Eben'r  Lothrop,  ' 
Ansel  Ilowiand, 
Sam'l  Tobey  Jr., 
Peter  Nye, 
Sylvs.  Gibba,       ■ 
Eben'r  Baker,      ' 


Isaac  Matthews,      ] 
Josiah  Thacher, 
Micajah  Lewis, 
Joseph  Annable, 
Edm'd  Matthews, 
Joseph  White  Jr., 
James  Baker  Jr., 
Zach's  Ilowiand, 
Hezekiah  Lombard, 
James  Coleman, 
Lot  Dimmiek, 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BABHSTABLE   COUNTY.  533 

An  uimsual  procedure  appears  in  tlie  doings  of  the 
General  Court,  May  6 ;  the  providing  by  special  legis- 
lation for  the  licensing  of  an  inn  in  the  shire-town.^ 
The  reasons  for  this  are  doubtless  found  in  the  political 
agitations  of  the  day,  as  exhibited  by  recent  occur- 
rences. 

On  the  issuing  of  another  requisition  for  the  reen- 
forcement  of  the  army/  June  5,  it  was  found  "expe- 
dient in  order  to  retain  on  shore  many  effective  men, 
to  order  an  embargo  on  vessels  throughout  the  State." 

Never  did  distress  press  more  heavily  upon  the  great 
commander  of  the  Continental  forces  than  now.  Gen. 
Washington's  camp  was  often  destitute  of  meats  and, 

omit  the  fact  ttat  whilst  in  other  respects  the  life  of  the  young  man 
was  probably  uii  exception  able,  there  were  allegations  that  his  sym- 
pathies and  actions  had  been  on  several  occasions  adverse  to  the  cause 
of  liberty. 

'  "Whereas  it  appeare  to  be  necessary  for  the  better  accommoda- 
tion of  the  courts  of  justice  in  the  County  of  Barnstable  at  their  re- 
spective sessions,  that  some  person  near  the  court-house  in  said  county 
other  than  those  now  licen?ed,  should  be  authorized  to  keep  a  liouse 
of  entertainment;  therefore  Resolved,  that  Joseph  Otis  and  David 
Thacher  Eaqs.,  two  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  for  said  county, 
quorum  unus,  be  and  hereby  are  impowered  to  license  Otis  Loiing," 
&c.  &c 

'  The  call  was  for  3934  men.  From  this  county  187  were  asked, 
and  Nathaniel  Freeman  Esq.  was  appointed  supenntendent :  Barn- 
stable was  to  furnish  36,  Sandwich  24,  Yarmouth  31,  Eastham  22, 
Harwich  24,  Wellfleet  8,  Chatham  11,  Truro  11,  and  Falmouth  20. 
Again,  June  22,  men  were  called  for,  in  number  4726;  from  this 
county  223,  viz. :  Barnstable  29,  Sandwich  43,  Yarmouth  37,  East- 
ham  26,  Harwich  29,  Wellfleet  9,  Chatham  13,  Truro  13,  and  Pat- 
mouth  24!  and  tbeofilcers,every  where,  were  "most  solemnly  enjoined 
to  despatch  the  men  immediately,  as  the  smallest  delay  may  he  attended 
mtk  the  most  serious  consequences."  Nathaniel  Freeman  and  Bar- 
nabas Freeman  Esqg.  and  Capt.  Edmund  Howes  were  appointed  for 
this  county  "  to  receive  moneys  in  aid  of  the  public  treasury." 


vGooglc 


534  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

not  unfrequently,  of  bread.^  Committees  were  ap- 
pointed for  the  several  countiea  to  direct  in  the  sales 
of  estates  coniiseated,  the  public  service  requiring  the 
proceeds  immediately.'^  The  call  for  provisions  from 
this  county  was  peculiarly  severe.^  These  were  truly 
exacting  and  hard  times  for  a  county  so  impoverished 
as  this  had  become  by  the  effects  of  the  war.*  No  other 
was  so  peculiarly  situated.  Being  neither  an  agricul- 
tural nor  a  manufacturing  county,  its  only  source  of 
revenue,  that  of  the  ocean,  was  shut  up  from  its  enter- 
prising people." 

^  The  depreciation  was  such  that  4  months'  pay  of  a  private  was 
not  sufficient  to  purchase  a  single  meal.  What  could  bo  expected 
imder  such  circumstances  but  a  feehng  of  discontent  among  the  troops  ? 
Two  of  the  Connecticut  regiments  were  with  difflcuUy  restrained  fi-om 
forcing  their  way  home  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 

"  The  committee  for  this  county  were  Natli'l  Freeman,  Joseph 
Otis,  and  Daniel  Davis,  Esqs. 

^  The  call  made  on  this  county,  Sept  25,  was  for  its  full  quota  of 
beef  for  the  army,  71,280  lbs.,  viz. :  of  Barnstable  15,510  lbs. ;  Sand- 
wich 11,120  ;  Yarmouth  10,090  ;  Chatham  3860 ;  Truro  3680  ;  East- 
ham  7250 ;  Harwich  8350 ;  Wellfleet  S620 ;  Falmouth  7800. 

*  Another  reenforcement  of  men  for  the  army  was  required,  in 
number  4240 ;  of  thb  county  was  exacted,  Dec.  1,  156,  viz. :  Barnsta- 
ble 31,  Sandvrich  22,  Yarmouth  24,  Eastham  17,  Wellfleet  8,  Chat- 
ham 9,  Harwich  19,  Falmouth  17,  and  Truro  9.  We  are  thus  par- 
ticular in  showing  the  exactions ;  for  these  statistics  tell  in  a  forcible 
manner  the  sacrifice  and  effort  made  by  our  revolutionary  sires  in  secur- 
ing for  themselves  and  posterity  the  blessings  of  fi'eedom  we  inherit. 
Again,  Dec.  4,  the  Commonwealth's  proportion  of  specific  supplies  for 
the  array  was  4,626,178  lbs,  of  beef,  for  the  ensuing  year.  Barnsta- 
ble County  was  to  supply  136,875  lbs.  in  the  following  proportion : 
liarostahle  29,781  lbs..  Sandwich  21,253,  Yarmouth  19,374,  Harwich 
16,034,  Eastliam  13,920,  Chatham  7414,  Truro  7068,  Wellfleet  6953, 
and  Falmouth  14,978  ;  or,  in  lieu  of  the  beef  £3  7  6  per  cwt.,  or  for- 
age, as  follows,  viK. :  rye  at  73.  per  bu.,  corn  6s.,  oats  3s.,  peas  7s. 

'  Harwich,  Chatham,  Ea.sfham  and  Yarmouth  were  now  under  the 
necessity  of  memorializing  the  General  Court,  severally  "  setting  forth 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OE   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  535 

The  new  Constitution  being  adopted,  took  effect  Oct, 
25 ;  under  which  occurred  the  first  election  of  chief 
magistrate  by  the  people.  John  Hancock  was  governor 
and  Thomas  Coshins  lieutenant  governor '  of  the  State, 
Solomon  Freeman  Esq.  of  Harwich  was  elected  senator 
for  this  county.  The  political  year  was  henceforward 
to  commence  on  the  last  1 


With  the  ushering  in  of  the  year  1781,  speedy  and 
efiectual  measures  were  again  necessary  to  replenish 
the  treasury,  as  also  to  supply  the  army  with  clothing, 
&c.^     The  defence  of  Rhode  Island  bore  hard  upon  this 

the  many  difficulties  and  distresses  the  inhabitants  of  said  lowns 
labor  under  by  reason  of  tlie  extraordinary  diminution  of  inhabitants, 
and  many  other  inconveniences  by  reason  of  the  present  wav"  — 
praying  that  they  "  may  be  abated  the  taxes  and  requisitions  for  beef 
and  other  articles."  A  resolve  was  passed,  Jan.  31  of  the  next  year, 
"  to  stay  the  executions  issued  against  said  towns  until  further  orders." 
In  May,  similar  petitions  and  consequent  resolves  are  recorded  In 
reference  to  other  towns ;  also  tiie  remission  of  a  fine  of  £6000  to  the 
town  of  Barnstable  assessed  for  a  failure  to  provide  the  whole  num- 
ber of -soldiers  that  had  been  required  in  June  of  the  previous  year. 
It  should  be  understood  and  well  considered,  that  Barnstable  County, 
notwithstanding  ifa  peculiar  position,  was  not  distinguished  by  such 
petitions  and  fevors.  Although  its  means  had  become  more  reduced 
and  its  sufferings  were  greater  than  in  other  parts  of  the  State,  the 
Cape  stood  well,  compared  with  other  and  more  favored  counties. 

^  The  lient.  governor  was  elected  by  the  two  Houses,  in  confoi'm- 
ity  with  the  constitutional  provision  in  case  of  no  election  by  the  peo- 
ple, and,  Dec.  1,  proclamation  of  the  same  was  made  from  the  balcony 
of  the  State  House. 

'  Committees  were  appointed  to  solicit  loans.  Joseph  Nye  Esq. 
of  Sandwich,  and  Elisha  Doane  Esq.  of  Wellfleet,  were  a  committee 
for  this  county.  The  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  being  urgent 
for  supplies  of  provisions,  tliis  county  was  expected  again  to  furnish 
its  quota  of  beef,  56,489  lbs.:  Be.  12,295,  S,  8814,  Y.  7998,  C. 
3059,  T.  2915,  E.  5742,  H.  6616,  W.  2868,  and  F.  1682.  For  the 
clothing  exaction,  Mr.  Sheatjashub  Bourne  viaa  appointed  i 


vGooglc 


536  THE   HISTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

county.^  Some  of  tlie  lower  towns  now  feeling  that 
they  were  utterly  nnable  to  comply  with  the  orders  of 
government  for  a  supply  of  beef  for  the  army,  a  meet- 
ing of  delegates  assembled  at  Barnstable  and  appointed 
Dr.  John  Davis  to  appear  in  behalf  of  these  towns  be- 
fore the  General  Court  and  present  the  facts  in  the 
case.  "  The  inequality  of  the  burdens  laid  upon  the 
people/'  seem  not  to  have  been  well  considered  by  the 
government  heretofore.  To  pay  taxes  in  the  same  pro- 
portion with  others  more  favorably  circumstanced,  in 
addition  to  the  compensation  in  silver  money  necessary 
to  be  made  up  over  and  above  the  pittance  which  Con- 
gress allowed  to  soldiers  in  the  shape  of  almost  worth- 
less bills ;  ^  and  to  be  obliged  to  provide  clothing  in 
equal  proportion  with  others,  besides  the  sustenance 
which  must  be  provided  for  the  families  of  soldiers 
absent  from  these  towns,  was  alone  a  sufficient  sacrifice 
for  any  and  all  the  towns  in  this  maritime  district,  crip- 
pled and  impoverished  by  the  prostration  of  its  almost 
only  means  of  support,  without  being  enjoined  to  stand 
side  by  side  with  the  agricultural  towns  in  supplying 

Shirts,  siockings,  slices  were  required,  —  of  each  article  or  pair  enu- 
merated. Be.  52,  S.  37,  Y.  34,  E.  24,  W.  12,  C.  13,  H.  28,  F.  2e,  T. 
12,  in  all  238.  In  similar  proportions  119  blankets  were  also  to  be 
furnished.  Besides,  3  months'  men  were  to  be  raised :  2700  in  Mass., 
of  whieh  the  Cape  was  to  furnish  126;  Be.  25,  S.  18,  Y.  20,  E.  14, 
W.  6,  C.  7,  H.  15,  F.  14,  Truro  7.  The  latter  place,  Oct.  19,  repre- 
sented "the  reduced  condition  of  the  town  and  their  utter  inability  to 
provide  its  quota  of  men  or  supplies,"  —  praying  for  relief. 

'  For  the  defence  of  B.  L,  and  "  especially  of  Newport,"  the  brig'r 
of  the  county  was  ordered,  June  16,  "  to  deiach  from  his  brigade  one 
1st  lieut.  and  56  non-commissioned  ofiieers  and  privates,  provided  with 
good  firelocl:,  bayonet,  cartridge-box,  haversack,  and  blanket." 

'  The  paper  money  of  the  Province  was  so  depreciated  that  $60 
of  paper  was  equal  in  value  to  only  SI  of  silver ;  nevertheless,  in  all 
iheae  towns  Strenuous  efforts  continued  to  be  made  to  obtain  recruits 
lor  the  service. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  637 

beef  for  the  army.  The  requisition  would  seem  pre- 
posterous even  if  it  were  made  at  the  time  of  the  present 
writing.  That  the  maritime  towns  were  not  disposed 
to  be  backward  in  duty  in  doing  all  that  was  possible 
to  meet  the  hard  requirements  of  government,  is  most 
evident  upon  the  face  of  their  records.^ 

On  the  representation  of  Brig.  Gen.  Freeman,  .Oct 
20,  requesting  the  governor  to  issue  orders  "for  de- 
taching a  guard  for  the  town  of  Falmouth  "  it  was  di- 
rected that  the  same  "  be  detached  from  the  1st  regi- 
ment in  the  county,  and  placed  under  the  direction  of 
Lt,  Col.  Dimmick."  ^  Instructions  were  given  by  some 
of  the  towns  to  their  representatives  touching  "the  im- 
portance of  a  restoration  of  the  fisheries  in  any  arrange- 
ment that  might  be  made  for  peace,"  and  requesting 
them  "  to  asli:  of  the  legislature  to  see  that  the  com- 
missioners be  instructed "  to  that  effect ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, a  resolve  was  passed,  Oct.  27,  instructing  the 

^  It  appeared,  Nov.  2,  that  in  the  bills  for  taxes  for  the  current 
year,  assessed  to  be  paid  in  hard  money,  the  towns  in  this  county  had 
been  overtaxed  and  were  entitled  to  abatement.  E«eeipts  were  or- 
dered by  the  court  to  be  given  to  the  collectors  for  the  amount  of 

Barnstable, £420  47  Eastham,  £277  15  11  Harwich,  £230  19  7 
Sandwich,  411  7 1  Wellfleet,  307  19  9  Falmouth,  258  19  3 
Yarmouth,     157  0  0     Chatham,     173 12    4     Truro,  95    2  4 

On  the  6th  of  March  of  the  succeeding  year,  it  was  "  resolved  that  the 
several  towns  and  plantations  in  the  Commonwealth  ho  taxed  to  a 
thousand  pounds,"  as  follows :  in  Barnstable  County :  — 
Barnstable,  £5  6  0  Eastham,  £2    5  1  Harwich,  £2  16  10 

Sandwich,      4    10  Wellfleet,     0  13  3  Falmouth     2    9  10 

Yarmouth,     3  15  5  Chatham,    1    2  7  Truro,  15    5 

'  The  re-organization  of  the  militia  in  1776  had  remained  about  the 
same,  promotions  only  excepted,  until  1781,  when  another  re-organi- 
zation was  necessary  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  new  State  Con- 
VOL.  I.  68 


vGooglc 


538  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

delegates  in  Congress  "  to  present  to  that  body  the  im- 
portance to  tlie  United  States  in  general  and  to  this 
State  in  particular,  of  the  fisheties,  that  the  rights  here- 
tofore enjoyed  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
may,  in  any  settlement  of  peace,  be  acknowledged  and 
secured." 

An  act  was  passed  this  year  to  prevent  damage  to 
the  Nobscusset  Meadows  in  Yarmouth ;  this  act  was 
made  perpetual  in  1797,  and  amended  1802, 

The  state  of  the  army  under  Gen.  Washington,  early 
in  the  year  1782,  was  deplorable.'     In  fact,  distress  was 

stitution.  The  officers  of  the  Barnstahle  County  brigade  were  now 
as  follows : 

Brig.  Gen.,  Nath'I  Freeman  of  Sandwich,  who  held  13  years  and 
then  resigned. 

Brigade  Major  and  Inspector,  Nath'l  Freeman  Jr.  of  Sandwich, 
who  held  16  years,  and  was  elected  to  Congress. 

First  Eegiment. —  Col,  Enoch  liallett  of  Yarmouth,  who  re- 
signed 1790. 

I4.  Col,  Joseph  Dimmick  of  Falmouth,  w!)0  was  promoted  Colonel 
1790,  and  Brigadier  General  1794. 

Major,  Micah  Chapman  of  Yarmouth,  succeeded  in  1790  hyEben'r 
Lothrop. 

Ai^utant,  Thos.  Thacher  of  Yarmouth,  succeeded  in  1790  by  .Jo- 
seph Parker. 

Second  Eegimetit. —  Col,  Benj'n  Godfrey  of  Chatham,  wiio  re- 
signed 1790. 

Lt.  Col,  Job  Crocker  of  Chatham,  succeeded  in  1790  by  Elijah 
Knowles. 

Major,  Win.  Gage  of  Harwich,  succeeded  hy  John  Wetherell. 
Adjvtant,  Joseph  P^ne  of  Chatham,  succeeded  in  1790  by  Mulford 
Howes, 

■^  The  state  of  the  army  may  he  learned  from  the  following,  a  letter 
written  at  Fishkill,  May  28 : — "  Yesterday  was  the  third  day  of  our 
army  having  been  without  provisions.  Every  department  is  without 
money  and  without  credit.  The  army  could  not  make  a  march  of 
one  day,  as  they  ai-e  without  every  necessary,  as  well  as  provisions. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  539 

not  confined  to  the  army ;  the  war  had  produced  great 
prostration  every  where,  and  nowhere  were  its  effects 
more  felt  than  on  the  Cape.^     "  The  darkest  hour  of 
night,"  it  is  said, "  is  just  before  the  break  of  day." 
A  resolve  for  raising   1500  men  to  complete  the 

Officers  and  soldiers  are  exeeedingly  discontented.  Wherever  I  go,  I 
hear  complaints  wliich  make  me  dread  tlie  most  fatal  consequences. 
The  distresses  of  our  army  have  arrived  at  the  greatest  possible  de- 
gree.—  Steoben,"  Again,  May  28:  —  "I  am  under  anxiety  from 
the  want  of  necessary  deposits  of  provisions  in  the  garrison  at  West 
Point.  This  is  an  alarming  circumstance.  Were  the  enemy  to  know 
our  situation  and  make  a  sudden  attempt,  what  is  there  to  save  these 
important  posts?  — G.  Washington."  A  sketch  of  Gen.  Greene's 
troubles  at  a  subsequent  date,  may  serve  to  coiaplet*  the  picture; — 
"  Aug.  IS,  For  upwards  of  3  montlis,  more  than  one  third  of  our  men  " 
(of  the  Southern  army)  "  were  entirely  naked,  with  nothing  but  a 
breech-eloth  about  tbem,  and  never  came  out  of  their  tents ;  and  the 
rest  were  as  ragged  as  wolves.  Our  condition  was  little  better  m  the 
article  of  provisions.  Our  beef  was  perfect  carrion,  and  even  bad  as 
it  was  we  were  frequently  without  any.  —  N.  Geeene," 

^  On  the  petition  of  Edward  Knowles  and  others  in  behalf  of  sev- 
eral towns  in  the  county,  Jan,  30,  the  General  Court  appointed  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Koah  Goodman,  John  Fessenden  and  Abner 
Hoiden,  Esqs.,  "  to  repair  to  sd.  towns  of  Yarmouth,  Harwich,  East- 
ham,  and  Chatham,  and,  at  the  expense  of  sd.  towns,  view  the  circum- 
stances thereof,  hearing  all  persons  concerned,  and  report,"  Subse- 
quently, Feb.  2,  the  sd,  committee  was  instructed  "  to  go  into  all  the 
other  towns  in  said  county  for  the  purposes  mentioned ;  and,  until 
further  orders,  all  executions  for  any  deficiency  in  procuring  beef  or 
men,  were  ordered  to  be  stayed."  The  committee  not  attending 
promptly  to  the  service,  at  a  later  period  Hon,  Increase  Sumner,  and 
Nath'i  Gorham  and  Seth  Washburne  Esqs,  were  appointed  with  such 
as  the  Senate  shall  join.  This  committee  of  both  Houses  reported. 
Dee,  2,  that  they  had  "fully  and  critically  attended  the  service,  and 
that  they  are  satisfied  that  the  several  towns  in  sd.  county  have  com- 
plied to  the  utmost  of  their  abilities  with  the  requisitions  made  upon 
them  by  the  General  Court  for  beef  and  men  and  that  the  sd.  towns 
are  incapable  of  complying  therewith  any  further."  And,  the  said 
committee  having  further  reported  that,  in  their  opinion,  "all  deficiencies 


vGooglc 


640  THE   HISTOKY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

quota  of  the  Massachusetts  line,  for  reenforcing  the 
Contrinental  army,  was  passed  March  7,  the  number  ap- 
portioned to  the  several  towns  and  plantations  the  pre- 
vious year  *'  not  being  sufficient  on  account  of  mortality 
and  other  casualties."  ^  The  authorities  of  Sandwich, 
Falmouth,  Barnstable  and  Chatham  were  directed  by 
the  General  Court,  Oct  9,  "  to  cause  the  shores  of  their 
respective  towns  and  the  vessels  in  the  harbors  to  be 
examined,  that  if  any  cattle  or  sheep  are  found  which 
from  their  local  situation  or  otlier  apparent  circum- 
stances are  likely  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
they  may  be  driven  to  places  of  safety." 

In  1783,  the  several  Cape  towns  were,  as  might  be 
expected,  still  more  and  more  straitened  in  their  cir- 
cumstances ;  "^  but  the  war  of  the  revolution,  after  eight 
years'  continuance,  was,  by  the  orderings  of  a  good 
Providence,  to  be  this  year  succeeded  by  the  blessings 
of  Peace.  On  the  30th  of  November  of  the  previous 
year,  preliininary  articles  had  boon  signed  at  Versailles 
by  Adams,  Franklin,  Jay  and  Laurens  on  the  part  of 
tlic  United  States,  and  by  Oswald  on  the  part  of  Eng- 
land, by  which  the  thirteen  United  Colonies  were  to 

of  beef  or  men  due  from  any  of  the  towns  in  the  County  of  Barnstable 
should  be  abated  to  them  and  that  al!  fines  for  said  deficiencies  should 
be  remitted,"  a  resolve  to  that  effect  was  passed  fay  the  General  Court. 

'  To  Barnstable  County  was  apportioned  the  number  of  36 ;  i.  e,  to 
Barnstable  8,  Sandwieh  6,  Yarmouth  6,  Eastham  8,  Wellfleet  1, 
Chatham  2,  Harwich  4,  Falmouth  4,  and  Truro  2. 

*  "  Upon  the  petitions  of  the  inliabitants  of  Eastham,  Harwich,  and 
Yarmouth,  setting  forth  their  extreme  poverty  and  utter  inability  to 
pay  their  public  taxes  at  present,"  the  State  treasurer  was  directed, 
March  12,  "  to  recall  the  executions  issued,  and  to  stay  in  future,  until 
further  ordered,  executions  for  two  thirds  the  taxes."  Similar  re- 
solves in  relation  to  Barnstable,  Sandwich  and  Falmouth  were  adopted, 
Juae  23. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTf.  541 

be  acknowledged  "  as  free,  sovereign,  and  independent 
States."  ^  The  cessation  of  hostilities  was,  by  older  of 
Gen.  Washington,  proclaimed  in  the  American  camp, 
April  19,  the  day  that  completed  the  eighth  year  of  the 
war  J  the  defirMive  treaty  was  signed  Sept.  3;  laid  be- 
fore Congress,  Dec.  13;  and  the  seal  of  the  United 
States  affixed,  with  the  signature  of  his  Excellency 
Thomas  Mifflin,  president  of  Congress,  the  14th  of 
January  following.^ 

'The  mlelligence  was  announcpd,  Miirli  24,  in  Congress,  on  the 
aiithoDty  of  a  letter  fiom  the  Maiquia  de  La  Fayette,  bearing  date 
Feb  5,  that  "  pieliminanes  of  i  general  peace  had  been  signed  at 
Pans,"  and,  Apnl  4,  a  confirmation  of  the  same  under  the  hands  of 
the  American  commissioners  arrived  at  Salem,  brought  by  the  ship 
Austria,  Capt.  Derby — the  same  captain  who  carried  fo  Europe  the 
news  of  the  Lexington  battle  in  1775  ;  also  "  that  his  Most  Christian 
Majesty  and  the  King  of  Great  Britain  had  ratified  and  their  ministers 
exchanged  the  same  on  tlie  3d  of  Feb."  It  was  in  due  time  received 
and  promulgated.  The  collateral  questions  to  be  settled  had  been 
troublesome,  and  complicated  by  the  exclusive  course  which  France 
seemed  disposed  to  maintain  in  relation  to  the  fisheries,  and  hence  the 
delay  of  the  final  issue.  Ey  the  treaty  an  unlimited  right  of  fishing 
on  the  Banlts  of  Newfoundland,  the  Eiver  St.  Lawrence  and  all  other 
places  where  we  had  been  accustomed  to  fish,  was  conceded.  But  all 
that  the  British  plenipotentiaries  could  by  their  utmost  endeavors  ob- 
tain in  behalf  of  American  loyalists  whose  welfare  they  greatly  pro- 
fessed to  have  at  heart,  was  a  provision  that  Congress  should  earnestly 
recommend  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  respective  States  the  most  lenient 
consideration  of  their  case  and  a  restitution  of  their  confiscated  prop- 
erty. There  were,  of  course,  some  applicants  for  this  leniency,  on 
the  Cape:  but,  be  it  always  remembered,  not  here  alone.    They 

*  A  war  was  thus  ended  which  had  cost  Great  Britain  ^100,000,000 
sterling  and  about  50,000  subjects,  in  addition  to  her  loss  of  the  col- 
onies ;  a  war  in  which  the  United  States  lost  many  valuable  lives  and 
much  treasure :  but  the  issue  of  which  was  a  full  reward  for  all  the 
hardships  incident  to  the  struggle.  The  war  might  have  been  avoided 
by  a  timely  concession  on  the  part  of  England  of  freedom  from  inter- 


vGooglc 


542  THE   inSTORT   OF   CAPE   COD. 

The  acknowledgment  of  the  independence  of  the 
States  was  eveiy  where  hailed  with  joy  as  a  most 
happy  exchange  for  the  privations,  sufferings  and  hor- 
rors of  war.  It  could  not  be  otherwise  regarded  in 
this  county  after  so  long  continuance  of  the  contest 
had  made  the  war  the  most  grievous  scourge  ever  en- 
dured. Every  town  not  only  felt  the  happy  change, 
but  all  at  once  sprang  forth  with  light  hearts  and 
renewed  energj^.  It  is  true,  the  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ments of  the  people  were  not  to  be  retrieved  in  a 
moment;  time  must  be  had  to  effect  this:  but  they 
saw  the  United  States  of  America  now  standing  proudly 
forth  among  the  nations,  destined,  as  was  believed,  to 
preeminence  in  national  importance  and  glory .^ 

nal  taxation  and  a  proper  forbearance  of  the  erown  touching  a  viola- 
tion of  those  chartered  rights  in  regard  to  which  the  American  people 
were  so  Kcnsitive.  But  England  being  bent  on  enforcing  submission, 
the  war  was  permitted  by  an  overruling  Piwidence  for  her  discom- 
fiture and  for  our  good.  There  can  he  no  doubt  that  the  lofty  ideas 
England  enterl^ned  of  the  certainty  of  our  ultimate  subjection,  and 
the  debasing  views  she  indulged  of  our  power  of  resistance,  were  very 
much  the  result  of  representations  made  by  the  loyalists  who  became 
traitors  to  the  best  interests  of  their  own  country,  and  who  as  their 
reward  were  necessitated  to  live  on  the  bounty  of  the  crown,  or  to 
accept  a  home  through  the  leniency  of  their  more  patriotic  fellow^ 
citizens  where  they  well  knew  that  their  former  subserviency  to  the 
enemy  would  forever  be  a  stigma.  Still  we  trust  ihere  were  even 
among  such,  some  who  in  after  times  did  not  regret  that  the  cause 
they  had  deserted  was  maintained  and  that  the  country  they  would 
have  seen  subjected  to  British  tyranny  rose  to  an  exalted  rank  among 
the  nations. 

^  "We  would  not  indulge  in  invidious  comparisons.  "We  acknowl- 
edge that,  whilst  no  section  of  the  country  was  more  resolute  than 
Massachusetts,  independence  was  secured  by  the  bravery  of  all.  As 
such  it  should  be  regarded  as  a  common  inheritance  derived  fi'om  our 
ancestors,  and  as  such  should  be  ti-ansmitted.  But  it  may  be  of  u^^p 
to  survey  the  part  which  each  of  the  original  thirteen  Slates  cnaclid 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTi'.  543 

The  Toice  of  joy  and  gladness,  not  only  heard  in  the 
streets  and  in  every  dwelling,  but  in  all  places  where 
the  Governor  of  the  whole  earth  was  publicly  wor- 
shipped, was  becoming  a  people  thus  signally  owned 
and  blessed  of  Heaven/ 

That  the  Cape  had  ite  full  share  of  the  trials  of  the 
long  conflict  for  independence,  is  to  tell  but  half  the 
etory  :  its  reliance  on  the  occupations  of  commerce  and 

in  the  eventful  struggle  as  seen  by  the  following  table  "  of  annual 
terms  of  service  furnished  to  the  Continental  ranks  by  each  State 
during  the  war : " 

Mass.       67,907  Md.       13,912  S.  C.      6,il7 

Ct.  31,939  N.  H.    12,497  R.  I.      5,908 

Va.  2G,678  N.J.      10,726  Ga.        2,679 

Pa-  25,678  N.  C.       7,263  Del.       2,386 

N.  T.      17,781 

Total  231,791,  of  which,  as  will  be  seen,  Massachusetts  bore  at  least 

one  fourth  part  of  the  whole  burden  —  exceeding  that  of  Ga.,  S.  C, 

N.  C,  Va.,  Md.,  and  Del.,  together,  by  7,572      We  shall  piesent  in 

one  of  the  succeeding  pages  a  table  moie  minute,  showing  tlic  amount 

of  mililia  as  well  as  Continental  ser\  ice. 

^  The  House  of  Representatives  in  Genenl  Court,  July  2,  look  into 
consideration  the  propriety  of  a  suitable  commemoration  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  ludependence,  and  "  Resohed  llidt  the  legialituie,  preceded 
by  the  Governor,  Lieutenant  Gtoveinor,  Council  of  State,  and  other 
ofBcei-s,  if  his  eseellencj  and  their  honors  shall  see  anse  to  attend,  will 
on  Friday  next,  at  ten  o'clock,  A.  M.,  that  being  the  day  of  the  anni- 
versary of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  repair 
to  some  suitable  place  for  public  worship,  and  there  in  a  solemn  and 
public  manner  render  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  his  great  anj  un- 
merited mercy  to  these  Slates  in  supporting  them  through  a  long, 
dangerous,  and  expensive  war ;  in  raising  them  to  rank  among  the 
nations  of  the  e^^th ;  in  establishing  them  as  an  independent  republic  j 
in  finally  bestowing  on  them  the  long  wished-for  blessing  of  a  cessation 
of  hostilities  and  in  affording  them  reason  to  hope  that  they  will 
speedily  leeene  a  definitive  treaty  of  peace:  and  also  to  implore  the 
divine  benediction  on  the  government  and  public  concerns  of  these 


yGoogle 


544  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

the  fisheries  that  became  nearly  annihilated  by  the 
superior  marine  of  the  enemy,  secured  to  it  a  double 
share.  Its  burdens  for  the  support  of  the  war,  as  we 
have  seen,  were  heaped  and  pressed  to  the  utmost 
possible  endurance,  whilst  every  means  possible  was 
adopted  by  the  towns  to  meet  the  requisitions  made ; 
and  when  compliance  became  impossible,  authority  was 
still  respected  and  every  nerve  strained  to  accomplish 
even  impossibilities.^  There  was  really  at  no  time  any 
faltering  in  the  cause  on  the  part  of  the  majority  of  its 
inhabitants.'^  It  has  not  generally  been  sufficiently 
considered  that  whilst  doing  it-s  full  share  of  service  on 
the  land,  it  was  aU  the  while  performing  an  essential 
and  greatiy  augmented  amount  of  service  upon  the 
seas.^  As  much  of  the  latter  was  performed  in  private 
armed  vessels,  no  State  record  of  the  amount  appears ; 

'■  The  last  order  taken  for  relief  on  account  of  executions  issued 
for  taxes,  was,  Feb.  24  of  the  following  year,  when  "  Barnstable, 
Sandwich,  and  Falmouth  were  abated  on  half  their  taxes  the  previous 
year,  and  Yarmouth,  Eastham,  Chatham,  Harwich,  and  Truro  three 
fourths." 

^  A  distinguished  gentleman  of  the  bar,  a  descendant  from  the  Cape, 
Wm.  H.  Dillingham  Esq.,  now  deceased,  once  remarked  in  a  public 
address  in  Philadelphia  where  he  was  resident,  in  regiird  to  the  land 
of  his  birth,  "  It  is  with  no  want  of  fealty  to  home  —  the  homo  of 
adoption,  that  our  hearts  yearn  towards  the  land  of  our  fathers,  tiie 
natak  solum.  There  is  a  spot  where  the  fallow  deer  and  young  fawn 
still  have  their  range,  with  some  poor  remnants  of  the  race  once  mon- 
archs  of  the  soil ;  within  their  immediate  vicinity  some  of  our  ances- 
tors have  dwelt  for  more  than  two  centuries,  and  there  a  great  part  of 
their  descendants  still  find  their  borne.  When  the  clarion  sounded  its 
cry  for  liberty,  in  the  war  of  the  revolution,  —  when  the  thunder  of 
the  artillery  of  Bunker  Hill  came  to  them  across  the  waters  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay,  you  might  have  seen  men  of  three  generations  of 
the  same  name  and  family  rallying  in  the  same  ranks  to  stand  by  the 
men  of  Boston,  Lexington,  and  Concord." 

'The  following  statement  of  the  troops  (continental  and  militia) 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


545 


but  from  what  is  known  of  the  Arnold,  Tyrannicide, 
Active,  Independence,  and  many  others,  may  be  in- 
ferred an  approximation  to  the  sum  totaL  The  habits 
of  the  people  affofd,  to  say  the  least,  a  presumption 
that  wherever  the  ocean  was  ploughed  by  the  daring, 
there  the  Cape  was  represented  by  its  full  quota  of 
skilful,  enduring,  determined  seamen  urged  by  manly 
courage  and  patriot  zeal. 

The  decease  of  that  noble  patriot  James  Otis  Jr. 
occurred  this  year,  May  23.^ 


furnished  by  the  respective  States,  during  the  revolutionary  v 
1775  (o  1783,  inclusive,  is  probably  nearly  correct :  — 


T 

1       1 

IV 

■; 

177 

1110 

1780      1      1731 

1733   1733 

BTATB8. 

1 

■i 

J 

i 
1 

1 

i 

i 

i 

j 

1 

i 

1 

N.H 

E.  I 

Conn 

N.  Y 

N.I 

Fenn, 

Mi..'..... 

Tm 

9075 

3019  .... 

798  uoa 
6390  5737 
369^1715 
3193  5B93 

si 

548 

i9o; 
49a; 

3755 

:::: 

3431 

i 

3194 
1586 
3GS4 

5936 
19Sr 
1650 

! 

1004 

3471 

397i 
90 

756 

S15 

3179 
1M6 
3337 
3SS 
3065 
3436 

760 
3436 

638 
IE3 

'im 

94S0 
134t 
191! 

isee 

1501 

744 

i 

1198 
660 

m 

sra 

1169 
1593 

N.  C 

ii:::^ 

27443' 4690l'960(i 

347S0iaija3«99'43Ma7(!S9's499  37115  5Sll'i3839'739314a56'l3078 

Total,  continental,  231,971 ;  militia,  56,163. 

'  The  circumstances  of  hts  death,  and  of  the  previous  prostration  of 
his  mighty  mind,  we  have  already  referred  to,  page  445.  Many 
anecdotes  are  related  touching  the  harmless  eccentricities  which 
marked  the  latter  unfortunate  portion  of  his  life ;  but  we  have  no 
wiah  to  perpetuate  them.  They  might,  perhaps,  serve  to  amuse  a 
morbid  curiosity  ;  but  we  have  no  heart  to  penetrate,  for  such  a  pur- 
pose, the  retirement  of  any  man  —  especially  of  one  who  deserves  so 
well  of  his  country.  The  reckless  unreserve  with  which  the  incidents 
of  days  of  misfortune,  and  the  infirmities  of  men  of  fienius,  are  spread 
before  the  pubhc  by  many  biographers,  is,  in  our  view,  in  bad  taste, 
VOL.  I.  69 


vGooglc 


THE   lilSTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

The  Anniversary  of  Independence  a  perpetual  Institution.  —  Shays'  Rebel- 
lion.—Constitution  of  the  United  States. — First  President  of  the  United 
States. — National  Bank.  —  Dennis  incorporated. — Revised  Constitu- 
tion. —  Whiskey  Insurrection.  —  Ecclesiastical  Changes.  —  Mails.  —  Or- 
leans incorporated.  —  Troubles  witli  France.  — Washington's  Decease.-— 
Political  Contests. — Brewster  incorporated. — Embargo.  —  Non-Inter- 
course Act. — Port  of  Entry.  —  Local  Legislation.  —  Impressment  of 
Seamen.  —  Domestic  Manufactures.  — Preparations  for  War. 

In  1784,  the  legislature,  in  view  of  "the  low  and 
humiliating  dependence  on  a  foveigii  power"  from 
which  the  United  States  were  delivered  on  the  4th  of 

to  say  the  least.  "  There  is,  in  every  man's  life,  an  inner  cii'cle  into 
which  the  public  have  no  riglit  to  enter;"  and  there  should  be  limits 
(o  the  indulgence  of  even  a  natural  desire  to  pry  into  scenes  of  private 
misfortune.  Not  that  there  was  ever  a  single  passage  in  the  whole 
life  of  him  who  "flamed  in  the  foreliead"  of  the  revolution,  which 
has  been,  or  could  be,  told  to  his  discredit ;  but  respect  is  to  be  paid 
lo  the  memory  of  departed  greatness,  and  the  record  of  that  greatness 
is  not  to  be  blurred  by  the  exposure  to  public  view  of  unimportant  remi- 
niscences which  only  prove  that  the  opening  of  his  head  by  the  blow  of 
an  assassin's  "  sabre,"  and  (he  cruel  treatment  that  followed,  had  indeed 
"shattered  a  once  mighty  intellect"  Greatness  should  not  debar  any 
man  of  the  sacred  privilege  of  forbearance  in  this  respect  on  the  part  of 
the  press;  otherwise  the  unknown  may  well  thank  God  for  their  ob- 
scurity. Hutchinson  relates  that  there  were  times  that  encouraged 
the  hope  of  Otis'  returning  reason.  One  anecdote,  among  many  men- 
(ioned  of  his  previous  brilliant  career,  is  worthy  of  record  as  illus- 
trating the  honorable  course  of  his  professional  practice.  Afler 
pleading  the  cause  of  a  client,  with  distinguished  ability  and  probably 
with  success,  he  discovered,  whilst  the  judge  was  engaged  in  address- 
ing the  jury,  a  receipt  among  the  papers  in  the  han^  of  his  client 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  547 

July,  1776  "and  by  the  directing  hand  of  Providence 
assumed  a  station  among  the  nations,"  which  day  "  will 
forever  be  marked  as  the  era  when  our  political  exist- 

which  receipt  belonged  to  the  opposite  party  and  showed  that  the 
debt  for  which  the  prosecution  had  been  instituted  had  been  actually 
paid;  he  instantly  stopped  the  progress  of  the  action  and  became  non- 
.  suited.  Such  was  his  sterling  honesty.  Graduated  at  Harvai-d  Col- 
lege 1743,  he  commenced  the  practice  of  law  after  completing  Lis 
legal  reading  under  Gridiey,  first  at  Plymouth,  and  after  two  years 
removed  to  Boston.  At  the  bar,  unrivalled  for  learning  and  elo- 
quence, he  was  soon  appointed  advocate  general  at  the  Court  of  Ad- 
miralty, which  position  he  held  until  1761,  then  resigning  i-ather  than 
sustain  the  application  for  "  writs  of  assistance."  In  1761  he  became 
representative  of  Boston,  and  in  17C6  was  elected  speaker  of  the 
House  —  but  having  been  a  member  of  the  Stamp- Act  Congress  1765, 
his  election  was  now  negatived  by  the  governor.  Living  at  an  age 
distinguished  above  all  others  in  our  history  for  able  and  eminent  men, 
he  was  himself  among  the  first  until  attacked  in  1770  by  the  ruffianly 
Robinson.  It  was  a  fearful  wish  he  expressed  to  liis  sister  after  this 
sad  event,  that  he  might  be  taken  off  by  a  stroke  of  Jiglitning,  and  not 
the  less  remarkable  therefore  the  fulfilment  of  the  aspiration..  Thus 
died  one  of  whom  President  John  Adams  said,  '■  I  have  been  young 
and  now  am  old,  and  I  solemnly  say  I  have  never  known  a  man 
whose  love  of  country  was  more  ardent  or  sincere  —  never  one  who 
suffered  so  much  —  never  one  whose  services  for  any  ten  years  of  his 
life  were  so  important  and  essential  to  the  cause. of  his  country  as 
those  of  Mr.  Otis  from  ITtiO  to  1770."  The  cause  of  liberty  seemed 
to  those  abroad  to  be  identified  with  his  name. 

James  Otis,  Jr.,  b.  in  Barnstable,  Feb.  5,  1724-5,  m.  Kulh  Cun- 
ningham, 1755,. who  d.  Nov.  15,  1789,  ie.  60.  Issue:  James,  1755, 
who  volunteered  a  midshipman  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  d.  £e.  21 
on  board  the  Jersey  prison-ship  in  1777 ;  Elizabeth,  who  m.  Capt. 
Brown,  an  officer  of  the  English  army,  of  good  family;  [he  was 
wounded  in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  afterwards  placed  in  com- 
mand of  a  fortress  on  the  English  coast.  She  left  the  country  with  her 
husband  during  the  war,  and  did  not  return  except  on  a  visit  in  1792. 
She  was  living  in  1821  a  widow  in  Eng.  Her  alliance  with  a  British 
officer  deeply  offended  her  father;]  and  Mary,  who  m.  Benj.  Lincoln, 
eldest  son  of  Gen.  L.  of  revolutionary  memory,  and  d.  at  Cambridge  in 
1806. 


vGooglc 


548  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

ence  coinnienced,"  resolved  again  to  celebrate  the  day 
wlien  it  should  return,  "  by  religious  observances  and 
demonstrations  of  joy." 

Heavy  debts  encumbered  the  general  and  state 
governments,  and  such  was  the  distress  of  the  country, 
that,  so  soon  after  the  promulgation  of  the  glorious 
event  of  Peace,  indications  of  trouble  began  to  disturb 
the  public  tranquillity.^  Indeed,  from  the  moment  of 
the  cessation  of  hostilities,  during  the  interval  to  the 
disbanding  of  the  troops.  Congress  found  itself  in  a  try- 
ing situation.^ 

In  1785,  Gov.  Hancock  who,  by  successive  elections, 
had  been  continued  in  the  gubernatorial  chair,  resigned, 
and,  in  Feb.,  Thomas  Gushing,  Lieut.  Governor,  became 
commander-in-chief,  ex  officio'^  until  the  election  of  James 

BOWDOIN. 

The  Continental  Congress  when  the  war  began  had  no  money 
and  no  power  to  levy  tases.  The  only  possible  recourse  was  the  re- 
sort to  former  methods  of  issuing  bills  of  credit  pledging  the  faith  of 
the  colonies  for  their  redemption.  This  species  of  money  passed  car- 
rently  for  a  time ;  but  as  the  amount  necessaiy  to  defray  the  public 
expenses  soon  greatly  exceeded  the  amount  of  specie  in  circulation, 
the  bills  began  and  continued  to  depreciate  until  at  last  they  were 
worthless.  They  remained  so  from  1780  to  1790.  The  whole  amount 
issued  had  been  SS 00 ,000.000.  It  was  not  until  1790  that  Congress 
passed  an  act  to  redeem  this  paper  at  the  rate  of  $1  in  specie  for  $100 
in  bills ! 

^  The  army,  however,  proved  patriotic  to  the  last.  The  soldiers 
unpaid  returned  quietly  to  their  homes  and  resumed  the  arts  of  peace 
content  with  their  lot  however  humble  in  the  land  they  had  so  nobly, 
helped  to  free  from  foreign  enemies  and  to  place  among  the  most 
favored  upon  earth. 

'  Lt.  Gov.  CusHiSG  had  been  rep.  of  Boston  and  speaker  of  the 
House;  also  a  member  of  the  Council  and  judge  of  the  Com.  Pleas 
-as  well  as  of  Probate.     A  man  of  learning  and  ability,  he  was  a  dis- 


yGoogle 


ANNALS  OF  BAHNSTAJIE  COUHTY.  549 

It  cannot  be  regarded  as  unnatural  that  the  severe 
struggle  of  the  revolution  should  be  succeeded  by  a 
season  of  comparative  exhaiistion;  or  that  the  enthu- 
siasm of  a  popular  contest  terminating  in  triumph 
should  on  subsiding  leave  the  mind  to  meditate  on  the 
sacrifices  made,  and  the  privations  yet  to  be  endured  to 
retrieve  the  past.  Other  thoughts,  before,  occupied  the 
minds  of  all;  and  the  heat  of  the  struggle  well  nigh 
forbade  the  consideration  of  any  present  inconvenience 
or  future  toils.  The  wealth  of  the  country  exhausted, 
the  proper  mode  so  well  understood  in  later  times  of 
drawing  on  the  country's  resources  had  not  been  dis- 
covered and  could  not  therefore  be  immediately  ap- 
plied either  by  the  general  or  state  governments.  Taxes 
could  not  be  collected  in  any  part  of  the  confederacy 
without  immense  trouble,  for  there  was  really  no  money 
to  represent  the  value  of  either  the  little  personal 
property  that  had  not  been  sacrificed,  or  to  represent 
the  soil.  Commerce  was  but  just  beginning  again  to 
burst  its  thraldom.  Each  State  was  desirous  of  the 
benefit  of  its  own  revenue,  for  each  owed  a  heavy 
debt.  There  was,  of  course,  some  clashing  of  individ- 
ual interests  and  also  of  State  interests :  individuals 
restive  under  the  most  judicious  symptoms  of  taxation 
or  revenue,  and  States  with  each  its  own  regulations  — 
its  tariff,  its  tonnage  duties,  &c.,  pursuing  a  system 
supposed  by  other  States  injurious  to  them.^     It  is  not 

tinguished  patriot  and  prominent  memtier  of  the  1st  and  2d  Congress. 
From  youth  a  professor  of  relision,  tlie  motives  of  the  gospel  gov- 
erned his  life.     He  d.  in  office,  Feb.  28, 1788,  m.  62. 

■■  A  foreign  nation,  it  was  thought,  might  be  more  favored  by  one 
State  than  by  another,  and  expect  similar  favors  in  return.  Eacti 
State  was  in  danger  of  being  jealous  of  every  other.  Little  could  be 
done  under  these  circumstances  to  liquidate  the  public  debt  of  the 


vGooglc 


550  THE  HISTORY  OF   GAPE  COD. 

strange,  then,  that  the  public  mind  was  soon  brought 
to  see  that  a  change  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Gen- 
eral Government  was  required.  The  mercantile  inter- 
ests impeded,  and  for  want  of  a  miiform  system  of 
trade  the  advantages  of  this  great  source  of  national 
prosperity  flowing  into  the  hands  of  foreigners,  it  was 
evident  that  the  General  Government  must  be  strength- 
ened or  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  and  a  devastating 
anarchy  must  ensue. 

An  act  was  passed  this  year  to  protect  Pocha  Beach 
in  the  town  of  Eastham. 

The  next  year,  1786,  "  Shays'  rebellion,"  as  the  insur- 
rection against  the  State  government  of  Massachusetts 
was  called,  occurred,  occasioning  some  alarm  as  well  as 
trouble.  The  insurgents,  discontented  by  rea.son  of  the 
laws  for  the  collection  of  taxes  and  debts,  were  exceed- 
ingly audacious,  organizing  themselves  for  the  sub- 
version of  the  Constitution.  The  insurrection  was 
quelled.' 

General  Government  foi  it  cnuld  not  enjoy  the  confidence  of  foieign 
countries;  and  liitle  could  be  ai'>ii'¥ed  by  the  Slate  govemmLiits  toi 
a  decay  of  trade  the  ri  <•  of  import'^  (he  fill  of  exports,  and  a  (it 
crease  in  the  value  of  all  propeity  must  inevitably  follow  —  especiallj 
if  there  be  disconlent  imong  the  people  preventing  the  enforcement 
of  law. 

'  Not,  however  untrl  a  well-directed  fire  of  artilleiy  had  shown  th 
insurgents  that  the  contest  would  be  unequal  Fouitcen  of  Iheii  chitf 
men  were  subsequently  tiied  and  'lentenced  to  death  but  were  u'li 
mately  pardoned  To  put  down  this  insunection,  4000  mihtii  wen 
ordered  into  service,  undLi  the  tommand  of  the  veteran  Lincoln  — 
The  same  spirit  of  disaffection  WIS  exhibited  in  Nlw  Hampshire  ai 
in  Mass. — That  its  influence  extended  m  some  degiee  to  this  *.o\intv 
would  seem  evident  ftom  (he  fict  thit  the  gov  i  felt  it  to  be  his  duty 
to  issue  his  proclamation  to  the  aheiiff  and  other  ofticera,  and  to  the 
inhabitants,  as  follows ; 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  551 

Until  this  period,  ffom  the  year  1775  when  by  limi- 
tation the  several  acts  providing  for  the  preservation  of 
Cape  Cod  harbor  expired,  no  special  law  existed  for  the 
same.  On  the  establishment  of  the  independence  of  the 
colonies,  whatever  title  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  had  to  the  provincial  lands,  passed  to  Massachu- 
setts. From  the  year  1Y37  there  were  symptoms  of 
a  gradual  decline  of  the  place,  so  that  in  1748,  although 
the  harbor  had  lost  none  of  its  importance  to  the  com- 
mercial world,  the  removals  from  Provincetown  had 
been  so  numerous  there  were  but  two  or  three  families 
remaining.  In  1776  there  were  about  twenty  dwelling 
houaes  and  thirty-six  families ;  but  during  the  distrac- 


.LTH   OP  MASSACHUSETTS. 

"  Council  Chamber,  Boston,  Not.  27, 1786. 

"  Whereas  it  hath  been  i-epi-esented  to  me  that  an  attempt  will  be 
made  by  a  number  of  people  in  the  County  of  Barnstable  to  obstraut 
the  sitting  of  the  Court  of  G-eneral  Sessions  of  the  Peace  and  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  to  be  holden  by  law  at  Barnstable  within  and  for  the 
county  aforesaid  on  the  1st  Tuesday  of  Dec.  next,  and  thereby  the 
course  of  law  and  the  administration  of  justice  will  be  interrupted 
unless  seasonable  measures  ai'e  taken  for  the  prevention  of  the  same ; 
I  therefore  hereby  call  on  the  sheriff  of  the  Co.  of  Barnstable  to 
take  such  measures  as  are  pointed  out  by  law  to  suppress  all  such  at- 
tempts, and  call  vipon  the  good  people  of  sd.  county  for  their  aid  and 
assistance  for  the  prevention  of  all  such  designs :  And  he  is  further 
directed,  with  the  advice  of  the  justifies  of  the  conrt  aforesaid,  to  call 
upon  the  commaading  officer  in  the  militia  in  that  county  to  affoixl 
him  such  military  assistance  as  they  the  sd.  justices  may  judge  neces- 
sary for  the  purpose:  And  the  commanding  officer  of  said  county  is 
hereby  directed  and  required  to  afford  the  sheriff  aforesaid  all  such 
military  assistance  as  he  shall  be  informed  by  the  sd.  sheriff  is  judged 
necessary  by  the  justices  of  the  court  aforesaid. — The  foregoing  is  by 
the  advice  of  the  Council.  James  Bowdois." 

There  exists  no  other  evidence  that  any  difficulty  was  apprehended  in 
this  county ;  and  we  are  incliued  to  the  opinion  that  the  proclamation 
wa."?,  with  change  of  names,  addressed  and  issued  as  a  precautionary 
measure  to  each  and  every  county  ia  the  State. 


vGooglc 


552  THE  HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

tions  of  tlie  war  it  suffered  again,  and  was  greatly  de- 
pressed. The  dawn  of  peace  infused  new  strength  and 
hopea  among  the  few  remaining  residents.  In  the 
month  of  June,  this  year,  the  attention  of  the  legislar 
ture  was  attracted  to  the  importance  of  the  harbor,  and 
an  act  was  passed  for  its  protection.^  An  act  was  this 
year  passed  to  regulate  the  fisheries  in  the  streams  of 
Harwich, 

In  1787,  John  Hancock  was  again  called  to  office  to 
succeed  Gov.  Bowdoin.'^     The  Federal  CtynstUidwn^  was, 

'  PastiiraKS  of  cattle,  &c.  was  prohibited,  excepting  "  13  cows,  4 
oxen,  1  bull,  and  3  horses,  of  which  number  the  minister "  was 
"allowed  to  keep  1  cow  and  1  horse  for  his  own  use."  The  cutting 
down  of  trees  or  brush  was  also  forbidden,  except  "  20  cords  of  wood 
for  the  minister,  and  so  much  brush  from  the  swamps  as  shall  be  ab- 
solutely necessary  for  flakes  in  the  curing  of  fish." 

'  Gov.  BowDOra  was  eminent  both  as  a  statesman  and  philoso- 
pher. As  a  rep.  to  the  General  Court  he  was  early  conspicuous,  and 
in  the  Council  displayed  equal  ability  and  patriotism.  In  the  dis- 
putes which  laid  the  foundation  of  the  American  revolution,  his 
writings  and  exertions  were  eminently  useftil.  As  president  of  the 
Convention  which  formed  the  State  Constitution  in  1780,  his  enlight- 
ened wisdom  was  acknowledged.  As  gov'r,  his  firmness  and  inflexi- 
ble integrity  at  the  head  of  goy't  at  the  most  unfortunate  period  after 
the  revolution  has  been  subject  of  universal  commendation.  As  a 
generous  friend  of  literature  and  the  arts,  his  name  is  enshrined  in 
the  history  of  his  native  State ;  and  as  a  consistent  Christian,  his  ex- 
ample and  influence  were  most  happy.     He  d.  Nov.  6,  1790,  ae.  63. 

*  The  government  of  the  States  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
had  hitherto  existed ;  being  found  to  be  weak  and  ineflicient  for 
the  public  exigencies,  commissioners  had  met  at  Annapolis  the  previous 
year  to  form  a  general  system  of  commercial  regulations,  but  recom- 
mended the  appointment  of  delegates  with  more  ample  powers  to 
meet  the  next  year  at  Philadelphia.  Accordingly  delegates  from  the 
sevei-al  Slates  assembled  in  May  and  after  four  months'  deliberation, 
anived  at  the  result.  There  is  one  reminiscence  connected  with  the 
deliberations  of  this  Convention  that,  for  its  moral  grandeur  imd  eflect. 


vGooglc 


ANN.'VIiS    OF   BAKMSTABLE    COUNTY.  553 

Sept.  17,  "  unanimously  agreed  to  in  Convention,  and 
transmitted  by  Congress  to  the  several  States  for  con- 
sideration." 

ia  worthy  of  a  place  here: — Whilst  but  little  difference  of  opinion 
existed  among  the  members  in  regard  to  great  principles,  there  was 
less  harmouy  in  reducing  those  principles  to  practical  detail ;  and  on 
one  occasion  the  body  came  near  dissolving.  At  this  painful  crisis.  Dr. 
Franklin  arose  and  addressing  himself  to  the  president  of  Cotiven- 
tioa,  said,  "  Sir,  how  has  it  happened  that  while  groping  so  long  in  the 
dark —  divided  in  onr  opinions  and  ready  to  separate  without  accom- 
plishing the  gi'eat  objects  of  our  meeting,  we  have  not  hitherto  once 
thought  of  humbly  applying  to  the  Father  op  Light  to  illuminate 
our  understandings  ?  In  the  beginning  of  the  contest  with  Great 
Britain,  when  we  were  sensible  of  our  danger,  we  had  daily  prayer  in 
this  room  for  Divine  proteoljon.  Oar  prayers,  sir,  were  heard,  and 
Ihey  were  graciously  answered.  All  of  us  who  engaged  in  the  strug- 
gle must  have  ohserved  frequent  instances  of  a  superintending  Provi- 
dence in  our  favor.  To  that  kind  Providence  we  owe  this  happy 
opportunity  of  consulting  in  peace  on  the  means  of  establishing  our 
future  national  felicity.  And  have  we  now  forgotten  that  powerful 
Friend?  or  do  we  imagine  that  we  no  longer  need  His  assistance? 
I  have  lived,  sir,  a  long  time,  and  the  longer  I  live  the  more  convin- 
cing proof  I  see  of  this  truth  —  that  God  governs  the  affairs  of  men. 
And,  sir,  if  a  sparrow  cannot  fall  to  the  ground  without  His  notice,  ia 
it  probable  that  an  empire  can  rise  without  His  aid?  We  have  been 
assured,  sit,  in  the  sacred  writings,  that  '  Except  the  Lord  build  the 
house  they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it.'  I  firmly  believe  this ;  and  I 
also  believe  that  without  His  concurring  aid  we  ahall  succeed  no  bet- 
ter in  this  political  building  than  the  builders  of  Babel ;  we  shall  be 
divided  by  our  little  partial  local  interests ;  our  projects  will  be  con- 
founded, and  we  ourselvea  shall  become  a  reproach  and  a  by-word  to 
fiature  ages.  And,  air,  what  ia  worse,  mankind  may  hereafter  from 
this  important  instance  despair  of  establishing  government  by  human 
wisdom  and  leave  it  to  chance,  war,  or  conquest  I  therefore  beg 
leave  to  move  that  henceforth  prayers  imploring  the  assistance  of 
Heaven  and  its  blessings  on  our  deliberations  be  held  in  this  assembly 
every  morning  before  we  proceed  to  business ;  and  that  one  or  more 
of  the  clergy  of  this  city  be  requested  to  ofliciate  in  that  service."  — 
This  suggestion,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  was  favorably  received  by  the 
VOL.  L  70 


vGooglc 


554  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

By  bequest  of  Dr.  Abner  Hersey  of  Barnstable/  the 
several  Congregational  churches  in  the  county  became 
at  this  time  prospectively  invested  with  the  trust  of  a 
large  portion  of  his  ^tate  for  religious  purposes. 

CoDvention,  and  from  that  time  the  guidance  of  Divine  aiJ  was  daily 
sought.  As  might  also  he  expected  great  harmony  prevailed  ■  tlie 
spirit  of  concession  pervi  1l  1  the  Convtntion  and  a  motion  was  made 
tor  the  appointment  of  a  Lonmittee  U>  take  into  consideiation  foth 
hranches  of  the  legislature  A  committee  was  cho  en  con  i  ting  ol 
one  member  from  each  Slate  and  the  Convention  idjoumed  for  ihree 
days.  On  EQBeting  again  this  committf e  reported  to  tl  e  saiisfact  on 
of  all,  and  the  body  proceeded  to  oig^nize  the  leg  sUture  and  othei 
departments  of  the  government, 

^  Dr.  Abnek  Heksli  waa  son  of  Times  of  Hingh^m  who  had 
three  sons  that  became  leapect^le  phjsician  Ezckiel  Jtmes  ird 
Abner.  The  former  of  these  giad  H  C  17^8  ind  nas  emnent  in 
his  profession,  remaining  in  Hingh'^m  Dr  James  settled  in  Bain 
stable,  had  a  high  reputation  as  a  physician  and  extensive  practice,  but 
died  early,  within  a  year  of  the  time  that  his  yomiger  brother,  Abner, 
became  his  pupil.  Dr.  Abner  had  until  entering  the  otfice  of  Dr. 
James,  labored  assiduously  on  his  father's  farm,  and  had  little  oppor- 
tunity for  literary  improvement  On  the  decease  of  his  instructor, 
notwithstanding  his  pupilage  had  been  brief,  he  availed  himself  of 
the  professional  field  from  which  his  lamented  brother  had  been  taken 
away;  and,  enjoying  the  benefit  of  his  reputation,  succeeded  to  a  lu- 
crative practice.  Sound  judgment  and  coi-rect  observation  seem  to 
have  suppHed  the  deficiencies  of  his  medical  education..  He  was  in- 
defatigable, faithful,  punctual,  and  possessed  of  a  rigid  sense  of  moral 
rectitude.  Successful,  useful,  and  honored,  he  accumulated  an  ample 
estate.  He  was,  however,  subject  to  hypochondriac  affections,  and  was 
withal  eccentric.  He  rejected  alike  animal  food  and  alcoholic  stimu- 
lants ;  his  meals  were  fruit,  milk,  and  vegetables.  Contemning  the 
follies  of  feshion,  his  garments  were  peculiar  to  himself —  lai-ge,  loose, 
warm  —  his  overcoat  to  protect  him  in  travel  was  made  of  seven  calf- 
skins, lined  with  flannel.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Mass.  Med.  Soc 
Besides  his  bequest  to  the  churches  of  the  chief  part  of  his  estate,  he 
left  to  Harvard  College  iSOO  to  establish  a  Professorship  of  Anatomy 
and  Surgery.  He  d.  Jan.  9,  1787,  se.  66,  leaving  a  widow,  but  no 
issue. 


vGooglc 


ANSALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  555 

In  1788,  the  Federal  Constitution  having  been  ac- 
cepted and  ratified  by  eleven  States,  became  the  Con- 
stitution OP  THE  United  States  ;  ^  the  important  differ- 
ence between  it  and  the  former  articles  of  confederation 
being  that  the  General  Government  was  henceforward 
to  control  the  revenue  and  regulate  commerce,  thus 
enabling  Congress  to  raise  money  directly  from  the 
people  instead  of  resorting  to  requisitions  on  the  State 
governments,  which  plan  had  proved  totally  inefficient, 
and  providing  for  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  de- 
partments of  government  with  the  specific  duties  of 
each  as  continued  to  the  present  time. 

It  would  have  been  too  much  perhaps  to  expect  that 
it  would  at  once  secure  favor  from  all.  The  discussions 
it  ehcited  gave  rise  to  two  great  parties  —  parties,  how- 
ever, supposed  by  some  to  he  inseparable  from  the  ex- 
istence of  free  institutions,  watching  and  holding  each 
other  in  check.*^ 

The  prohibition  of  the  slave  trade,  March  25,  was  an 
important  event.  Some  legislation  was  had  by  the 
General  Court,  June  13,  touching  the  Mashpee  Indians ; 
and  other  acts  were  passed  having  reference  to  different 
locaHties  in  the  county,  but  of  little  general  interest. 
Hon.  Enoch  Hallett  of  Yarmouth,  some  time  high 
sheriff  of  the  county,  died  this  year,  March  2,  je.  52. 


^  Rhode  Island  and  Nortli  Carolina  dissented ;  tlie  latfer,  however, 
adopted  it  in  1789,  and  the  former  in  1790. 

*  It  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  conveation  of  Mass,  for  rati- 
fying the  Constitution  of  the  U.  S,,  that  the  vote  of  Barnstable  Co. 
on  the  final  question,  was  as  foliows :  Shearjashub  Bourne  of  Barn- 
stable, ay;  Thos.  Smith  and  Thos.  Nye  of  Sandwich,  no;  David 
Thaeher  and  Jona.  Howes  of  Yarmouth,  ay ;  Solo.  Freeman  and 
Kirabal  Clark  of  Harwich,  ay ;  Levi  Whitman  of  Wcllfleet,  ay ; 
and  Joseph  Palmer  of  Falmouth,  ay. 


vGooglc 


556  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

In  1789,  under  the  new  constitution,  the  government 
of  which,  was  to  go  into  effect  March  4,  George  Wash- 
ington was  unanimouBly  elected  the  first  President  of 
the  United  States.  He  was  not  inaugurated,  however, 
until  April  30 ;  for  so  wanting  in  zeal  were  numbers  of 
the  States,  or  their  representatives,  that  three  weeks 
ela.psed  before  a  full  attendance  of  both  Houses  could 
be  procured,^  John  Adams  was  the  first  Vice-Presi- 
dent. The  seat  of  government  was  "fixed  for  ten 
years  at  Philadelphia,"  and  after  that  time  was  to 
be  "  permanently  established  at  Washington,  on  the 
Potomac." 

The  only  legislative  proceeding  particularly  relating 
to  any  part  of  the  Cape  this  year,  was  an  act  of  the 
General  Court,  January  30,  "  for  the  better  regulating 
the  Indian,  mulatto,  and  negro  proprietors  and  inhab- 
itants of  the  planta,tion  of  Mashpee." 

In  1790,  Congress  passed  an  act  to  redeem  the  paper 
money  issued  for  carrying  on  the  struggle  with  Great 
Britain  during  the  war ;  but  this  act  was  of  little  ben- 

'  We  cannot  resist  the  impulse  to  record  the  fact  so  commendable, 
and  so  worthy  of  consideration  by  those  elevated  to  places  of  authoiity, 
that  Gen.  Washington  in  his  inaugural  discovered  that  same  high 
tone  of  religious  reverence  that  was  generally  the  characteristic  trait 
of  distinguished  patriots :  "  It  would  be  peculiarly  improper  lo  omit  in 
this  my  first  offidal  act,  my  fervent  supplications  to  that  Almighty 
Being  who  rules  over  the  universe  and  who  presides  in  the  councils  of 
nations."  Immediately  after  the  delivery  of  the  address,  the  Presi- 
dent and  members  of  both  Houses  attended  Divine  service  in  St. 
Paul's  (Episcopal)  Chapel  on  Broadway.  We  may  also  mention  that 
before  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  that  body  "  deeply  impressed 
withasenseof  the  Divine  goodness,"  requested  the  President  "(o  recom- 
mend to  the  people  a  day  of  public  thanksgiving,  to  acknowledge  with 
grateful  heajis  the  signal  favors  of  Heaven  in  affording  the  people  an 
opportunity  peaceably  to  establish  a  constitution  of  government  for 
their  safety  and  happiness." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS  OP  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.  557 

efit  to  those  who  had  suffered/  The  estabHshment  of 
a  national  bank  in  completion  of  the  commercial  and 
monetary  system  of  Mr.  Secretary  Hamilton,  having 
been  effected  after  violent  opposition,  promised  better 
results;  and  a  revival  of  public  credit  and  commercial 
prosperity  ensued. 

In  1791,  the  first  census  of  the  United  States  being 
completed  showed  a  population  numbering  3,921,336, 
of  whom  695,655  were  slaves;  the  United  States  ex- 
ports about  $19,000,000;  imports  $20,000,000;  revenue 
$4,771,000.^    The  Prench  revolution  having  just  reached 

'  The  Continental  money  was  worth  to  the  holders  finally  but  about 
one  cent  on  a  dollar;  and  much  of  it  had  changed  hands  at  a  trilling 

*  The  public  debt  amounted  to  $54,000,000,  exclusive  of  the  State 
debts  supposed  to  amount  to  $25,000,000  more.  It  became  necessary 
to  make  provision  for  the  payment  of  the  interest,  at  least.  The  re- 
port of  Mr,  Hamilton  to  Congi'ess,  proposing  taxes  on  certain  articles 
of  luxury,  including  spirits  distilled  witliin  the  United  States,  led  to 
serious  and  acrimonious  debate.  The  very  foundations  of  government 
trembled ;  and  thus  was  consolidated  a  violent  spirit  of  party  that  was 
destined  to  array  the  community,  one  part  ag^nst  the  other,  for  at 
least  thirty  years,  under  the  names  of  Federalist  and  Republican. 
Mr.  Hamilton's  plan  was  adopted.  The  debt  funded  was  rising 
$75,000,000 ;  bearing  interest,  part  three  per  cent.,  the  residue  six. 
The  funding  of  the  debts  of  the  Union  and  the  assumption  of  the  State 
debts  contracted  in  the  war ;  the  proposed  duty  on  distilled  spirits ; 
the  establishment  of  a  national  bank ;  the  increase  of  the  army  to  pro- 
tect the  western  frontier  from  Indian  aggression  ;  and  an  enlargement 
of  the  duties  on  impost  and  tonnage  with  view  to  a  permanent  pro- 
vision for  the  discharge  of  the  public  debt  instead  of  leaving  it  to 
annual  appropriations,  were  the  principal  transactions  that  marked  the 
first  official  term  of  the  first  President  of  the  Union ;  and  we  may  well 
ponder  them  as  constituting  an  instructive  chapter  in  the  history  of 
the  human  mind,  since  acts  like  these  could  before  the  year  1793 
organize  a  nation  into  parties  that  continued  their  struggle  till  the 
authors  of  this  legislation  ceased  as  a  party  to  exist  and  tlie  fear  of 
their  prevailing  policy  expired  with  their  demise. 


vGooglc 


boo  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

its  highest  point  of  fanaticism  and  disorder,  this  was  an 
important  era. 

In  1792,  according  to  statistics  given,  "but  few  In- 
dians remained  in  Barnstable  County,  except  at  Mash- 
pee  where  were  about  eighty  famihes,  not  more  than 
forty  or  fifty  individuals  of  unmixed  blood.  At  Her- 
ring Pond  were  a  few."  ^ 

*  It  is  painfully  interesting  to  review  tlie  subsidence  of  the  original 
proprietors  of  tiie  soil.  Gkiokin  says  there  were,  of  "  praying  Indians," 
according  to  the  account  he  obfaitied  of  Mr.  Rd.  Bourne,  in  1674,  "  at 
Meskawn"  i.  e.  Provincetown  and  Truro,  "  and  at  Pimonakanit,"  i.  e. 
Wellfleet, 72;  "at  Potanumaquvt"  i.  e.  Eaatham,  44;  "at  Manomoy- 
ick,"  i-e.  Chatham, 71;  •' at  Sawkatucket,"  i.e.  Tiarwidi,  " Nobsquasset," 
L e.  Dennis,  "  Mattakees"  i.  e.  Bamsiable  and  Yarmouth,  " and  at  Wee- 
guawkef,"  i.e.  Banistable,  122;  "at  Maskpee  and  seveval  places  adja- 
cent," 117;  "at  Pispogutt"  £.  e.  Sandwich,  "  Wawayontat^  i.  e. 
Warehani,  "and  Sokones,"  i.  e.  Falmouth,  36.  To  this  Mr.  CoKon 
adds,  "  Kttteaumul,"  i.  e.  another  part  of  Sandwich,  40.  Among  the 
Indians  on  Mr.  Bourne's  Mashpee  list,  were  142  who  could  read  the 
Indian  language,  and  9  who  could  read  English;  and  72  who  were  taught 
to  write.  In  1685,  Gov.  Hinckley  transmitted  "to  the  corporation  in 
England,  an  account  of  praying  Indians,"  as  follows:  "At  Pamet, 
MUingsgate,  and  Nauset,  264.  Great  Tom,  Indian,  is  their  teacher 
at  Nauset ;  at  Pamet  they  are  destitute  since  the  death  of  Potanuma- 
tack,  a  prudent  and  sober  man,  much  lamented.  These  are  the 
Indians  that  Mr.  Treat  of  Eastham  is  wont  to  help  on  week  days ;  at 
Monamoyt,  115,  and  Indian  Nicholas  is  their  teacliei- ;  at  Saquetiicket 
and  at  Nohsctixsett,  where  Indian  Manassah  is  their  teacher,  121 ;  at 
Mattakei'se,  where  Jeremy  Robin  is  teacher,  70 ;  at  Skauton,  where 
Simon  Wicket  is  teacher,  51 ;  at  Mashpee,  where  Shanks  is  teacher 
and  to  whom  Mr.  Bourne  did  officiate  while  living,  141 ;  at  Suckor 
nessit,  old  John  teacher,  72 ;  at  MonuTnet,  where  Charles  is  teacher 
and  where  Mr,  Thomas  Tupper  is  helpful  to  them,  110."  He  men- 
tions also  "  Saltwater  Pond  in  Plymouth,  where  Mr.  Cotton  helps  on 
week-days,  and  Will  Skipping  on  Lord's  days,  90.  Besides  these  arc 
boys  aiid  girls  under  twelve  yeai-s  of  age,  three  times  as  many." 
Gov.  H,  says,  "  They  have  their  courts  and  judges ;  hut  a  gi-eat  oh- 
fltraction  to  bringing  them  to  more  civility  and  Christianity,  is  the 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COTJHTT.  559 

111  1703,  the  East  Precinct  of  Yarmouth,  set  off  as 
sucli  in  1721,  was  incorporated  as  a  town  June  19,  by 
the  name  of  Dennis.  This  was  the  eleventh  town  by 
incorporation,  in  the  county. 

Gov.  Hancock  whose  administration  was  always  pop- 
ular and  who  had  been  sure  to  be  elected  by  a  large 
majority  whenever  he  consented  to  bo  a  candidate,  died 
Oct.  8,^  and  Samuel  Adams,  lieutenant  governor,  became, 
ez  officio,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  the  next  year  was  elected  to  that  station. 

In  1794,  a  commercial  treaty  was  negotiated  with 
Great   Britain,  by  Mr.  3\}       A  fnithci   test   of   the 

great  appetite  many  of  the  young  generition  1  ave  for  ifrong  liquoi  , 
and  the  coYetous  ill-humor  of  sundry  of  our  Enghsh  m  fuiniohing  them 
therewith  notwithstanding  all  tlio  couit  oideis  and  means  used  to 
prohibit  the  same."  In  1698  Kev  Mesiis  Gnndal  Eawion  anl 
Samuel  Danforth  were  commissioneis  fo  ii>>it  the  seveial  plantations 
and  report  to  the  society  in  England  and  they  represented  as  "re 
maining  in  that  part  which  was  Plymouth  Colony,  1290  Indians ;  on 
the  islands,  1583 ;  in  all  other  parts  of  Massachusetts,  205."  In  1763, 
in  the  three  counties  originally  existing  as  Plymouth  Colony,  were 
905,  viz.-.  in  Plymouth  225,  Bristol  167, Barnstable  515.  There  were 
also  on  Nantucket  358,  and  on  the  Vineyard  313 ;  making  a  lota,l  of 
1576.  Tlie  Indians  had  hegun  at  this  time  to  intermarry  with  ne- 
groes. At  the  present  period,  1792,  the  Indiana  who  once  formed  no 
inconsiderable  body  on  the  Cape,  had  dwindled  to  a  small  number, 
and  these  were  chiefly  at  Mashpee.  In  Plymouth  Co.  were  bat  a 
"  few,  near  the  Sandwich  line  ;  in  Bristol  Co.  were  only  32  individuals 
of  the  least  Indian  blood ; "  from  other  parts  of  Massachusetts  they 
had  generally  disappeared. 

'  GoY.  Hancock  early  evinced  his  patriotic  attachment  to  his  coun- 
try's cause.  A  representative  in  1766,  president  of  the  Provincial 
Congress  in  1774,  of  the  Continental  Congress  1775,  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  1776.  Easy  in  address,  of  polished 
manners,  affable,  liberal,  quick  of  perception,  impartial,  untiring  in 
duty,  his  administration  was  popular.     He  died  se.  56. 


vGooglc 


560  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

strength  of  the  Union  was  now  applied ;  the  whiskey 
insurrection  in  Pennsylvania  making  it  necessary  for 
the  President  to  support  the  United  States  marshal  of 
that  district  in  the  execution  of  the  duties  of  his  office.' 

In  1795,  the  question  touching  a  revised  constitution 
was  submitted  to  the  people.^    The  Hon.  Shearjashub 


That  officer  and  others  engaged  in  enforcing  the  duties  on  distilled 
spirits,  being  resisted  and  maltreated,  the  President  made  requisitions 
on  the  Governors  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  and  Vir- 
ginia, for  1500  militia ;  which,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Lee, 
marched  into  the  revolted  district,  quelling  all  opposition.  The  result 
was  important,  inasmuch  as  it  demonstrated  to  anarchists,  that,  under 
the  control  of  the  Federal  government,  was  ample  power  promptly  to 
frustraie  any  and  all  unconstitutional  resistance  that  might  arise.  The 
party  distinctions  to  which  we  have  before  referred,  not  only  con- 
tinued, but  the  lines  were  distinctly  drawn  :  the  republican  or  demo- 
cratic party  being  charged  by  the  federalists  with  sympathies  with 
the  Jacobins  of  France  who  had  beheaded  their  king ;  and  the  feder- 
alists accused  by  the  republicans,  of  monarchical  tendencies, 

'  The  friends  of  the  constitution  had  to  encounter  the  fears  and 
honest  prejudices  of  a  large  portion  of  the  people,  to  a  greater  extent 
than  many  at  present  are  aware  of.  The  people,  reared  at  the  bosom 
of  their  respective  Slates,  with  little  experience  of  any  but  domestic 
authority,  except  that  which  was  really  foreign  and  at  the  same  time 
hostile,  were  not  unsusceptible  of  alarm  from  preparations  for  a  gov- 
ernment which  in  some  of  its  aspects  appeared  to  he  exteraal,  though 
it  was  truly  and  essentially  an  emanation  from  themselves.  The  sys- 
tem was  untried ;  and  what  it  certainly  would  be  was  sincerely  feared. 
The  exereise  of  power  under  political  constitutions  of  very  different 
character,  being  in  many  instances  discriminated  in  degree  rather  than 
in  kind,  its  application  in  the  mildest  foi-m  becoming  despotic  if  pressed 
to  an  extreme,  it  was  not  strange  that,  in  the  obscure  light  of  our  just- 
dawning  government,  imagination  should  raise  phantoms  of  terrific 
threatening  from  the  first  acts  of  power  however  mildly  benign.  The 
apprehensions  of  the  tendency  of  a  federal  union  to  overthrow  the 
States  and  destroy  American  liberty,  were  expressed  on  every  hand. 
Fortunately,  "Washington's  incomparable  wisdom  and  moderation,  more 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARKST^iBLE   COUNTY.  561 

Bourne  of  Barnstable,  who  had  hitherto  from  the  thne 
of  his  first  election,  1791,^  been  the  representative  from 
this  district  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  con- 
cluded his  congressional  career  with  distingniinhed 
honor,^  and  Nathaniel  Freeman  Jr.  Esq.,  was  elected  for 
the  Fourth  Congress.^ 

notable  by  liis  self-abandoiiment  on  all  occasions  fo  further  the  public 
weal,  were  a  nation's  boon ;  and  tte  statesmen  in  the  ascendency, 
without  adopting  a  jealous  construction  of  the  powers  of  the  constitu- 
tion, were  determined  to  give  it  a  fair  interpretation,  exercising  its 
powers  only  in  furtherance  of  its  declared  design  "  to  form  a  more 
perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  pravide 
for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the 
blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,"  As  the  sovereign 
people  had  substituted  the  Constitution  for  the  Confederation,  they 
wisely  considered  that  it  consisted  as  little  with  their  engagement  of 
fidelity,  as  with  the  general  welfare,  to  make  it  a  confederation  in 
effect,  either  by  the  rules  by  which  it  was  expounded,  or  by  the  spirit 
ia  which  it  was  administered.  They  regarded  the  Slates  as  strong  by 
ten  thousand  bonds  of  property  and  local  association,  and  by  the  great 
basis  of  internal  power  which  had  been  reserved  to  them  by  the 
people ;  and  the  union  as  destined  to  inevitable  contempt  and  speedy 
extinction,  unless  the  powers  given  to  it  should  be  used  in  the  spirit 
of  the.gifl:,  to  make  it  in  its  own  sphere  what  the  States  were  in 
theirs. 

^  It  is  worthy  of  record  that  he  then  received  every  vote  given  in 
the  district. 

^  Hon.  Shearjashub  Bourne  was  an  eminent  man,  and  in  direct 
descent  from  Rev.  Richard  Bourne.  Of  these  noted  men,  and  others 
of  the  same  lineage  —  a  family  distinguished  by  the  eminence  of  not 
a  few  in  successive  generations,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  more 
particularly  by  and  by. 

^  Hon.  Nathaniel  Freemas  Jr.  was  son  of  Gen,  Freeman  of  the 
same  name.  In  looking  over  the  "Massachusetts  Centinel"  of  July 
21,  1787,  we  find  an  editorial  "critique" — it  is  so  denominated  — 
on  the  literary  performances  at  tlie  Harvard  College  Commencement- 
anniversary  ;  which  we  may  here  present  as  neither  nieleiint  nor  on 
interesting.  The  article  suggests,  "The  two  prmcipal  performance-i 
were  the  orations  of  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Mr  Nath«unel 
VOL.  I.  71 


vGooglc 


562  THE   mSTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

We  wili  here  bring  up  to  tlie  present  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal changes  that  have  occurred  in  the  county  for  the 
last  thirty  years.     The  Rev.  Joseph  Croceek/  of  the 

Fi-ecnun  Ti      The  firat  of  tliese  certainly  declaimed  on  a  well-ehosen 
subject  JD  a  matili    Beiinible  and  nenous  style  of  eloquence.     The 
public  expectations  from  this  gentleman,  being  the  son  of  an  ambas- 
sador, the  tavonte  of  the  officers  of  the  college,  and  having  enjoyed 
the  highest  r1\  uitiges  of  Luropean  instruction,  were  greatly  inflated. 
This  perioi'mance  justified  the  preconceived  partiality.     He  is  warmly 
attached  to  the  Eepublican  system  of  his  father,  and  descanted  upon 
the  subject  of  '  Public  Justice '  with  great  energy.    Mr.  Adams'  indis- 
putable superior  in  style,  elegance,  and  oratory,  is  the  graceful  Mr. 
Freeman.     It  was  thought  almost  impossible  for  him  to  exceed  his 
accomplished  rival  who  spoke  before  him  —  but  to  Freeman  every 
thing  was  easy.     They  were  both  considerably  agitated  when  they 
arose,  and  seemed  to  recover  a  decent  confidence  after  the  same  inter- 
val.    Freeman  was  not  deficient  in  elegance  of  diction ;   in  mellif- 
luousness  he  was  unequalled.      He  has  happily  imitated  the  plain  and 
just  model  of  eloquence  which  has  been  attended  with  the  most  flat^ 
tering  success  in   this   country.     In   short,  these  young   gentlemen 
discovered  those  qualities  that  must  insure  them  eminence ;  and  we 
hope,  for  the  sake  of  their  country,  tbey  may  be  rivals  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  those  talents  Ihrongh  life."  —  It  is  proper  to  add  that  Mr.  Free- 
man's was  the  concluding  performance.     Mr.  Russell's  commendations 
appear  the  more  flattering  to  both,  if  it  be  considered  that  the  grad- 
uating class  that  year  was  unusually  large,  numbering  fifty-one,  and 
embracing,  besides  those  already  named,  William  Cranch,  Abiel  Ab- 
bot, James  Bridge,  Timothy  Fuller,  Joshua  Cushman,  James  Lloyd, 
Thaddeua  M.  Harris,  Samuel  Putnam,  Hezekiah  Packard  and  others, 
who  became  distinguished  in  public  life.     It  may  be  added  that  at  the 
Commencement  in  1790  when  members  of  this  class  received  their 
second  degree,  Mr.  F.  was  selected  to  deliver  an  English  oration,  the 
subject  of  which  was, '  The  Prospects  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica.'    Mr.  Freeman,  having  studied  law,  gave  early  promise  of  emi- 
nence in  the  profession.     He  was  brigade  mnjor  sixteen  years,  and 
twice  elected  to  Congress ;  hut  died  early  and  suddenly  of  hemorrhage 
at  the  lungs,  Aug.  22, 1800,  at  the  age  of  34,  greatly  lamented. 

'  The  name  Crocker,  or  Croker,  is  of  ancient,  English  oi-igin,  and 
it  may  be  fairly  inferred  that  the  ancestry  was  indigenous  with  '  Cro- 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OE   BARN3TABLB    COUNTY.  563 

precinct  of  Eiistham  since  called  Orleans,  died  in  1772, 
and  was  succeeded  the  same  year  by  tlie  Rev.  Jonatuan 

kef's  Hale '  and  '  Crokem  For'  in  Devonshire  prior  to  the  times  of 
William  the  Conqueror.     The  old  distich, 

"  Croker,  Crewys,  and  Copplestone, 
When  tho  Conquoror  cama  were  all  at  home," 

naturally  suggests  that  some  of  the  family  were  at  that  early  period 
distinguished  in  arms.  It  can  hardly  have  escaped  the  observation  of 
the  reader,  however,  that  it  is  very  far  from  the  purpose  of  the  pres- 
ent work  to  set  forth  doubtful  pedigrees  and  that  these  pages  exhibit 
no  sympathy  with  the  pitiable  vanity  sometimes  discoverable  at  the 
present  day  in  a  disposition  (o  arrogate  aocestral  descent  bringing 
with  it  heraldic  memorials.  There  are,  aa  perhaps  in  the  present 
Gase,instances  where  we  might  unhesitatingly  claim  le^timatehei'aldi<; 
honors  for  prominent  families  of  Cape  Cod ;  but  then  the  employment 
is  repugnant  to  our  taste  even  were  the  task  of  diaeriminatiug  not  un- 
grateful and  possibly  odious ;  and  we  choose  ratheT  to  ignoi'e  genuine 
escutcheons,  than  affiume  the  authority  of  deciding  such  matters,  and, 
it  may  be,  offend  by  refusing  to  become  the  armor-bearer  for  that  petty 
pride  that  would  glory  in  spurious  pretensions.  Suffice  it,  therefore, 
to  say,  in  this  place,  that  the  name  above  indicated  has,  from  the  very 
first  oa  these  shores,  been  one  of  note  and  embraced  great  numbers  of 
worthy  descendants.  Among  the  early  settlers  at  Barnstable  were 
John  and  Wilt-iam  Crocker,  brothers,  who  came  probably  from 
Lyneham  in  the  County  of  Devon,  about  1630.  They  were  both  in- 
habitants of  Scituat«  in  1636,  when,  Dec.  2S,  Mr.  William  Crocker 
connected  himself  wilh  Mr.  Lothrop's  church.  The  will  of  John, 
1668,  pr.  1669,  mentions  his  wife  Jane  aud  his  brother  William's  sons 
to  whom,  he  devised  his  property.  The  inference  is,  of  course,  that 
John  died  without  surviving  issue,  and  that  all  of  the  family  name 
originating  from  Barnstable  are  descendants  of  William. 

The  issue  of  Dea.  William  Crockee,  by  his  wife  Alice,  were 
John  b.  in  Scituate,  May  31,  1637;  Elizabeth,  Scituate,  Sept.  22, 
1639,  who  d.  May  16, 1658,  ai.  19  ;  Samuel  b.  in  Barnstable,  July  3, 
1642,  and  d.  1681;  Job,  March  9,  1644;  Joaiah,  Sept.  19,  1647; 
Eleazer,  July  21,  1650;  and  Joseph,  1654.  For  the  present  we 
must  be  content  to  trace  down  one  branch  only  of  a  numerous  family, 
leaving  pthers  for  future  notes. 

Dea.  Job,  the  Sd  s.  of  Dea.  Wm.  above,  who  d.  March  20, 1718-19, 


vGooglc 


THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


Bascom.     The  Rev.  Samuel  Paeker  was  settled  in  Prov- 
incetown  in  1774.     The  Eev.  Samuel  Palmer  of  Fai- 


le.  75,  m.  1st  Mary  dr.  of  Eev.  Thomas  Walley,  Nov.  1668,  and  2d 
Haonah  dr.  of  Ed.  Taylor,  July  19,  1680.  The  latter  d.  May  14, 
1743,  «.  85.  The  issue  by  these  were:  (a  son,)  Oct.  IS,  1669,  who 
d.  inf.;  Samuel,  May  15,  1671,  who  m.  Sarah  Parker;  Thomas,  Jan. 
19, 1674,  who  m.  Eiiaabeth  Lothrop  ;  Mary,  June  29,  1681 ;  John, 
Feb.  2i,  1683;  Hannah,  Feb.  2,  1685;  Elizabeth,  May  15,  1688; 
Sarab,  Jan.  19,  1690;  Job,  April  4,  1604,  who  d.  May  24,  1731,  x. 
38  ;  David,  Sept.  5,  1697,  who  m.  Abigail  Loriog,  Nov.  12,  1724; 
and  Thankful,  June  16, 1700.     Dea.  John,  the  4th  s.  of  Dea.  Job,m. 

lat  Hannah ,  Nov.  11, 1704,  who  d.  Oct  10,  1720,  and  2d  Mary 

Hinckley,  June  22, 1725-6.  Issue :  Abigail,  Oct.  5, 1705  ;  Zaccheus, 
Aug.  1,  1707 ;  John,  July  27,  1710,  who  d.  1711 ;  Ebenezer,  Nov.  1, 
1713;  Elizabeth,  April  6,  1718;  Jabez,  June  16,  1720,  who  d.  inf.; 
John,  Apvill,  1722;  Job,  March  29,1724;  Daniel,  March  1, 1725-6; 
Timothy,  Aug.  23,  1728 ;  and  Jonathan,  Nov.  22,  1731.  TniOTHY, 
who  settled  in  Falmouth,  7th  s.  of  Dea.  John,  and  d.  Oct.  17,  1800, 
86.  73,  m.  Susanna  Robinson,  March  10,  1757,  who  d.  Jan.  22,  1809, 
se.  70.  Issue :  Eobiiisoa,  Dec.  3,  1757,  who  m.  Eliza  Porter  of  Si. 
Stephens,  N.  B.,  Nov.  19,  1791 ;  Mary,  Sept.  9,  1759,  who  m.  Josiab 
Sampson  of  Barnstable,  Sept.  17,  1777 ;  Joseph,  Sept.  18,  1761,  who 
m.  Martha  Dimmick  ;  Rachel,  Sept.  16, 1763,  who  d.  1765 ;  Timothy, 
Nov.  8,  1765,  wlio  m.  Mary  Dimmick ;  Susanna,  Feb.  18,  1768,  who 
m.  Eev.  Henry  Lincoln ;  liowland  Robinson,  April  2,  1770 ;  John, 
Sept.  26,  1772,  who  m.  Susan  B.  Wicks ;  Lucy,  Feb.  20,  1775,  who 
m.  Dr.  Jonathan  0.  Freeman  of  Sandwich ;  Sylvanua,  July  20,  1777, 
who  ra.  1st  Eliza  CoiSu ;  and  David,  June  4,  1780,  who  d.  at  sea, 
April  8,  1801. 

Capt.  EowLAHD  E.,  of  Falmouth  and  afterwards  of  New  Bedford, 
(whom  we  shall  have  occasion  to  mention  more  particularly  a  few  pages 
onward,)  the  4th  a.  of  Timothy  above,  and  who  d.  Jan.  12,  1852,  le. 
about  82,  m.  1st  Ehoda  Hayden,  of  New  Bedford,  June  4,  1796,  and 
2d  widow  Sarah  Slocumb  Hammond,  April  9, 1811.  Issue :  William, 
Charles,  liowland,  and  James,  all  of  whom  died  before  their  father. 
The  first  three  were  seamen  ;  the  last  was  cashier  of  the  Commercial 
Bank,  N.  B.,  afterwards  treasurer  of  the  N.  B.  Railroad,  then  went  to 
California  and  d.  se.  about  30,  The  widow  of  Capt.  Rowland  R.  sur- 
vives, 1859,  very  aged.  See  further  notice  of  Eev.  Joseph  Crocker, 
hereafter — dcscendedundoubtedlyfrom  Joaiah  the  sonof  Dea.Wit!iimi. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAitMSTAELE   COUNTY.  565 

mouth,  dying  in  1775,  was  succeeded  the  same  year^ 
by  the  Rev.  Zebolon  Butlee,  who  retired  in  1778 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  Eev.  Isaiah  Mann  in  1780, 
who  died  in  1789  and  was  succeeded  hy  the  Rev. 
Henry  Lincoln  in  1790.  The  Eev.  Stephen  Emery  of 
Chatham  died  in  1782  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Thomas  Roby  in  1783,  who  retiring  in  1795  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  Ephraim  Brigos  in  1796.  The  Eev. 
Abraham  Wojiams  of  Sandwich  dying  in  1784,^  was 

^  Eev,  Samuel  Palmer,  s.  of  Eev.  Thos.  of  Middleboro',  grad.  H. 
C.  1727,  and  became  tke  minister  of  Falmouth  Nov.  24, 1731,  uniting 
with  his  sacred  profession  the  practice  of  medicine.  He  d.  April  IS, 
1775,  te.  68.  His  Ist  m.  was  with  Mercy  Parker,  then  of  Boston,  Jan. 
25,  1737,  who  d.  March  1,  1750  ;  and  2d,  with  Mrs.  Sarah  Allen  of 
Chilmark,  1751.  Issue:  Thomas,  Feh.  12,  1738;  Joseph,  June  12, 
1739 ;  Mercy,  July  19,  1743 ;  Eliz'h,  July  12,  1745  ;  Joh,  Aug.  15, 
1747;  MoUy,  Feh.  11,  1749;  Sarah,  Nov.  7,  1752;  Lucy,  who  d. 
March  5,  1754  ;  Martha,  July  31,  1756 ;  Suaaa,  Nov.  27,  1757,  who 
m.  Hatch;  Anna,  Dec.  27,  1759 ;  and  Samuel,  April  28,  1763,  who 
d.  inf.  —  The  eldest  of  these,  Thomas,  who  d.  April  25, 1775,  ee.  37, 
had,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  Matty,  Oct.  20,  1766;  Thomas,  Aug.  20, 
1767;  and  Job,  Aug.  11,1772.  The  second,  Joseph  Esq.,  m.  Thank- 
fnl  Davis,  Dec.  6,  1765,  and  bad  Samuel,  Sept.  8,  1766;  Elizabeth, 
July  11, 1769  ;  Joseph  and  Hannah,  gemini,  Nov.  5,  1770,  the  latter 
dying  inf.;  Hannah,  1774;  and  Sarah,  1778.  Job  was,  about  1845, 
living  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  ffi.  97. 

"  Eev.  Abeaham  Williams,  son  of  Abraham  of  Marlboro'  who 
ra.  a  Breck,  was  b.  iu  Marlboro'  March  8,  1727-8,  grad.  H.  C.  1744, 
and  was  invited  to  preach  in  S.  at  a  time  when  the  parish  was  muiih 
divided  and  harassed  by  internal  strifes,  and  by  his  energy  and  good 
sense  united  to  great  kindliness  of  spirit,  succeeded  in  recondling  the 
variant  parties  so  that  early  in  1749  a  call  to  him  to  accept  the  pas- 
torate was  extendpd  with  much  unanimity  and  he  was  orf.  June  14. — 
Mr.  W.  m.  Sept.  21,  1751,  Anne,  2d  dr.  of  Col.  Joseph  Buckminster 
of  Framinghara,  and  sister  of  Dr.  B.  of  Port^'^raoulh  wJiose  son  Rev. 
Joseph  Stevens  B.  "left  a  glorious  memory  in  Boston  by  his  elo- 
quence, learning,  and  Christian  virtue."  Mrs,  W.  was  "  a  remarkabh; 
woman  —  of  great  originality  and  strength  of  mind."     Their  children 


vGooglc 


566  TlIE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

succeeded  by  Eev.  Jonathan  Borr  in  1787.  The  Eev. 
IsAiAii  Lewis  of  WeMeet  died  in  1786,  who  had,  by 
reason  of  age,  been  succeeded  in  the  pastoral  office 
by  the  Eev.  Levi  Whitman  the  year  previous.  The 
Eev.  Joseph  Green  of  East  Barnstable  died  in  1770/ 

were  1.  Sarali,  Sept.  5,  1752,  who  m.  Rev.  Timo.  Fuller  of  Prince- 
ton, Oct.  31,  1771,  and  d.  1822,  whose  eldest  son  was  Hon.  Timothy 
Fuller,  and  among  her  grandchild  fen  are  Sarah  Margaret  Fuller  the 
late  Counl«ss  Osaoli,  and  Rev.  A.  B.  Fuller  now  of  Watertown ;  2. 
Abraham,  Feb.  10,  1754 ;  3.  Elizabeth,  1755,  who  m.  Dr.  Thomas 
Smith  of  S.,  his  2d  w. ;  4.  Robert  Breck,  llarch  9,  1757 ;  5.  Anne, 
1759,  who  m.  Rev.  Jona.  Smith  of  Chilmark,  afterwards  of  Hadley, 
Oct.  25,  1789  ;  6.  Joseph,  Mai-ch  18,  1761,  who  m.  a  Wells  of  Mew- 
burjport  and  was  a  distiller;  7.  Martha,  1762,  who  m.  Capt.  Samuel 
Tobey  of  S.  and  removed  to  Me. ;  8.  William,  Jan.  20,  1765,  who  m. 
1st  Elizabeth  Blake  and  2d  Marg't  Atwood,  and  was  a  hat  manufac- 
turer in  Boston;  9,  Thomas,  Sept.  29,  1768,  who  m.  Susan  Atwood, 
and  was  a  distiller  ia  Boston ;  and  10.  Caroline,  1770,  who  in.  J. 
Dwight  of  Stockbridge,  May  21,  1789,  and  had  Frs.  who  d.  in 
1812,  connected  with  the  navy,  and  Wm.  H.  who  was  wrecked  in  the 
Albion.  The  inscription  on  the  Rev.  Mr.  W.'s  monument,  in  the  old 
graveyard  in  S.,  says  that  two  of  his  sons  d.  in  Br.  prison  ships.  Rev. 
Mr.  W.  was  a  man  of  fine  business  talent,  and,  yielding  to  the  soUci- 
tiitions  of  his  parishioners  was  frequently  engaged  in  surveying  lands, 
writing  deeds,  drawing  wills,  Sec  He  was  an  accomplished  gentle- 
man, a  faithful  pastor,  and  a  bold  friend  of  the  American  cause  which, 
before  his  death,  was,  to  his  great  joy,  triumphant.  His  death  oc- 
curred Aug,  12,  1784,  at  the  ageof  57,  greatly  lamented  by  an  attached 
people  who  recognized  in  his  life  the  fragrant  example  of  a  patriotic, 
devoted.  Christian  guide,  Mrs.  W.  survived  her  husband,  residing 
chiefly  during  her  protracted  widowhood,  in  the  family  of  her  son-in- 
law  Rev.  Mr,  Fuller  in  Merrimack.     She  d.  Aug.  22,  1810, 

'  The  monumental  stone  at  the  grave  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Greek, 
bears  the  following  inscription ;  "  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Mr.  Joseph 
Green,  the  worthy  pastor  of  this  church.  As  a  gentleman,  a  friend,  a 
Christian,  and  minister,  his  character  was  greatly  distinguished.  His 
natural  abilities  were  conspicuous,  and  much  improved  by  study  and 
application.  In  human  and  sacred  literature,  he  greatly  excelled. 
His  principles  were  evangelical  and  candid.     In  prayer  and  preacli- 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARKSTABLE    COUNTY.  567 

was  succeeded  by  the  Kev.  Timothy  Hilliaso  in  lYVl, 
who  resigning  in  1783  was  succeeded  by  tlie  Rev.  John 
Mellbn  the  same  year.^  The  Rev.  Joseph  Green  Jr.  of 
Yarmouth  installed  1762,  died  1768,  and  Rev.  Timothy 
Alben  was  his  successor  1769.  Rev.  John  Dennis  of 
Harwich  settled  in  1756,  removed  1760,  succeeded  by 
Rev.  Jonathan  Mills  1766  who  died  1773,  was  followed 
by  Rev.  Nathan  Underwood  1792.  The  Rev.  Josiah 
Dennis  of  Dennis,  then  a  Yarmouth  precinct,  died  1763, 
and  Rev.  Nathan  Stone  became  his  successor  1764.  The 
Kev.  Isaiah  Dunster  of  Harwich  died  1783,  and  Rev. 
Joim  SiMPKiKS  was  his  successor.     The  Rev.  Caleb  Upham 

ing,  his  gifts  were  generally  and  justly  admired.  Temperance,  purity, 
prudence,  benevolence,  resignation,  devotion,  and  exemplary  diligence 
in  hia  Master's  service,  adoroed  his  character.  His  mind  was  sedate, 
his  temper  pla^ad,  his  affections  and  passiona  regulated  by  reason  and 
religion ;  his  manner  courteous,  generous,  and  hospitable ;  his  conver- 
sation entertaining,  instructive,  and  serious;  a  dutiful  son,  an  affec- 
tionate husband,  and  a  tender  parent;  a  sincere  friend  and  faithful 
minister;  greatly,  and  to  the  last,  beloved  and  honored  by  his  people. 
Born  at  Boston,  June  21,  0.  S.,  1704;  grad.  H.  C.  1720;  ordained 
May  12,  0.  S.,  1725;  departed  this  life,  in  assured  hope  of  a  better, 
Oct.  i,  N.  S.,  1770,  in  the  70th  year  of  his  age,  and  the  46th  of  his 
ministi'y. 


1  Rev.  Mr.  Hilliakd  was  b.  in  Kensington,  1746 ;  grad.  H.  C. 
1764.  In  17C)fi,  he  was  appointed  chaplain  of  Castle  William  nnd 
after  officiating  in  that  capacity  a  few  months  was  elected  a  tutor  in 
the  college  in  which  he  was  educated,  in  which  office  he  continued 
until  ordained  at  Barnstable,  Af\er  his  removal  from  Barnstable,  he 
was  soon  called  to  be  colleague  with  Rev.  Dr.  Appleton  at  Cambridge. 
He  d.  May  9,  1790,  s>.  43.  He  was  possessed  of  "  an  easy  and  pleas- 
ing eiocution  and  a  devotional  manner,  and  his  discourses  were  pure 
in  language  and  replete  with  judicious  sentiments,  weli-arranged,  in- 
Btructive,  and  truly  evangelical.  Several  of  his  discourses,  including 
a  Dudleian  lecture,  were  published." 


vGooglc 


000  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

of  Truro  died  1786,  and  his  successor  was  Eev.  Jcde 
Damon.  The  Rev.  Benj.  Webb  of  Eastham  who  died 
174:6,  was  succeeded  1751  by  the  Rev.  Edwasd  Cheever 
who  died  1794  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Philander 
Shaw  the  next  year.  The  Rev.  Elisha  Tupper,  minister 
of  the  Poeasset  precinct  in  Sandwich,  died  1787.''  The 
changes  by  death  are  many ;  but  it  may  be  remarked 
that  the  clergy  generally  lived  to  a  good  old  age.  All, 
to  the  present  time,  filled  a  much  larger  space  in  society 

^  Eev,  Elisha  Tufpeb,  b.  1707,  was  the  great  g.  s.  of  the  first 
missionary  of  the  name  of  Tupper.  It  has  hefore  been  intimated  that 
when  Rev.  Mr.  Smitli  was  early  called  to  the  church  in  S.,  "  Mr.  Rd. 
Bourne  and  Mr.  Thoa.  Tupper  who  had  for  some  tiaie  conducted  pub- 
lic services  on  the  Lord's  day,  directed  their  attention  to  the  business 
of  gospelizing  the  Indians," —  Mr.  B.  giving  himself  to  the  work  among 
the  South  SeaorMashpee  Indians;  and  Mr.  T.,  who  went  "generally 
by  the  name  of  Ca.pt.  T.,  being  a  military  man  as  well  as  evangelist, 
turning  his  attention  to  the  Indians  to  the  northward  and  westward  " 
of  the  central  settlement  of  S.  The  latter  "  founded  a  church  at,"  or 
near,  "Herring  river,  and  a  meeting-house  was  built  there  —  supplied 
with  a  succession  of  ministers  by  the  name  of  Tupper."  "The  fam- 
ily," says  one  of  the  last  century,  "furnished  Sandwich  and  other 
places  with  some  worthy  characters,  some  of  whom  were  men  of  abili- 
ties." The  Eev.  Elisha  T.  d.  K.  80,  in  1787.  At  the  time  of  his 
decease  he  was  officiating  at  Poeasset,  —  his  place  at  Herring  river 
having  been  for  several  years  supplied  by  Mr,  Ephraini  Ellis  of  whom 
mention  is  frequently  made  as  a  missionary  to  the  Indians,  —  and, 
saya  the  writer  before  quoted,  Rev.  Mr.  Hawley,  "Mr.  Tapper's 
corpse  was  brought  in  severe  winter  weather  and  buried  in  Sandwich 
central-village  among  the  graves  of  his  ancestors  in  the  old  burying- 
ground,"  as  it  is  called  —  not  the  oldest,  however ;  that  being  on  the 
hill  where  are  "the  saddle  and  pillion"  placed  over  the  gi-aves  of  the 
original  proprietor  of  S.,  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman  and  his  wife.  Capt. 
Prince  Topper  who  lived  near  the  spot,  and  died  many  years  ago  an 
aged  man,  said  that  "  within  his  remembrance  numerous  graves  were 
visible  there,"  though  now,  1859,  the  ploughshare  long  since  passing 
over  them  has  obliterated  all  traces  of  graves  save  the  saddle  and 
pillion  which  remain  untouched. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BAKN8TABLE   COUNTY.  569 

and  wielded  a  greater  influence  than  has  usually  been 
characteristic  of  the  clergy  in  later  times.  The  reasons 
are  obvious.  It  may  further  be  noted  that  hitherto, 
with  two  exceptions,  the  Congregationalists  and  the 
Friends  were  the  only  religious  denominations  in  the 
county.  The  two  Baptist  churches,  the  one  first  gath- 
ered in  Harwich  in  1756  by  the  labors  of  the  Rev. 
Elisha  Paine,  some  tune  resident  in  Connecticut,  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Rev.  Richard  Chase  ;  and  the  other,  that 
organized  in  Barnstable  1771  of  which  the  Rev.  Enoch 
Eldeidqe  was  the  first  minister,  constitute  the  only  ex- 
.  ceptions.  As  after  this  period  religious  denominations 
began  very  soon  to  multiply  by  secessions,  divisions, 
and  subdivisions  multiform,  we  may  not  note  these 
events  very  minutely  in  our  county  history,  for  they  will 
necessarily  appear  in  the  annals  of  the  towns.  The 
once  almost  paramount  influence  of  the  ministry  in 
civil  affeiirs,  began  visibly  to  abate  so  soon  as  its  former 
constituency  began  to  divide,  and  lessened  in  propor- 
tion to  the  increase  of  conflicting  views. 

In  1796,  Gen.  "Washington  signified  his  intention  of 
retiring  from  pubUc  life.  His  Farewell  Address,  calling 
on  his  countrymen  to  cherish  ever  an  immovable 
attachment  to  the  Union ;  recommending  implicit 
obedience  to  the  laws,  and  reprobating  all  attempts 
to  obstruct  them  and  all  combinations  or  associations 
formed  with  a  design  of  overawing  the  constituted 
authorities ;  enjoining  the  observance  of  good  faith 
towards  all  people,  and  honesty  in  all  pubfic  trusts,  re- 
garding religion  and  morality  as  pillars  of  human  hap- 
piness;—  was  an  act  suited  to  his  exalted  character, 
and  a  legacy  to  his  country  of  the  greatest  value. 

It  may,  at  the  present  day,  seem  strange  that  hith- 
VOL.  L  72 


vGooglc 


570  THE   HISTOEY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

erto  no  post-road  had  been  extended  to  ProYincetown. 
The  bounty  on  cod-fishing  vessels,  it  was  feared  ■would 
expire,  and  strenuous  efibrta  were  made  to  prevent  the 
one  and  secure  the  other.^ 

'  The  following  letter  will  corroborate  the  above,  and  will  serve 
to  show  how  nominations  were  made  —  not  in  caucus,  but  by  concert 
of  action  among  leading  and  influential  men,  at  that  day ;  the  intel- 
ligence of  the  community  taking  the  lead,  and  addressing  itself  to  the 
civil  authorities  of  each  town :  — 

. "  Barnstable,  Nov.  3, 1796. 

"To  the  Selectmen  of  Dennis. 

"  Gentlemen :  On  Monday  next  we  are  to  assemble  for  tbe  purpose 
of  choosing  a  Federal  representative  for  the  Southern  District.  It  is 
of  importance  to  this  county  to  elect  ooe  from  amongst  ourselves.  A 
post-road  is  proposed  to  be  established  to  the  end  of  the  Cape.  A 
bill  for  that  purpose  was  reported  last  session  and  passed  tbe  House 
of  Representatives.  It  rested  in  the  Senate  from  the  pressure  of  more 
urgent  business.  The  subject  will  be  resumed  the  next  session,  and 
will  require  the  particular  att«ntion  of  a  man  interested  in  the  encour- 
agement of  every  thing  tending  to  promote  the  convenience,  pros- 
perity and  happiness  of  his  native  county.  The  important  subject  of 
the  bounty  on  cod-fiabing  vessels  will  probably  demand  the  most  vigi- 
lant exertion  to  prevent  its  expiring. 

"In  this  part  of  the  county  we  are  united  in  favor  of  our  present 
representative,  Nathaniel  Freeman  Jr.  Esq.  "We  think  ho  has  de- 
served well  of  bis  constituents  and  merits  the  continuance  of  their 
confidence.  Let  us,  then,  by  our  united  exertions  in  favor  of  this  can- 
didate, and  by  oiling  the  importance  of  a  full  attendance  at  the  elec- 
tion, secure  to  ourselves  a  representative  acquainted  with  the  situation 
and  interest  of  this  county  and  who  has  patriotism  and  zeal  to  pursue 
the  best  interest  of  his  county  and  the  community  at  large. 

"We  are,  gentlemen,  with  respect  for  you  and  our  fellow-citiaena 
of  your  town, 

"Your  friends  and  humble  servants, 

"  Dakihl  Davis, 
"SOLOsiox  Fkeeman, 
"  David  Thachek, 

[1^  0bt:Lm.d  from  the  archives  u  J^i^^   ^AVIS, 


CJapt.  T.P.Howes 


"  Ebenezee  Bacoh, 


Howes Es^.]  "Joseph  Dimmick." 


vGooglc 


AHNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  571 

Col.  Abraham  Williams,  who  had  held  a  prominent 
position  as  a  public  man,  died  this  year/ 

In  1797,  on  the  4th  of  March,  Washington  witnessed 
tlie  ceremony  of  the  induction  to  office,  of  bis  successor, 
JouN  Adams. 

Increase  Somneb  was  elected  Governor  of  Massachu- 
setts.^    The  town  of  Oeleans,  set  off  from  Eastham,  was 

•  CoL  Williams,  b.  1754,  was  son  of  the  minister  of  S,  of  tho  same 
name.  He  m,  Abigail,  dr.  of  Hon.  Nathaniel  Freeman  of  S.,  Jan.  4, 
1786,  and  d.  Feb.  23,  1796,  leaving  issue  :  Anne  Buck  minster.  Dec. 
10,  1788,  who  m.  Wm.  Cottle  of  the  Vineyard,  and  settled  in  Delhi, 
0.;  Caroline,  April  n,  1788,  whom.  John  Cottle;  Martha,  Nov.  24, 
1789,  who  m.  Ellis  Nye  of  Fairfield,  Me.;  and  Abraham,  Dec.  27, 
1791.  The  widow  m.  2d  George  Ellis  of  Fairfield,  Me.,  March  15, 
1801,  and  d.  April,  1832. 

^  Samcel  Apams,  the  previous  governor,  yet  survived  —  himself 
among  the  most  distinguished  of  patriots.  Gov.  Adams  was  early  con- 
spicuous by  his  talents  as  a  political  writer.  From  the  vocation  of  a 
tax-gatherer,  he  ross  to  eminence.  In  1765  he  was  a  member  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  Massachusetts ;  was,  when  the  charter  was  dis- 
solved, chosen  member  of  the  Provincial  Convention ;  in  1774  elected 
to  the  General  Congress ;  and  in  every  station  rendered  invaluable 
service  to  hia  country  s  cause  Hii  laige  heart  glowing  with  patriot- 
ism his  eloquence  simple  majestic,  persuasive;  his  firmness  corre- 
sponded with  the  \igor  of  his  mind  In  1776  he  united  with  his 
compatriots  in  signi  ig  the  Declai  it  on  of  Independence.  When  the 
constitution  of  Mas sathu setts  was  adoptel  he  was  chosen  a  senator, 
and  was  preailent  of  the  Scnale  In  1789  he  was  lieutenant  gov- 
ernor remain  ng  in  ofiice  till  his  elevation  to  the  supreme  magistracy. 
His  integrity  was  proverbial,  is  his  Iovp  of  hherty  was  unconquerable  ; 
anl  though  poor  anl  somef  mes  struggling  against  adversity,  his  whole 
Wl  was  devoted  to  the  eaise  of  freedom  Revered  and  beloved  as 
a  1  eighbor  and  li  end  even  his  j.oliticil  opponents  lespected  him 
Whilst  hii  talent  and  mmy  virtues  commended  him  to  the  admin 
tun  of  ill  It  was  conceded  thit  he  was  a  tiic  Christian  the  punty  of 
whose  Ife  evei  witnessed  the  sincerity  of  hio  piofession.  He  died 
Oa.  2, 1803,  32.  82. 


vGooglc 


572  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

incorporated  March  3,  being  tlie  twelfth,  by  incorpora- 
tion, on  the  Cape.  An  act  was  passed  protecting  the 
eel  fisheriea  in  the  coves  and  salt-ponds  in  the  newly 
incorporated  town. 

In  1798,  the  difficulties  "with  France,  which  had  for 
some  time  existed,  still  continued.  During  this  state 
of  hostility,  the  sons  of  Cape  Cod  were  not  inactive. 
Letters  of  marque  were  in  the  command  of  some  of 
them,  doing  good  service;  and  among  these  command- 
ers, Capt.  Eowland  K.  Crocker  was  not  the  least  prom- 
inent,^    France  had  long  been  insolent  and  taunting. 

^  Capt.  Rowland  Robinson  Crocker,  whose  name  ami  pedigree 
appear  on  page  564,  ia  an  apt  representative  of  that  numerous  class 
of  Cape  Cod. men  who  with  intelligent  enterprise  and  marked  ability- 
have  foilowed  their  vocation  upon  the  seas,  and  then  retired,  respected 
and  beloved,  to  pass  the  balance  of  their  days  in  active  employment 
still,  holding  fast  to  their  integrity  through  an  honored  old  age.  "We 
are  happy  to  be  able,  through  the  highly  valued  aid  of  Mr.  B. 
Crocker  Bodfish  of  New  York  and  the  honorable  munificence  of  quon- 
dam friends  and  associates  of  Capt.  C  in  New  Bedford,  to  adorn  our 
pages  with  an  excellently  engraved  portrait  and  admirable  likeness 
of  him.  It  was  executed  by  Buttr6,  of  New  York,  and,  we  are  per- 
suaded, will  not  only  be  most  acceptable  to  many  of  our  readers,  but 
stands  in  our  history  as  a  memorial  of  the  friendship  and  high  esteem 
of  the  gentlemen  to  whom  we  have  referred,  for  the  venerable  man 
whose  memory  deserves,  and  must  here  receive,  some  further  passing 
notice.  We  cannot,  however,  indite  a  better  tribute  to  his  worth  than 
that  contained  in  an  article  published  in  the  New  Bedford  Mercury, 
Jan.,  1852,  immediately  after  his  decease;  and,  though  occupying 
more  space  than  we  can  well  afford,  we  adopt  it  almost  entire :  — 

"  It  is  not  our  purpose,  nor  is  it  in  our  power,  to  enter  into  any 
biographical  details  of  the  long  life  of  this  excellent  and  venerable 
man  who  has  just  been  gathered  to  his  fathei-s.  Such  inquiries  as  we 
have  made,  touching  his  prolonged  and  checkered  career,  have  in- 
deed disclosed  to  us  the  feet,  that  many  men,  more  distinguished,  and 
of  larger  importance  in  the  world's  afiairs,  have  hardly  furnished  more 


vGooglc 


«^^  /f.yj-^t/Ur 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


iMNALS   OF   BAEMSTAELE   COUNTY.  573 

Her  cniisers  had  committed  constant  depredations  on 
our  commerce,  capturing  and  condemning  whenever 
they  pleased  to  find  the  least  pretext  therefor.  It  had 
become  necessary  to  adopt  most  vigorous  measures  to 

materials  for  a  romantic  and  fascinating  narration.  During  the  eiglity 
years  of  his  pilgrimage,  he  saw  many  lands,  he  traversed  many  seas, 
he  suffered  many  changes,  he  underwent  many  vicissitudes,  and  he 
experienced  various  fortunes.  Around  his  life  gathered  the  poetry  of 
the  ocean;  and  among  those  who  went  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  there 
were  nooe  upon  whose  cliai-acter  the  ennobling  influences  of  that  voca- 
tion were  more  genial  or  more  decided.  The  men  of  such  experiences 
always  leave  behind  (iem  a  sfory  of  dangers  overcome,  of  moving  ia- 
cidents  by  flood  and  field,  of  hair-breadth  scapes, — 

'Of  being  taken  by  the  insolent  foo,'  — 

of  distressful  strokes  suffered  in  youth  —  tilings  indeed  which  old  and 
young  "seriously  incline"  to'hear;  but  it  is  almost  always  a  tale,  too, 
of  noble  self-sacrifice,  and  generous  self-denial,  and  prodigal  self-for- 
getfulness,  of  existence  perilled  to  preserve  the  existence  of  others,  of 
nnqneationed  fidelity  to  delegated  interests,  and  deep  conscientiousness 
in  the  discharge  of  duty.  Such  has  been  the  life  of  the  ripe  old  man 
which  has  just  terminated ;  and  if  it  were  written,  there  are  many  of 
more  pretensed  morality  which  would  teach  less,  as  there  are  re- 
nowned romances  the  wonders  of  which  would  fell  behind  its  un- 
doubted verities. 

"  He  came  early  in  life  to  New  Bedford,  where  he  was  apprenticed 
to  some  mechanical  trade,  which  however  he  soon  abandoned  for  the 
sea.  He  made  one  short  whaling  voyage,  and  afterwards  sailed  out 
of  Boston,  soon  rising  to  the  rank  of  commander.  During  the  brief 
hostilities  which  arose  between  this  country  and  the  French  govern- 
ment he  commanded  a  letter  of  marque,  and  was  captured  by  one  of 
the  enemy's  privateers  of  superior  force.  During  the  engagement  he 
received  a  musket  ball  which  passed  completely  through  hia  body, 
happily  avoiding  however  the  vital  regions.  Upon  this  mischance,  his 
first  officer  surrendered  the  ship  greatly  to  the  chagrin  of  Capt-  Crocker 
who  was  bent  upon  a  more  obstinate  resistance.  He  was  taken  a 
prisoner  to  France,  where  he  remained  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities. 
"  IBs  reminiscences  of  his  residence  in  that  country,  during  the 
most  extraordinary  period  of  its  history,  were  of  a  highly  interesting 


vGooglc 


574  THE  HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

repel  this  insolence ;  and  Gen.  Washington  had  again 
been  sought  in  his  retirement  and  appointed  lieutenant 
general  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  army.  But 
after  much  annoyance,  whilst  ample  preparations  were 

character.  He  had  ttiten  the  great  Hapoleon  by  the  hand ;  he  had 
femiliaily  known  Paiue  at  a  time  ivheo  hia  society  was  sought  for  and 
was  valuable.  Of  this  noted  individual,  we  may  in  passing  say,  with 
his  uniform  and  characterislJe  kindness  he  always  spoke  iu  terms 
which  sounded  strange  to  the  eai-s  of  a  generation  which  has  been 
taught  with  or  without  justice  to  regard  the  author  of  "The  Age  of 
Reason"  with  loathing  and  abhorrence.  He  remembered  Paine  as  a 
well-dressed  and  most  gentlemanly  man,  of  sound  and  orthodox  repub- 
lican pricciplea,  of  a  good  heart,  a  strong  intellect,  and  a  fascinating 
address. 

"  After  his  liberation  he  once  more  engaged  in  marine  pursuits.  In 
1807,  while  in  command  of  the  ship  Otis,  then  lying  in  the  Downs 
ready  for  sea,  and  with  a  cargo  on  board  valued  at  £100,000,  he  exhib- 
ited a  courage,  skill,  and  presence  of  mind  which  then  were  thought  to 
be  very  remarkable.  His  si  'p  Ir'  e  f  om  her  anchorage  drifted  on 
board  a  heavy  frigate,  carry  ng  a  vay  his  quarter,  and  crippling  the 
vesseL  His  pilot,  we  believe  his  n  ate  w  th  a  considerable  portion  of 
his  crew,  abandoned  the  ship  and  rge  I  1  m  to  do  the  same.  With- 
out a  pilot,  and  short-handed  as  he  was  he  got  under  weigh,  and  ran 
for  Dover  harbor,  in  the  midst  of  t  tre  en  lous  storm,  where  he  ar- 
rived in  safety,  although  he  had  been  quite  given  up  for  lost,  pre- 
serving an  immense  amount  of  property,  estimated,  as  we  have  said, 
at  £100,000,  together  with  a  valuable  ship. 

"  To  show  their  sense  of  the  courage  and  perseverance  thus  dis- 
played, the  underwriters  at  Lloyd's  Coffee  House  presented  to  him  a 
gratuity  of  £500,  with  an  elegant  silver  cup,  upon  which  was  an  ap- 
propriate inscvipljon,  together  with  the  motto,  'JForti  etjlddi  nil  drgi- 
cile'  We  have  seen  many  letters  of  congi-atulation  addressed  to  him 
upon  this  occasion,  all  breathing  a  spirit  of  the  warmest  friendship, 
and  admiration  of  his  character. 

"  Capt.  Crocker  afterwards  for  many  years  commanded  various 
packet  ships  between  New  York  and  London  and  Liverpool,  at  a  time 
when  these  floating  palaces  were  just  arriving  at  the  perfection  and 
elegance  which  they  have  since  attained.  We  need  not  say  that  in 
this  difficult  service  he  achieved  reputation  and  celebrity  in  the  mer- 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  575 

being  made  for  -war,  intimations  were  given  by  France 
of  a  disposition  to  pacific  negotiation,  and  a  commission 
to  this  end  was  appointed.  On  arrival  of  our  envoys 
at  Paris,  they  found  the  government  in  the  hands  of 

eantile  world,  and  the  esteem  and  friendship  of  thousands  who  crossed 
the  sea  under  his  protection.  His  urbane  and  gentlemanly  manners, 
his  interesting  and  varied  conversation,  his  care  for  the  comfort  of 
those  under  his  charge,  and  his  humanity  to  all  in  suffering  and  want 
were  as  proverbial  as  was  his  skill  as  a  mariner.  In  this  service,  it 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  he  was  constantly  receiving  the  most  vai'ied 
testimonials,  from  the  most  various  sources,  of  esteem  and  of  gratitude ; 
and  to  this  day  there  are  numbers  who  remember  him  as  the  pilot 
who  weathered  the  storm  which  sent  terror  to  their  hearts  ind  as  the 
bluff,  old-fashioned  gentleman  who  charmed  by  hia  good  nxtiued  con 
versation  the  monotony  of  sea-travel. 

"  There  is  one  class  of  incidents  in  the  life  of  the  'lubject  of  thi'i 
notice  worthy  of  special,  although  it  must  be  i  brief  m  t  o  i  Oree 
hundred  and  sixty-four  times  did  he  cross  the  bro^d  Atlaific  inl 
often  did  he  encounter  wrecked  and  shattered  ships  upon  whose  fa&t 
sinking  hulls  the  starved  and  exhausted  seamen  had  lam  do\  n  to  die, 
or  from  which  came  the  faint  cries  of  despaiimg  and  half  crazed 
women.  At  such  times  we  may  say  that  it  was  1  is  invimhle  lule  to 
run  every  risk  and  to  rescue  the  sufferers  at  every  hazard 

"  There  was  not  a  pai-ticle  of  selfishness  in  his  character  on  shore 
but  at  sea,  in  such  emergencies,  he  was  almost  unmindful  of  the  die 
tates  of  prudence.  In  a  record  of  such  rescues  now  before  u  written 
in  hia  own  hand,  grown  tremulous  by  age,  he  iiys  in  entering  in 
instance  of  more  than  ordinary  danger,  'How  little  a  man  knows 
himself  when  he  sees  a  fellow-being  in  danger  of  his  life  —  meaning 
unquestionably  that  then  the  sense  of  personal  dai  gtr  k  quite  lost  in 
the  overpowering  instincts  of  humanity.  There  is  aometliing  else  loo 
in  this  record  which  we  ought  to  notice.  If  mere  profession  and  arro- 
gant pretension  alone  make  a  man  religious,  then  Capt.  Crocker  had 
but  small  claim  to  that  character.  But  if  a  warm  and  generous 
humanity,  strong  only  in  its  aspirations,  but  meek  and  lowly  in.  the 
presence  of  his  God,  makes  a  man  a  Chiistian,  he  was  as  true  a  one 
as  any  church  in  the  universe  can  produce. 

"It  has  been  said  that  in  spite  of  outward  appearances,  no  class  of 
men  is  more  truly  reverential  than  that  which  studies  the  Creator  and 


vGooglc 


576  THE   HISTOET   OF   CAPE   COD. 

Bonaparte.  He  having  never  participated  in  the 
transactions  that  had  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  two 
countries,  negotiations  were  readily  commenced,  which 
eventuated  in  a  treaty  of  peace,  Sept.  30, 1800. 

the  Preserver  in  the  wonders  and  fortunes  of  the  great  deeji.  This 
modest  journal  before  ua  is  entitled, '  A  statement  of  cases  of  distress 
wherein  E.  E.  Crocker  was  the  instrument  of  a  kind  Providence  in 
saving  thirty-two  fellow-beings  from  a  watery  grave.'  Through  it 
runs  the  spirit  with  which  it  commences.  Thanks  for  success  are 
uniformly  given  where  they  are  due.  Not  a  favorable  wind  springs 
up,  nor  is  an  angry  billow  calmed,  at  the  instant  of  a  threatened  catas- 
tophe,  but  through  the  goodness  of  God. 

"The  kind,  generous,  large-hearted  old  sailor,  wto  'loved  his 
fellow-men'  —  will  he  not  find,  like  the  Arab  in  the  story,  that 
his  'name  leads  all  the  rest'  in  the  record  of  those  'who  love  the 
Lord'? 

"  In  April,  1833,  the  post  of  secretary  of  the  Bedford  Commercial 
Insurance  Company  in  this  city  becoming  vacant,  he  was  invited  to 
assume  its  duties,  which  invitation  he  accepted.  In  1834  he  was 
elei^ed  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  this  State  ;  but 
continued  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  secretary,  for  which  he  was  particu- 
larly well  fitted,  until  1845  when  an  assistant  secretary  was  elected. 
This  relieved  him  from  cares  and  responsibihties  which  his  increasing 
years  rendered  onerous.  He  was  afterwards,  upon  a  change  in  the 
management  of  the  company,  elected  vice  president,  almost  a  nominal 
office,  but  to  which,  by  the  consideration  of  the  stockholders,  a.  hand- 
some salary  was  attached.  lie  continued  to  frequent  the  office  of  the 
company,  and  was  there  as  usual  upon  the  Saturday  preceding  his 
death.  His  general  constitution  remained  unimpaired  fo  the  last. 
His  'age'  was  'as  a  lusty  winter,  frosty  but  kindly."  He  had  no 
disease  except  the  organic  one  of  which  he  died.  All  will  remember 
him,  not  in  the  adi  anced  stages  of  senility,  with  impaired  intellect,  and 
a  bowed  and  broken  frame,  but  erect,  hale,  and  hearty,  with  a  firm 
step,  and  almost  juvenile  activity. 

"  When  a  man  passes  through  a  prolonged  life  not  only  without 
making  an  enemy,  but  constantly  creating  about  himself  warm  and 
devoted  friends,  the  conclusion  that  he  was  a  good  man  is  necessaiy 
and  inevitable.  This  was  the  lot  of  Capt.  Crocker.  "We  never  knew 
a  man  more  universally  bebved.      He  attached  every  body  with 


vGooglc 


AMALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUSTY".  0(7 

Acts  were  passed  in  General  Court  to  prevent  "  dam- 
age to  meadows  and  beaclies  lying  in  and  adjoining  on 
the  nortJi-east  part  of  Dennis,  between  Quivet  harbor 
on  the  east,  and  Sessuit  harbor  on  the  west ; "  also  for 
"regulating  the  fishing  for  alewives  in  Falmouth;" 
and  "to  incorporate  the  Baptist  Religious  Society  in 
Harwich." 

In  1799,  Gov.  Sumner  died/  and  Lt.  Gov.  Moses  Gill 

whom  he  came  in  conlacf  —  his  contemporaries  in  age,  young  men 
aniJ  women,  and  little  children.  He  had  alwaya  a  kind  word  and  a 
smile  ready  for  all.  But  his  goodness  waa  not  limited  to  words  or 
smiles.  He  was  generous  fo  a  fault.  He  never  could  seriously  think 
a  dollar  he  had  his  own,  for  it  was  the  property,  if  you  might  judge 
hy  his  actions,  of  the  first  man  who  asked  him  for  it,  He  was  not 
rich  in  this  world's  goods,  but  he  might  have  heen  wealthy  with  a  tithe 
of  that  prudence  with  which  most  men  guard  their  pockets.  As  it 
was,  his  overflowing  generosity  often  led  him  into  difficulties  which 
pained  his  sensitive  nature,  for  he  had  the  pride  as  well  as  the  heart 
of  a  gentleman. 

"  All  that  is  passed  now,  '  Weary,  and  old  of  service,'  he  has  gone 
to  his  rest  and  to  his  reward.  His  ship  is  safely  moored  in  eternal 
harbors ;  the  vicissitudes  of  his  voyage  of  life  are  over  now.  Provi- 
dence was  good  to  him  to  the  last,  and  he  died  as  he  wished  to  die, 
suddenly,  and  without  prolonged  pain.  His  venerable  form  will  no 
more  appear  in  its  accustomed  and  familiar  place ;  his  cordial  voice 
will  no  more  offer  the  civilities  of  the  hour ;  he  has  told  his  last  story ; 
he  has  done  his  last  kind  act.  Yet  he  leaves  behind  him  a  memory 
green  and  fresh  as  were  his  declining  years  —  a  memory  that  iviU  be 
cherished  in  as  many  hearts  as  knew  his  own,  and  in  every  clime  that 
he  ever  visited." 

^  Gov.  Inceease  Sumner,  having  been  both  representative  and 
senator  in  the  General  Court,  was  placed  on  the  bench  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  ill  1782,  which  position  he  occupied  until  elected  to  the 
gubernatorial  office.  Ho  possessed  a  strong  and  well-balanced  mind, 
great  self-command,  candor,  and  moderation.  He  early  made  a  pro- 
fession of  his  faith  in  Christianity,  and  his  whole  life  was  correspond- 
ent with  that  profession.  He  died  June  7,  1799,  se.  52, 
VOL.  L  73 


vGooglc 


578  THE   IllSTOaY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

administered  the  government  of  the  State '  The  decease 
also  of  the  venerable  Daniel  Davis  occurred  April  22? 
And  before  the  close  of  the  year  the  country  was  called 
to  mourn  the  demise  of  the  great,  venerated,  and  be- 
loved —  the  Father  of  his  Countey,  who  expired,  Dec. 
14,  calmly  and  peaceably  at  his  residence  at  Mt.  Ver- 
non. The  spontaneous  tribute  of  respectful  and  affec- 
tionate regard  for  the  illustrious  deceased,  was  as  much 
to  be  expected  as  it  was  heart-felt  and  sincere.  The 
fruits  of  Washington's  labors  happily  survive,  as  also 
his  great  and  good  e 


'  Lt.  Gov.  Gill  was  "  an  ardent  patriot  and  friend  of  liberty,"  and 
his  talents  very  respectable. 

"  Of  Hon.  Damiel  Davis  we  have  apoken,  p.  468.  Descended 
from  Robert  Davis  who  at  the  age  of  SO,  with  Margaret  ae.  26,  em- 
barked at  S.  Hampton,  in  the  ship  Confidence,  John  Johnson,  master, 
April  24, 1638,  for  N.  Eng.,  and  was  a  freeman  in  Barnstable  be- 
fore 1640, — b.  probably  m  1608, — who  by  his  wife  Anne,  had  Deb- 
orah, Jan.  1645,  in  Barnstable;  Mary,  April  28,  1648,  who  proba- 
bly m.  Benj.  Goodspeed,  about  1667;  a  son  who  d.  1649;  Andrew, 
May,  1650  ;  John,  March  I,  1652  ;  Rob't,  Aug.  1654 ;  Josiab,  Sept. 
1656 ;  Hannah,  Sept.  1658  ;  Sarah,  Oct.  1660 ;  and,  we  conclude,  Jo- 
seph and  Mary  —  (for  the  will  of  Rob't,  June  29,  1693,  mentions  his 
wife  Anne,  sons  Joseph,  Josiah,  Andrew,  and  Rob't,  and  drs.  Deborah 
Greene,  Sarah,  Mercy,  Mary,  and  Hannah  Dexter,)  — perhaps,  also, 
"Tristam,  (s.  of  Rob't  of  Yarmouth,  as  says  Deane,  in  Scit.  1695" 
—  though  uncertain;)  his  father  was  Josepu,  who  m.  Hannah,  dr.  of 
James  and  g.  dr.  of  elder  Henry  Cobb,  March,  1695,  the  issue  being 
Rob't,  March  7,1696  7;  Joseph,  March  23,  1698-9;  James,  July 
30,  1700  ;  Gershom,  Sept.  5,  1702  ;  Hannah,  March  5,  1705,  who  m. 
Dimoc!  Mary,  June  4,  1707,  who  m.  Davis;  Lydia,  Feb.  12,  1701); 
and  Daniel,  Sept.  28, 1713,  who  d.  April  22, 1799,  se.  86 : 6 :  13. 

^  In  a  charge  to  the  grand  jury,  at  the  Court  of  General  Sessions 
of  the  Peace,  March  tenn,  1803,  (an  extract  fi-om  wliich  at  the  re- 
quest of  distinguished  men  was  published  by  the  grand  jury,  in  con- 
nection with  the  entire  charge  ^ven  in  1802  —  "solicited"  by  the 
jurors,  andat  the  request  of  the  "justices  of  the  court,  gentlemen  of  the 
bar,  and  others,")  Hon.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  "presiding  justice  in  the 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  579 

Caleb  Strong  was  governor  of  tlie  Commonwealth 
for  the  year  1800.  The  22d  of  February  was  generally 
observed  as  recommended  by  the  public  authorities,  in 
remembrance  of  the  illustrious  Washington,  —  the  anni- 
versary of  his  UHk. 

said  conrt,  and  first  justiLP  of  fliP  Common  Plei.     noticed  the  event 
of  the  death  of  &en  Waahington   and  other  contf'mpoianeous  aifl.  c 
five  diapensations    in  the  lollowing  terms  —    bmce  the  last  term 
in  which  the  yearly  grind  jury  weie  impanelled  we  haie  b  t  oui 
much  esteemed  and  venerable  hrst  mag  btiate  of  thia  court  the  Hon 
Judge  Davis      This  mournful  event  ateouates  with  it  the  le  ollee 
tion  of  other       The  deith  oi  our  eicellent  first  migislrate  of  tiiie 
Commonwealth  inflicted    i  wo  n  1  in  tho  bo  om  of  its  ulizens  too 
grievous  to  be  yet  forgotten      But  ti  it  ot  our  beluved  aad  lUustnoua 
Washington  has  exi,ited  =u  h  u    leiail  sympathy  la  gnet    is  per 
liaps  no  nation  e^er  expnienced    a  d  it  is  impo  «ible  lo  proteed  in 
the  business  of  courts  founded  on  the  basis  of  that  freedon  inl  mde 
pendence  which  his  lite  tfteeted    without  bewailing  his  death  I     I 
therefore  solicit  the  mdulgence  of  this  honorable  court   if  jou  gentle 
men  of  the  jury  of  the  gentlemen  of  tho  bai   anl  of  the  mhtbitaota 
of  thia  county  present  nhil  1 1  most  heartily  coidole  with  yiu  ill  on 
tbe  loss  our  nation  hi.    sustai  led  in  the  death  oi  tli  s  illu  tiioua  mtn 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  eulogize  his  eh<irit,ter    foi  the  hntorj  of  his 
life,  so  fraught  with  virtuous  action  aid  heroic  derds — his  letters, 
speeches,  and  addresses,  so  leplete  with  sound  pobcy  phihnthropy 
and  piety, — his  administration  as  Pre  idei  t  of  these  Uti  ted  States, 
60  strongly  marked  with  the  love  of  justiLL  peice  ind  good  govern 
ment, — related  in  the  plim  language  of  truth   would  be  his  best 
eulogium.    "We  all  know    gentlemen  that  the  highe'^t  honors  hive 
been  justly  pa  d  h  m  by  his  fellow  citizen'*    and  that  he  has  moie  than 
repaid  our  confidence  by  the  lustre  which  his  unrivalled  glory  and  re- 
splendent virtues  have  reflected  back  on  his  country.     It  may  not  be 
amiss,  however,  that  we  realize  what  strong  obligations  are  by  this 
great  example  imposed  on  us  and  on  all  public  servants,  to  imitate  his 
virtues,  his  patriotiam,  and  his  piety.    In  arms,  his  brilliant  successes, 
— in  counsel,  his  consummate  wisdom  and  policy,  —  in  the  govern- 
ment of  his  country,  its  happiness,  peace,  and  increasing  prosperity, 
he  piously  ascribed  to  Divine  Providence  —  to  the  beneficence  of  his 
and  our  God ;  and  in  the  close  of  his  administration  most  ardently 


vGooglc 


580  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

A  treaty  of  peace  with  France  having  been  con- 
cluded, the  provisional  army  vras  soon  disbanded.  The 
war,  though  short,  had  given  rise  to  fiome  encounters 
at  sea,  encouraging  hopes  of  the  future  achievements  of 
our  navy. 

This  year,  in  Nov.,  Congress,  for  the  first  time,  opened 
its  session  at  Washington  City.  Party  asperities  were 
now  at  their  greatest  height.  The  repubHcans  pre- 
vailed, after  a  severe  contest,  and  Thomas  Jefferson  was 
elected  to  succeed  Mr.  Adams  at  the  close  of  his  pres- 
ent term.  Notwithstanding  some  of  the  prominent 
measures  of  Mr.  Adams'  administration  were  much  con- 
recommended  lis,  with  persevering  faith  and  confidence,  to  the  same 
Almighty  Guardianship  for  future  protection.  "Whilst  wc  tliei-efore 
celebrate  ihe  virtues  of  the  hero  and  the  sage,  and  lament  his  deparU 
ure,  we  should  copy  his  piety,  hy  gratefully  acknowledging  the  higher 
prtuses  due  to  the  Being  who  raised  up,  qualified,  and  so  long  pre- 
served for  us  so  shining,  and,  as  I  hope,  efiicacioua  an  example ;  and 
that  notwithstanding  He  has  recalled  to  Himself  our  "Washington, 
He  has  left  us  an  Adams." 

The  request  for  the  puhlication  was  signed,  among  others,  by  the 
following  prominent  men  present,  "  being  desirous  that  the  ehavge  of 
His  Honor,  Justice  Freeman,  should  appear  in  print,  esteeming  it  an 
excellent  depository  of  sound  moral,  religious,  and  political  princi- 
ples, —  viz. :  by  "  Allen  Holmes  Esq.,  Eben'r  Bacon  Esq.,  Hon.  John 
Davis,  Hon.  John  Dillingham,  Joseph  Dimmick,  Sheriff,  Wendell  Da- 
vis Esq.,  Capt.  Benj.  Bangs,  Eben'r  Broadbrooks  Esq.,  Capt.  Isaac 
Clark,  Eben'r  Crocker  Esq.,  Capt.  Joseph  Crocker,  Joseph  Doane, 
Esq.,  Timo.  Doane,  Elisha  Mayo  Esq.,  David  Nye  Esq.,  David  Scud- 
der  Esq.,  James  Sproat  Esq.,  Richard  Sears  Esq.,  Capt.  Anthony 
Gray,  Bhubael  Hatch,  Thos.  Jones  Esq.,  Sylvanus  Nye  Esq.,  Major 
Joseph  Parker,  Capt.  Samuel  Parker,  Josiah  Sparrow,  Ll  Samuel 
Shiverick,  Col.  Thos.  Thacher,  Hon.  Joshua  Thomas,  Kilborn  Whit- 
man Esq.,  Benj,  Whitman  Esq.,  Sylvanus  Gorham,  Foreman  of  the 
Grand  Jury,  Kev.  Gideon  Hawley,  and  Rev.  Oakes  Shaw."  —  The 
charge  itself  we  omit  as  not  pertinent  to  our  brief  history  of  proceed- 
ings, giving  the  extmst  only  from  the  charge  of  1800. 


vGooglc 


AUNALS   OF   EAENSTABLE   COUNTT.  581 

demned,  and  the  conflicting  interests  and  passions  of 
party  strife  caused  not  a  little  commotion  in  the  coun- 
try and  were  the  occasion  of  some  perplexity  to  the 
government,  commerce,  agricnlturGj  and  the  arts,  flour- 
ished, beyond  all  former  example,  throughout  his  ad- 
ministration. 

The  present  national  election  was  the  first  in  which 
political  parties  were  ftiirly  pitted  against  each  other ; 
and,  as  such,  is  full  of  interest,  illustrating  more  in- 
structively than  could  the  most  able  political  treatise, 
the  democratic  condition  of  society ;  and  showing  the 
agencies  by  which  a  political  revolution,  {for  such,  in 
any  part  of  continental  Europe  it  would  have  been 
regarded,)  may  be  effected. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  the  election  of  President 
had  come  before  Congress  since  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution.  The  fact  that  the  contest  brought  matr 
ters  to  a  crisis,  testing  the  strength  of  the  Constitntion 
by  putting  the  greatest  possible  strain  on  our  whole 
political  machinery,  clothes  this  election  with  a  species 
of  interest  that  attaches  to  no  other  in  our  political 
history.  There  was  ample  time  for  intrigue,  if  there 
were  such  a  disposition  indulged  ;  for  it  was  only  on  the 
17th  of  Feb.,  after  thirty-six  ballots,  that  the  question 
was  settled.  This  election,  it  may  also  be  remarked, 
had  still  other  sources  of  interest :  from  that  time  and 
event,  as  from  a  fountain,  flowed  for  a  long  period  the 
great  political  streams  known  by  their  distinctive  ap- 
pellations. 

The    census  completed,   showed    5,319,762    inhabi- 
tant in  the  United  States;  exports,  $94,000,000;  rev- 
enue,  $12,945,000.     The  censiis  of  this  county,   was 
19,293. 
Rev.  John  Mellen  retired  from  the  charge  of  the 


vGooglc 


OOa  THE   mSTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

cliurcli  at  Barnstable  this  year;^  and  was  succeeded  by 
Eev.  Jotham  Waterman  the  year  following. 

In  1801,  Mr.  Jefferson,  on  coming  into  power,  having 
removed  from  office  many  who  had  held  responsible 
and  lucrative  places,  on  the  ground  that  they  were  too 
exclusively  of  the  party  that  had  opposed  his  election, 
and  that  occasional  changes  were  salutary,  great  oppo- 
sition to  his  policy  was  exhibited.  It  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  those  dismissed  from  office  were  generally 
among  the  most  violent  of  his  opponents  ;  and  it  may 
be  remarked  that  it  was  chiefly  in  the  treasury  depart- 
ment that  this  instrument  of  reform  was  applied.  That 
the  influence  of  the  treasury  is  pregnant  most  with 
danger  to  the  purity  and  integrity  of  free  institutions, 
all  will  now  concede.  Mr,  Jefferson  aimed  also  to  reduce 
the  number  of  offices  under  executive  patronage,  and 
to  introduce  the  strictest  economy.^ 

^  Rev.  Mr.  Mellen  was  son  of  the  Eev.  John  Mellen,  minister  at 
Sterling,  where  he  was  b.  July  8.  1752 ;  grad.  H.  C.  1770,  and  was 
some  time  a  tutor  in  college.  In  his  ministry  he  was  reapeoted.  he- 
loved,- and  successful.  Afier  leaving  Barnstable  he  resided  in  Cam- 
bridge, where  he  d.  Sept,  19,  1828,  Ee,  76,  Several  of  his  discourses 
were  published,  and,  among  them,  a  Dudleian  lecture,  1799,  and  an 
Election  Sermon,  1797.  He  was  brother  of  Chief  Justice  Mellen  of 
Me.,  and  one  of  his  drs.  m.  Professor  Frisbie  of  H.  C, 

'  We  deem  it  pertinent  to  the  task  we  have  in  hand,  to  record  here 
an  extract  from  the  charge  of  Justice  Freeman,  in  1801,  March 
term,  (published  in  connection  with  the  charge  of  1802,  to  which  we 
have  heretofore  alluded,)  adverting  to  the  present  posture  of  political 
affmrs  :  "In  an  enlightened  age  of  the  world,  with  the  most  perfect 
freedom  and  cool  deliberation,  we  chose  and  framed  our  [State]  Con- 
stitution :  (not  to  he  revolutionized  again  and  again  at  the  caprice  of 
every  aspiring  demagogue ;  but,  favored  by  the  wisdom  and  experi- 
ence of  all  ages  and  countries,  invoking  the  wisdom  of  Him  who  is  its 
fountain,  with  the  true  love  of  government  and  sodal  order,  we  estah- 


yGoogle 


AKNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


583 


An  act  passed  tlie  General  Court  to  regulate  the  fish- 
ing for  alewives  in  the  brook  running  out  of  Wakepee 
Pond,  through  the  Indian  plantation  of  Mashpee,  into 
the  sea  ;  also  to  prevent  damage  to  the  harbor  of  Well- 
fleet. —  The  Hon.  David  Thacher  of  Yarmouth  died 
Nov.  9,  aged  72. 

In  1802,  negotiations  were  set  on  foot  which  finally 
eventuated  in  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  territory.    The 

lishedit;)  the  basis  of  oar  lawa,  as  on  a  rock  which  we  hope  will 
never  be  removed.  And  such  also  is  no  less  true  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  SlatPs.  Twelve  years'  experience  of  its  goT- 
ernment,  atteiiJed  with  unexampled  success  and  prosperity  notwith- 
standing the  depredations  on  our  commerce,  the  troubles  and  jeal- 
ousies excited,  and  artful  attempts  to  divide  and  corrupt  us  made 
by  European  belligerent  powers,  fully  evince  both  the  excellency  of 
that  Constitution,  and  the  wisdom,  integrity,  fortitude,  and  prudence 
of  the  two  illastrioas  characters  who  hitherto  have  administered  it. 
Great  applause,  now  at  the  close  of  their  labors,  is  certainly  a  tiibute 
of  gratitude  and  justice  due  to  them  from  every  court  in  the  United 
States  and  every  citizen  in  the  Union,  for  their  virtue  n  p 

ously  displayed  that  it  must  lie  acknowledged  the  Give  f  11  In 
afforded  his  aid.  From  the  great  abilities  and  literatu  f  th  p 
ent ;  his  excellent  conciliatory  inaugural  address  exhib  t  n  b  aut 
ful  epitome  of  his  political,  which  in  fact  is  the  true  fed  al  1  to- 
gether with  a  recognition  of  the  Great  Ruler  over  all ;  I  hope  we  shall 
never  cease  to  be  blessed  in  the  first  magistrate  of  United  Colum- 
bia. Although,  by  the  will  of  the  majority,  to  which  we  must  ever 
submit,  we  have  with  reluctance,  for  the  present,  released  from  that 
high  station  his  compatriot,  the  pride  and  glory  of  New  England, — 
the  long-tried,  successful  friend  of  America,  whose  excellence  it  was 
not  possible  to  think  could  be  outvied ;  yet  we  may  console  ourselves 
with  the  thought  that  in  all  well-regulated  republics, — founded  on  the 
basis  of  equal  liberty,  controlling  nothing  but  licentious  passions,  en- 
couraging every  virtuous  and  laudable  pursuit  of  genius  and  improve- 
ment,—  the  Great  Supreme  delighting  to  protect,  —  great  and  ex- 
cellent chai-acters  are  congenial,  and  not  confined  to  one  person,  family, 
or  State  only." 


vGooglc 


084  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

sum  paid  was  |15,000,000.  The  territory  purchased 
embraced  all  that  vast  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
nearly  doubling  the  extent  of  the  Republic. 

An  act  in  addition  to  "  An  act  to  prevent  damage  be- 
ing done  to  the  meadows  lying  in  the  township  of  Yar- 
mouth," since  the  first  act  incorporated  by  the  name  of 
Dennis,  "  called  the  Nobscusset  meadows  with  a  small 
commonage  of  lands  thereto  adjoining ; "  also  an  act 
regulating  the  hunting  of  deer  —  prohibiting  the  kill- 
ing of  them  between  Jan.  1  and  Aug.  1,  under  a  pen- 
alty of  $10;  and  making  it  illegal  to  hunt  them  at  any 
time  with  dogs  or  hounds,  were  i 


In  1803,  Feb.  19,  the  North  Parish  of  Harwich  which 
had,  since  1747,  remained  a  precinct  distinct  from  the 
Soiith  Precinct,  became  incorporated  as  a  town  by  the 
name  of  Brewstbk.^ 

The  Indian  plantation  at  Herring  Pond,  bordering 
upon  Sandwich,  was  reported  as  consisting  of  2683 
acres,  valued  at  $14,140.  The  number  of  Indians  was 
64,  viz.:  adults,  14  males,  and  35  females;  children 
under  age,  15,  —  An  act  was  again  passed,  to  regulate 
the  fishery  in  the  brook  running  out  of  Wakepee 
Pond  into  the  sea,  in  the  Indian  plantation  of  Mashpee. 

In  1804,  Mr.  Jefferson's  first  of&cial  term,  during  which 
the  state  of  the  country  had  continued,  as  at  his  first 
election  he  found  it,  highly  prosperous,  being  about  to 
expire,  he  was  reelected  by  an  abnost  unanimous  vote.^ 

'  The  act  for  the  division  of  the  town  of  Harwich  and  the  incorpo- 
ration of  Brewster  was  accompanied  by  very  singular  provision?,  as 
will  appear  in  future  pages. 

*  At  the  previous  election,  Mr.  Adams  had  received  65  of  the  elec- 
toral vot«s. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  585 

The  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France,  which 
had  involved  nearly  all  the  nations  of  Europe,  had 
hitherto  secured  to  the  United  States,  maintaining  a 
strict  neutrality,  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  commerce 
with  the  belligerents,  from  which  the  people  of  the 
Cape,  in  common  with  other  parts  of  the  country,  de- 
rived great  advantage :  but  ttiis  state  of  things  was 
now  threatened  with  interruption.  The  distressed  and 
wretched  condition  of  Europe  was  not  only  embarrass- 
ing to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  involving 
a  labyrinth  of  difficulties,  but  began  greatly  to  distract 
commerce. 

Sandwich  Academy  was  incorporated,  Feb.  21,  and  a 
grant  was  made  of  a  half-township  of  six  miles  square 
of  unappropriated  Province  lands.^ 

In  1805,  the  animosities  of  parties  were  inflamed  to 
a  sad  degree.  The  depredations  by  France  and  Eng- 
land on  American  commerce  occasioned  great  irrita- 
tion. Against  England  especially,  complaints  were  loud 
and  clamorous.  The  coaste  were  infested  by  foreign 
privateers  and  public  vessels  that  pried  into  every 
harbor  and  creek.  The  belligerents  seemed  to  have 
adopted  entirely  new  and  extraordinary  principles  of 
commerce,  taking  to  themselves  the  right  of  trading 
where  neutrals  were  denied.  The  British  Admiralty 
had,  in  effect,  imposed  prohibitory  laws  on  American 
commerce,  declaring  ves.sels  engaged  in  conveying 
West  India  produce  from  the  United  States  to  Europe, 
legal  prizes.  In  addition  to  this,  a  controversy  existed 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  in  regard 
to  the  right  of  searching  neutral  ships  and  impressing 
seamen. 

'  See  Annals  of  Sandwich, 
VOL.  I.  74 


vGooglc 


586  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  May,  1806,  the  British  government  having  de- 
clared ail  the  ports  and  rivers  from  the  Elbe  in  Ger- 
many to  Brest  in  France  in  a  state  of  blockade ;  and, 
by  this  order,  American  vessels  trading  with  the  inter- 
dicted ports,  being  liable  to  seizure  and  condemnation ; 
and,  in  Nov.  following,  the  Emperor  of  France  having 
issued  his  Berlin  decree  declaring  the  British  Islands 
blockaded,  and  prohibiting  all  intercourse  with  them, 
—  which  decree  violated  the  treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  France,  as  well  as  the  law  of  nations ;  great 
dissatisfaction  was  felt  throughout  the  country,  but 
especially  in  maritime  places. 

An  act  was  this  year  passed  incorporating  Jason 
Ayres  and  others  as  "  the  Truro-Pond  Harbor  Associa- 
tion, for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  passage  from  the  sea 
into  a  certain  pond  or  quagmire  lying  on  the  west  side 
of  said  town,  neai  the  sea,  and  for  clearing  out  said 
pond  so  as  to  form  a  convenient  harbor."  It  is  almost 
painful  to  contemplate  the  numerous  and  so  often  un- 
successful attempts  of  the  enterprise  of  the  people 
to  secure  improvements  tending  to  the  furtherance 
of  their  industrious  pursuits.  —  The  right  was  also 
conceded  to  the  United  States,  of  land  for  lights  near 
the  entrance  of  Chatham  harbor, —  twelve  acres  with 
jurisdiction.  —  Col  Thomas  Thacher  of  Yarmouth  died 
this  year,  Feb.  24. 

Gov.  Strong,  who  had  presided  over  the  Common- 
wealth several  yeai's,  was,  in  June,  1807,  superseded  by 
James  Sullivan. 

The  commerce  of  the  country  was  still  embarrassed 
by  European  difficulties.  The  decree  of  Bonaparte,  at 
Berlin,  was  retaliated  by  an  order  issued  Jan.  7,  by 
which  all  coasting  trade  with  France  was  prohibited. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    CODNTY.  587 

Difficulties  between  this  country  and  England  increased, 
and  wore  a  threatening  aspect. 

In  November,  the  British  orders  in  council  were 
issued  by  which  all  neutral  vessels  trading  with  France 
were  compelled  to  stop  at  a  British  port  and  pay  duty ; 
andj  in  consequence  of  this  measure,  the  Milan  decree 
followed  in  December,  by  which  every  vessel  which 
should  suhnut  to  British  search,  or  should  consent  to 
pay  any  pecuniary  exactions  whatever,  was  declared  to 
be  denationalized,  and  subject  to  confiscation.  The 
same  month.  Congress  laid  an  embargo  on  aU  the  ship- 
ping in  the  United  States. 

This  last  measure,  although  suggested  by  the  fact 
that  otherwise  American  ships  would  be  constantly 
exposed  to  capture,  operated  to  the  very  great  detri- 
ment of  American  commerce,  and  caused  much  distress 
and  great  dissatisfaction  every  where ;  but  the  effect  of 
the  embargo  was  especially  disastrous  to  the  Cape. 
The  fisheries  were  abandoned,  vessels  thrown  out  of 
employ  were  dismantled,  and  gloomy  forebodings  pre- 
vailed. 

Again,  legal  enactments  were  solicited  to  regulate 
more  strictly  the  hunting  of  deer  in  the  county  —  so 
watchful  for  the  preservation  of  this  beautiful  tenant 
of  our  forests  were  the  people. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Shaw,  long  identified  with  the  pastorate 
of  the  West  Church  in  Barnstable,  was  this  year  re- 
moved by  death,  greatly  honored  and  lamented  ;  and 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Enoch  Pratt.^    The  Rev.  Jon- 

'  Kev.  Oakes  Shaw  was  son  of  Rev.  John,  who  grad.  H.  C. 
1729,  ord.  in  S.  Bridgewater  1781,  who  was  sou  of  Mr.  Joseph, 
settled  in  E.  Bridgewater  1698,  who  was  son  of  Mr.  Abraham,  of 
Dedham,  1637,  The  tomb-stone  of  Rev.  Mr.  S.  bears  the  following 
inscription:  "Rev.  Oakes  Shaw,  b.  at  Bridgewater  1736,  grad.  H,  C. 
1758,  ordained  in  this  place  1760,  died  Feb.  11,  1807.     Benevolence, 


vGooglc 


588  THE  HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

athan  Bascom  of  Orleans  also  died  this  year,  and  the 
Kev.  Gideon  Hawley  of  Mashpee. 

In  1808,  the  Cape  towns  presented  a  saddening 
aspect.  Navigation  was  virtually  suspended;  in  our 
harbors  were  dismantled  vessels  ;  on  every  hand  were 
seamen  deprived  of  employment,  their  means  of  sup- 
porting their  families  in  a  great  measure  cut  off.  In 
this  state  of  things,  it  would  have  been  strange  were 
there  not  much  discontent.  Petitions  from  all  parts  of 
the  county,  deprecating  the  embargo,  setting  forth  its 
disastrous  effects,  and  asking  relief  wholly  or  in  part, 
were  forwarded  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Jefferson,  however,  continued  to  justify  the  em- 
bargo. To  submit  our  commerce  to  prohibitions  and 
exactions  from  a  foreign  power,  he  conceived,  would  be 
to  surrender  our  independence  ;  to  resist  by  arms,  was 
war  without  due  regard  to  our  circumstances  or  the 
voice  of  the  people ;  and,  the  only  alternative  pre- 
sented had  been  that  preferred  by  Congress,  of  sus- 
pending a  commerce  surrounded  by  such  unexampled 
difficulties.  The  course,  he  thought,  secured  to  our 
citizens  their  property ;  to  our  country,  its  mariners ; 
and  gave  time  to  the  belligerent  nations  to  revise  their 
course  —  which,  he  considered,  was  as  much  oppo.sed 
to  their  own  true  interests  as  to  our  rights.  Although 
he  had  the  power,  in  certain  contingencies,  to  suspend 

affection  and  sincerity  characterized  and  endeared  him  in  all  the  rela- 
tione of  social  life.  With  unaffected  piety  and  zeal,  with  unshaken 
constancy  and  fidelity,  he  discharged  the  various  duties  of  the  pas- 
toral office.  To  perpetuate  the  rememhrance  of  his  virtues  and  tal- 
ents, to  prolong  the  influence  of  his  character,  and  to  testify  their 
respect  for  his  memory,  this  monument  is  gratefully  erected  by  a 
bereaved  and  affectionate  people."  Mr.  Shaw  was  father  of  the  pres- 
ent Chf.  Just,  of  the  S.  J.  C.  of  MassadiusettH. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  689 

the  eiribargo,  he  felt  that  no  changes  had  occurred  to 

warrant  the  act,  or  change  the  policy  of  government. 

The  whole  question,  therefore,  he  felt  constrained  tc 

leave  to  the  decision  of  Congress. 

In  some  of  the  towns,  petitions  were  sent  to  the 
State  Legislature,  imploring  that  body  to  devise  and 
pursue  some  measures  —  such  as  their  best  judgment 
might  dictate  —  for  the  relief  of  the  maritime  interests 

*of  the  country. — An  act  in  addition,  for  the  better  reg- 
ulating of  the  Mashpee  plantation,  provided,  this  year, 
for  the  establishment  of  a  Board  of  Overseers. 

James  Madison  was  now  elected  President  of  the 
United  States  from  the  4th  of  March  next,  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson having  declined  a  reelection.  Gov.  Sullivan, 
whose  health  became  enfeebled  soon  after  his  second 
election  to  the  gubernatorial  office,  died  Dec.  10,^  and 
Lt.  Gov.  Levi  Lincoln  became  Governor  ex  officio  for  the 
time  being. 

In  1809,  Cheistophee  Gore  was  elected  Governor  of 

'  Gov.  James  Sullivan,  who  was  eminent  as  a  lawyer,  and  was 
King's  Att'y  on  the  approach  of  the  Am.  revolution,  took  an  early 
and  active  part  on  the  side  of  his  country.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Prov,  Cong,  in  1775 ;  and  subsequently  a  judge  of  the  Sup.  Court. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  convention  of  1779  and  1780  for  fram- 
ing the  Stat«  Constitution ;  and  in  1783  was  a  delegate  to  Congress. 
'Besides  filling  various  other  important  offices,  he  was  from  1790  to 
1807,  attorney  general.  Without  the  advantages  of  collegiaf«  educa- 
tion, he  was  both  the  friend  of  literature,  and  a  literary  man ;  and  the 
many  high  positions  he  occupied  are  proof  of  his  talents,  his  industry, 
his  learning,  and  the  confidence  that  was  reposed  in  his  integrity.  In 
all  his  relations  he  was  exemplary  and  honored.  As  chief  magistrate, 
he  regarded  himself  as  not  the  delegated  officer  of  a  party,  hut  of  the 
whole  people,  and  his  effort  was  ever  to  mitigate  the  violence  of 
parties.  Early  a  professor  of  the  Christian  religion,  he  adorned  that 
profession  to  the  last,  and  d.  Dec.  10,  1808,  k.  64. 


vGooglc 


690  THE   mSTORY   OS   CAPE   COD. 

Massachusetts,  the  course  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  reprehend- 
ing resistance  to  the  embargo  laws,  having  rendered 
him  unpopular  in  the  State,  and  working  his  defeat  as 
a  candidate  for  the  office.^ 

Delegates  assembled  from  the  several  towns  in  the 
county,  to  concert  measures  to  secure  for  the  county  a 
port  of  entry.  Petitions  to  this  end  were  forwarded  to 
Congress.^  An  act  was  passed,  Feb.  23,  to  incorporate 
Gorliam  Lovell  and  others,  under  the  name  of  "  The 
First  Baptist  Society  in  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth ; " 
also,  March  1,  to  incorporate  Anthony  Baker  and  oth- 
ers as  "The  First  Methodist  Society  in  Harwich."  — 
A  deed  of  four  hundred  acres  given  by  the  Mashpees 
for  a  parsonage,  was  confirmed  by  legislative  action, 
June  19.  —  At  the  same  General  Court,  the  act  of 
1791,  entitled,  "An  act  to  prevent  damage  being  done 
on  the  meadows  and  beaches  lying  in  and  adjoining  on 
the  north  side  of  the  town  of  Harwich,  between  Skakot- 
harbor  cm  the  east  and  Quivet-harbor  on  the  west ; " 
also,  "  An  act  in  addition,"  of  the  same  year,  made 
perpetual  by  the  act  of  1797,  were  repealed.  Re- 
newed again  in  1811.  Eichard  Collins  and  others  were 
incorporated  by  the  name  of  "  The  Massachusetts  Salt 
Work  Company." 

The  enforcement  of  the  embargo  gave  way,  a  few 
days  before  Mr.  Jefferson's  retirement,  to  an  act  of 
Congress,  called  the  Non-intercourse  Act,  interdicting 

'  Gov.  LmooLU,  who  was  Att'y  Gen.  of  the  U.  S.  in  1801  to 
1805  ;  Lt.  Gov,  of  Mass.  for  1807  to  9,  and  became  acting  Gov.  on 
the  decease  of  Gov.  Sullivan,  was  a  zealous  and  able  advocate  of 
republica,n  or  democratic  principles.  He  d.  Ap.  14,  1820,  se.  71,  and 
was  followed  to  the  grave  by  two  sons,  since  governors :  Levi,  Gov.  of 
Mass.,  and  Enoch,  Gov.  of  Maine. 

"  See  Appendix  A. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   EARNSTAELE   COUNTY.  591 

all  trade  and  intercourse  with.  Great  Britain  and  France. 
It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  the  non-intercourse 
restrictions  were  a  greater  injury  than  could  have  come 
from  actual  war.  Sufficient  provocation  for  war,  it  was 
thought  by  many,  had  already  been  given.  One  spe- 
cies of  indignity  that  was  keenly  felt,  and  of  which 
loud  complaint  had  been  made,  had  already  been  too 
long  endured  —  the  impressment  of  seamen  from  on 
board  American  vessels,  by  British  meu-of-war.  The 
similarity  of  language  and  origin  made  it  difficult  to 
distinguish,  nor  had  British  officers  cared  much  to  dis- 
tinguish, between  British  and  American  seamen,  -when 
desirous  of  procuring  recruits.  The  instances  were 
many  in  which  Americans  had  been  compelled  to  serve 
in  the  British  navy.  The  right  of  search  should  have 
been  peremptorily  denied  long  before  it  was,  and  de- 
cisive measures  adopted  at  any  hazard.  This  is  a 
point  now  generally,  perhaps  universally,  conceded. 

In  1810,  Elbridge  Gerry,  afterwards  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States,  was  elected  Governor  of  the 
State,  to  succeed  Gov.  Gore.^  In  consequence  of  the 
non-intercourse  with  Great  Britain,  domestic  manufac- 
tures began  to  he  attempted  on  a  larger  scale.  It  is  a 
reproach  to  our  country  that  the  success  of  these  in- 

'  Gov.  Gore  was  Dist.  Attorney  for  Maasachnsetts  in  1789,  and 
a  eomm  onerunde  J^y  t  eaty  n  1''96  to  lh04  n  wh  ch  service 
his  ibil  ty  and  effo  t  ve  p  api  lauded  H  i  i  opular  ty  a  Go\  emor 
was  not  aded  at  all  by  tie  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
descended  from  one  wl  o  at  tl  e  bpg  "  of  the  levolut  on  adl  e  ed 
to  the  royal  causp  In  1814  Gov  G  va  a  se  ator  n  Congress 
He  IS  repre  e  t  1  as  hav  g  been  a  fine  so!  olar  of  cute  and  d  acnm 
inat  ng  n  1  of  yu  e  m  ril  lud  of  d  g  fied  ma  er  He  1 
Mar   1    18  7    K    68 


vGooglc 


592  THE   IIISTOUY    OF   CAPE    COD. 

stitutions  is  so  contingent  on  a  state  of  war.  Before 
the  close  of  the  year,  Nov.  5,  Congress  was  assembled 
by  special  proclamation,  and  the  conntry  began  to 
realize  that  we  stood  on  the  verge  of  war. 

Gen,  Joseph  Otis,  who  had  long  held  a  prominent 
position  in  the  county,  as  a  revolutionary  patriot,  a 
military  officer,  and  a  merchant,  died  Sept.  2S,  eb.  82.^ 

^  Gen.  Otib,  Sd  son  of  CoL  James,  was  ap.  Collector  of  Customs 
hy  Gen.  Washington.  He  was  also  many  years  Clerk  of  the  C.  C.  P. 
and  member  of  the  le^slature.  His  first  m.  was  with  Eebecca  Stur- 
gis,  the  2d  with  Martha  (or  Maria?)  Walter  of  Eoxbury,  who  sur- 
vived her  husband  till  1826.  The  issue  by  the  1st  m.  was  Eehecca, 
Aug.  26,  1754,  who  m.  Sam.  Williams  Esq.  of  Fairhaveu;  James, 
Sept.  20,  1755,  who  grad.  H,  C.  1775,  and  was  lost  at  sea  1790 ; 
Elizaheth,  Jan'y  12,  1760,  who  m.  Dr.  Geo.  Osgood  of  Andover; 
Joseph,  1762,  who  d.  inf. ;  a  daughter  who  d,  early  ;  by  the  2d  m., 
Joseph,  Sept  1771,  who  removed  to  Kentucky;  Nath'l  Walter,  Jan'y, 
177S,  who  m.  1st,  Nancy  Bourne,  of  Be,,  and  removed  to  Matanzas, 
then  to  N.  Orleans,  a  plantei';  John,  Ap.  1774;  Tliomas,  Nov.  1775, 
who  d.  Aug.  14,  1803,  at  Albany ;  Charles,  July,  1777,  who  d.  Aug. 
14,  1794,  in  Charleston,  S.  C;  a  son,  Feb.  1779,  who  d.  early  j  WU- 
liam,  Feb.  1783,  who  d.  at  Washington,  Ap.  7,  1837  ;  Arthur,  Dec 
1784,  who  d.  July  24,  1801,  in  Havana;  Maria,  1787,  who  m.  Rev. 
Philip  Colby  of  N.  Middlehoro',  and  d.  May  20,  1821 ;  and  Maiy 
Ann,  who  m,  Hon.  Ebenezer  Gay  of  llingham. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNIY. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

The  AltenmlJTe. — Koligious  Freedom.  —  The  Courts.  —  Embargo. — 
litical  Asperities.  —  Declaration  of  War.  —  Prostrating  Effect  on 
Cape.  —  Position  of  the  Country.  —  Politics  of  the  Cape.  —  Espoa 

—  Demands  of  the  Enemy.  —  Local  Legislation.  — laternal  Dissi 

—  Peace.  —  Eetuming  Prosperity.  —  Algerine  War.  —  Bank  of  the 
United  States.  —  Awful  Storm.  —  Manufactures.  —  Hersey  Bequest.-— 
Lighthouses. 

In  1811,  fresh  outrages  were  perpetrated  by  Great 
Britain  on  tlie  American  coasts,  and  tlie  sad  alternative 
was  presented  to  the  American  people,  either  to  suffer 
present  evils,  or  to  take  up  arms.  The  repeal  of  the 
embargo  and  the  substitution  of  non-intercourse,  had 
produced  no  favorable  change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs. 
Some  preparation  in  anticipation  of  war  began  now  to 
be  made.  The  regular  army  was  increased  to  36,000 
men;  the  navy  was  also  increased;  volunteers  were 
called  for,  and  a  governmental  loan  of  $11,000,000  was 
negotiated. 

By  the  third  census,  it  appeared  that  the  population 
of  the  United  States  was  7,239,903  ;  that  of  the  county, 
21,372. 

The  act  of  the  General  Court,  June  18,  respecting 
pubhc  worship  and  religious  freedom,  was  a  move  in 
the  right  direction ;  and  one  loudly  called  for  by  the 
exigencies  of  the  present  state  of  rehgioi^  opinions.^ 

^  The  act  was  prefaced  by  the  following  Preamble:  "Whereas 
it  is  provided  by  the  Constitutiiin  of  this  Commonwealth  that  every 
denomination  of  Christians  demeaning  themselves  peaceably  and  as 

VOL.  I,  75 


vGooglc 


594  THE   IIISTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

—  Solo.  Cook  and  others  were  incorporated  as  "  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Society  in  Provincetowii ; "  and 
Barna.  Merchant  and  others  as  "  The  Methodist  Society 
of  Falmouth  and  Sandwich."  —  The  town  of  Barn- 
stable was  authorized  to  sell  ministerial  lands  and 
invest.  The  act  establishing  Circuit  Courts  of  Com- 
mon Picas  was  passed,  June  21 ;  and  the  counties  of 
Norfolk,  Plymouth,  Bristol  and  Barnstable  were  con- 
stituted the  Southern  Circuit.  Tims  ended  the  former 
long-continued  arrangement,  introducing  a  new  order 
of  things,  which  has  been  destined  to  frequent  modifi- 
cations and  changes.  An  act  was  also  passed  estab- 
lishing the  Court  of  Sessions ;  repealing  the  Act  of 
1809,  whereby  the  powers  and  duties  of  Courts  of  Ses- 
sions had  been  transferred  to  the  Courts  of  Common 
Pleas.  The  Bev.  Samuel  Parker  of  Provincctown  died 
Ap.  11,  and  the  Hon.  Ebenezer  Bacon  of  Barnstable 
Nov.  28. 

In  1812,  Caleb  Stsong  was  again  Governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  eo  continued,  by  successive  elections, 
through  the  exciting  period  of  the  war.  That  the  con- 
test between  political  parties,  resulting  in  this  change, 
was  spirited  and  attended  by  unusual  exhibition  of 
party  asperities,  may  well  be  supposed.' 

good  subjects  of  the  Common  wealth,  shall  be  equally  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  law ;  and  no  subordination  of  any  one  sect  or  denom- 
ination to  another,  shall  be  established  by  law,"  &c.  Citizens  were 
henceforth  exempted  from  taxation  for  the  support  of  any  other  than 
the  religious  instruction  which  they  conscientiously  approved  and 
maintained. 

^  Gov.  Oerrt,  whose  early  life  was  devoted  to  commercial  pur- 
suits, became  a  member  of  the  legislature  at  the  memorable  crisis  of 
1773,  and  was  on  the  important  cemmittee  of  inquiry  and  corre- 
spondence.    The  Provincial  Congress  of  1775  appointed  him  on  the 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BAENSTABLE    COUNTY.  595 

Again,  April  3,  Congress  passed  an  act  laying  an 
embargo,  for  ninety  days,  on  all  vessels  within  the  ju- 
risdiction of  the  United  States ;  which  naeasure  it  was 
weU  understood  was  preparatory  to  a  declaration  of 
hostilities  against  Great  Britain.  How  extensively  the 
edict  was  operative,  or  to  what  extent  a  systematic 
course  of  smuggling  was  pursued  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  it  is  not  for  us  to  say  ;  but  all  past  experience 
has  shown  how  temptations  to  violations  of  prohibitory 
laws  which  subject  the  citizens  to  grievous  privations 
and  suifering,  the  policy  of  which  laws  are  question- 
able in  the  view  of  any  considerable  numbers,  are  mul- 
tiplied. Such  is  the  nature  of  man  that  the  tempta- 
tion becomes  almost  irresistible ;  and  it  needs  no  spirit 
of  prophecy  to  foretell  the  influence  of  this  state  of 
things  in  gradually  undermining  the  morals  of  society, 
introducing  a  laxity  of  principle  in  political  action,  and 
leading  to  contempt  of  law. 

A  formal  declaration  of  War  was  made  June  18,  the 
prominent  reasons  for  which,  as  set  forth,  were  the 
impressment  of  American  seamen,^  and  the  claims  of 

committee  of  public  safety  and  supplies.  He  was  an  object  of  vin- 
dictiveness  on  the  part  of  the  British.  Elected  to  the  Continental 
Congress  in  1776,  he  continued  a  member  to  1785,  and  was  distin- 
guished hy  his  patriotic  course.  His  skill  in  finance  also  gave  him 
much  prominence.  As  a  member  of  the  convention  for  framing  a 
constitution  for  the  United  States,  he  was,  in  respect  to  some  impor- 
tant measures,  in  tlie  minority,  especially  touching  the  executive  and 
judidal  powers.  He  was  four  years  in  Congress,  and  in  1796,  min- 
ister aa  colleague  with  Marshall  and  Pinckney  to  the  French  Ke- 
public.  He  was  inaugurated  Vice-President  of  the  United  States 
in  1813,  and  d.  at  Washington,  Nov,  23,  1814,  eb.  70. 

^  The  practice  of  searching  for  British  seamen  had,  until  1807, 
been  confined  to  private  vessels.  Then,  a  50  gun  ship  demanded  the 
right  of  a  U.  S.  frigate  of  36  gims,  killing  and  wounding  about  20 
men.     This  outrage  enkindled  a  feeling  of  deep  indignation  in  every 


yGoogle 


596  THE   HISTOKT   OF    CAPE   COD. 

England  in   derogation   of  our   rights    as    a    neutral 
nation.' 

The  interests  of  navigation  suffered  severely ;  but, 
although  many  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and 
especially  in  New  England,  denounced  the  war  as  both 
impolitic  and  unjust,  the  popular  voice  of  the  nation 
was  in  its  favor.  Abundant  provocation  had  long 
existed :  yet,  after  all,  such  was  the  influence  of  the 
opponents  of  the  measure,  and  such  was  the  distress 
occasioned  by  the  suspension  of  commerce  and  the  dif- 
ficulty of  obtaining  supplies  of  provisions  in  the  non- 
agricultural  districts,  that  a  large  portion  of  the  com- 
mercial interests  were  by  no  means  so  enthusiastic  in 
its  support  as  in  the  times  of  the  revolutionary  strug- 
gle. That  war  was  not  commenced  too  soon  for  the 
national  honor,  time,  we  think,  has  proved. 

The  warmth  of  party  feeling  was  at  no  time  abated 
during  the  struggle  ;  still,  the  general  government  was 
sustained,  and  was  not  without  able  and  determined 
support  in  Barnstable  County,  notwithstanding  all  the 
privations  and  inconveniences  that  the  war  occasioned. 
The  coimtry,  with  its  eight  million  of  inhabitants,  in- 
creased resources,  and  all  the  elements  of  an  efficient 
army  and  navy,  was  far  better  prepared  to  vindicate  its 
rights  than  at  the  opening  of  the  war  of  independence  ; 
but  both  experience  and  enthusiasm  were  measurably 
wanting  every  where  until  the  contest  was  somewhat 
advanced.      Our    antagonist   was    powerful;    internal 

Americsin  bosom.  The  President  at  once  issued  liis  proclamation, 
ordering  all  British  armed  vessels  to  leave  the  waters  of  the  United 
Slates,  and  forbidding  them  to  enter  until  satisfaction  should  he  made 
by  the  British  government. 

'  The  hill  declaring  war  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  by  a 
majority  of  79  to  49  ;  and  the  Senate  hy  a  majority  of  19  to  13,  only. 
The  representative  from  this  county  was  in  the  majority. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  597 

divisions   were    embarrassing ;    and   many   difficulties 
were  to  be  overcome. 

The  position  of  this  county  in  regard  to  the  \\-txi' 
was  by  no  means  the  result  of  unanimity  of  sentiment. 
That  there  were  parties  here  holding  quite  opposite 
views  might  naturally  be  inferred  from  what  was  the 
position  of  the  State,  without  recourse  to  facts  as  ex- 
hibited by  political  strifes.  Although  the  party  which 
advocated  war  measures  was  politically  ascendant  in 
this  county,  those  whose  views  conflicted  with  the 
policy  of  the  national  government  were  far  from  in- 
considerable in  numbei's ;  nor  was  the  opposition  des- 
titute of  men  of  high  attainments,  moral  worth  and 
respectability.^     No   portion  of  our  common  country, 

'  We  have  no  disposition  to  enter  with  minuteuess  into  the  per- 
plexities and  discordant  views  of  this  period;  hut  the  fact  that  this 
county  was  on  the  side  of  the  national  administration  constitutes  an 
important  item  in  its  history  which  may  not  be  overlooked.  The 
state  of  aifairs  and  the  feelings  of  the  moment  are  clearly  seen  in  all 
the  publications  of  the  day.  liVe  know  not  a  better  illustration  oF 
the  divei-se  feelings  that  prevailed,  than  this,  which  certainly  will  not 
be  discredited  by  the  surviving  actors;  —  Gov.  Strong,  issuing  a 
proclamation  for  a  fast  in  consequence  of  the  war,  commences, 
"Whereas  it  has  pleased  the  Almighty  Kuler  of  the  World  to  per- 
mit us  to  be  engaged  in  war  with  the  nation  from  which  we  are 
descended,  and  which  has  been  for  many  generations  the  bulwark  of 
the  religion  which  we  profess ; "  and,  soon  after,  delegates  from  the 
several  towns  in  the  county  assembled  for  political  purposes,  preface  a 
series  of  resolutions  with  the  counterpoise,  "  Whereas  it  has  pleased 
the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  World,  in  his  righteous  providence,  to 
permit  us  to  he  engaged  in  a  war  against  the  Nation  from  which 
our  ancestors  were  driven  hy  persecution,  and  which,  for  every  suc- 
ceeding generation,  did  not  cease  to  oppress  and  injure  us,  until  we 
were  compelled  to  rise,  in  the  majesty  of  our  strength,  and  shake  off 
the  yoke  of  bondage.  And  whereas  that  nation  has  ever  since  borne 
towards  us  an  implacable  enmity,  which  has  manifested  itself  in 
wrongs,  insults,  and  indignities,   to   which  no   independent   People, 


vGooglc 


598  THE   HISTOEY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

as  during  the  revolutionary  period,  could  be  subjected 
to  greater  deprivations  by  the  war,  than  this ;  and  yet 
the  majority  resolved,  "  It  becomes  us,  in  imitation  of 
the  patriots  of  the  revolution,  to  unite  in  the  common 
cause  of  our  country,  patiently  bearing  every  evil,  and 
cheerfully  submitting  to  those  privations  which  are 
necessarily  incident  to  a  state  of  ■war.  .  .  .  We  con- 
sider the  war  in  which  we  are  engaged  as  just,  neces- 
sary, and  imavoidable,  and  we  will  support  the  same 
with  our  lives  and  our  fortunes."^  That  such  was  the 
attitude  of  the  County  of  Barnstable,  is  a  fact  that  it 
were  folly  in  any  individual  to  disown,  and  worse  than 
folly  in  an  historian  to  ignore.  Whatever  of  honor  or 
otherwise  the  county  may  claim  for  its  decision  in  this 
matter,  we  leave  to  the  reader  and  to  posterity  to  de- 
cide. Our  aim  is  simply  at  impartiality  in  a  record 
of  facts. 

By  the  general  suspension  of  commerce,  large  num- 

mindfiil  of  their  dignity,  coulcl  submit ;  and  war,  or  the  hurrender  of 
our  sovereignty,  was  the  only  alternative." 

'  The  posture  of  the  majority  in  the  county,  in  regard  to  holli  the 
State  and  National  governments  was  this :  "  Eesoloed,  That  the 
Honorable  Isaiah  L.  Green,  our  congressional  representative,  has 
done  nobly,  and  deserves  well  of  his  country ;  and  that  he  enjoys  the 
contidenee  of  his  constituents.  That  although,  as  will  appear  by  the 
votes  of  April  last,  the  present  chief  ma^strate  of  this  Common- 
wealth is  not  the  man  of  our  choice,  yet, '  his  counsels  we  will  follow, 
and  his  orders  cheerfully  obey,'  so  far  as  they  are  compatible  with  the 
spirit  and  meaning  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  But  our  allegiancf; 
to  the  United  Stales,  and  oui-  attachment  to  its  Constitution,  we  hold 
paramount  to  every  other  duty:  Therefore,  that  we  will  support  the 
Constitution  and  government  of  the  United  States  against  the  invasion 
of  a  foreign  enemy,  the  intrigues  of  a  domestic  faction,  or  the  usurpa- 
tions of  individual  States;  and  that  we  have  the  fullest  confidence  iu 
the  wisdom,  firmness,  and  patriotism  of  the  President  and  ( 
of  whose  doings  we  cordially  approve." 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


bers  of  the  best  seamen  were  thrown  out  of  their 
legitimate  employ ;  but  thus  the  most  important  requi- 
site for  a  vigorous  navy  was  at  hand,  and  the  ex- 
ertions of  the  government  were  soon  directed  to  this 
important  and  efficient  branch  of  national  defence. 
Much  was  effected  by  letters  of  marque ;  and  successes 
on  the  ocean  greatly  contributed  to  counterbalance 
reverses  on  the  land.  Not  less  than  five  hundred 
English  merchantmen  were  captured  during  the  first 
seven  months  of  tlie  war,  besides  the  victories  achieved 
by  the  capture  of  public  vessels. 

The  local  legislation  of  this  year  was  unimportant.' 
Seth  Freeman,  Esq.,  a  patriot  of  the  revolution,  died 
at  Sandwich,  July  19,  se.  81. 


'  A  deed  of  eertain  Mashpee  lands  was  authorized  to  be  made  to 
Eev.  Mr.  Fish  ;  and  an  act  was  passed  to  prevent  the  destruction  of 
the  lobster  fisheries  in  Provinoetown,  and  to  regulate  the  same,  the 
constant  intrusion  of  smacks  and  other  vessels  from  abroad  rendering 
the  measure  one  of  necessity. 

The  "Valuation,"  established  Jan.  SO,  1812,  ($1000  "being  appor- 
tioned as  the  ratio  by  which  the  towns  shall  in  future  be  assessed,") 
was  as  follows : 

f  1000,  $2  98. 
2  74. 


Barnstable, 

Polls,  802 

Aggregate,  $19,070  96.     Pay 

Sandwich, 

"      573 

18,955  29. 

Yarmouth, 

"     488 

"            I2,!05  85. 

Eastham, 

"      178 

"             3,071  66. 

Harwich, 

"      399 

"              7,993  30. 

Wellfieet, 

"     324 

"             4,182  17. 

Falmouth, 

"     698 

15,800  33. 

Truro, 

"     272 

4,617  04. 

Chatham, 

"     349 

6,503  31. 

Provincetown 

"     220 

5,112  84. 

Dencis, 

■'      359 

5,988  19. 

Orleans, 

"     303 

4,498  46. 

Brewster, 

"     276 
514 

6,921  74. 

114,821  14. 

18  21. 
The  polls  in  the  commonwealth,  167,639.    Aggregate  prop.  $7,314,600  72. 


vGooglc 


600  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  1813,  the  Emperor  of  Russia  having  intimated  a 
desire  to  mediate  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  with  a  "view  to  the  termination  of  hostilities, 
commissioners  were  appointed  to  meet  others  from  the 
British  Court,  at  St.  Petersburg,  to  negotiate  a  treaty 
of  peace  and  commerce.  The  arrangement  was  finally 
modified  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Prince  Regent,  and 
Gottenburg  was  fixed  upon  as  the  place  of  meeting ; 
subsequently  it  was  changed  to  Ghent  in  Flanders. 

Local  legislation  was  again  unimportant,  the  only 
items  of  legislative  enactment  of  the  least  interest 
being  the  annexation  of  certain  estates  from  Triu?o  to 
Provincetown,  the  appropriation  of  lands  in  Mashpee 
for  a  parsonage,  and  the  regulation  for  the  preservation 
thereof  of  certain  fisheries  in  Chatham  and  Harwich. 

Mr.  Wafson  Freeman,  an  honored  citizen  and  suc- 
cessful merchant,  died  at  Sandwich,  April  10,'  and  the 
Rev.  Caleb  Holmes,  the  minister  of  Dennis,  died  Nov.  2. 

'  The  life  of  this  gendeman  was  somewhat  eventful ;  especially 
were  his  early  years  pregnant  with  incidents  that  illu«(r<ite  fhe  enter- 
prise, the  incloraifable  energy,  and  the  patriotic  daring  of  the  young 
men  of  his  day.  We  have,  in  looking  over  the  returns  of  services 
rendered  in  former  times,  especially  in  the  expedition  to  Canada  in 
1754,  been  painfully  struck  by  the  fact  that  so  many  of  those  enlisted 
on  the  Cape  were  youths  of  about  sixteen  years ;  but  here  is  an 
instance  of  one  scarcely  fourteen,  bereft  of  his  father,  and  yet, 
prompted  by  no  pecuniary  inducement,  partaking  of  the  popular  en- 
thusiasm of  the  revolutionary  period ;  entering  the  Ith  Continental 
regiment  under  Col.  Shepherd,  in  the  company  of  Capt.  Geo.  Webb, 
Ap.  7,  1777,  and,  because  he  was  the  best  writer  in  the  company, 
acting  as  clerk,  serving  3  yrs.  to  Ap.  7,  1780;  present  at  the  taking 
of  Eurgoyne  in  1777  ;  with  Gen.  Sullivan  in  the  memorable  events 
of  L.  Island  in  1778,  and  there  wounded  in  the  arm ;  then,  his  term 
of  service  expired,  yielding  to  the  natural  yearnings  for  kindred  aad 
home,  relracing  his  steps  as  far  as  Boston,  and  there  meeting  with  an 
uncle  in  command  of  a  privateer  and  about  to  sail,  shipping  for  the 


vGooglc 


Em-n.Dedem'bei:  l&'^  1762,  —  Died, April  10^  1813  , 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


ANNALS  OF  BARNSTABLE  CODNTY.  601 

In  1814,  various  legislation  was  had  affecting  the  in- 
terests of  the  county :  the  time  allowed  the  trustees  of 
Sandwich  Academy  to  locate  the  half-township  of  land 
granted  them,  was  extended  five  years ;  the  town  of 

cruise  still  intent  on  serving  his  country  in  bloody  strife.  The  priva- 
teer was  unfortunately  taken  by  tlie  Montague  74,  and  the  insolence 
of  British  tyranny  was  exhibited  in  whipping  and  otherwise  punish- 
ing American  seamen  to  compel  their  service  in  hb  majesty's  navy. 
On  board  the  Montague  in  the  action  between  the  Couat  de  Grasse 
and  Lord  Rodney,  Mr,  F.  was  again  wounded  in  the  leg,  and  then 
sent  to  the  hospital  at  Portsmouth,  Eng.,  Jan.  15,  1782.  The  skill 
there  displayed  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  June  21,  he  waa 
"dischai^ed  as  incurable,"  but  in  his  wanderings  found  an  old  woman 
who  sold  herbs,  whose  superior  prescriptions  healed  his  wound.  The 
certificate  he  received  on  leaving  the  hospital  has  indorsed  on  the 
back  of  it,  "Watson  Freeman,  5  ft.  &|^  in.  high,  es.  19,  born  in  Amer- 
ica, light  brown  hair,  fair  complexion,  and  a  cut  in  the  forehead." 
That  cut,  we  may  here  remark,  was  received  from  the  sabre  of  one  of 
the  enemy's  dragoons,  a  company  of  whom  surprised  his  party  when 
out  "foraging"  previous  to  the  battle  on  Long  Island;  and  it  may 
serve  to  show  the  disposition  indulged  by  our  troops  in  the  midst  of 
their  toils  and  privations,  to  avail  themselves  of  pleasant  recreation, 
that  this  "  foraging  party  "  were  at  the  time  of  the  surprise  in  a  ball  — 
dancing.  The  wound  he  subsequently  received  in  the  arm  was  so 
severe  that  he  never  in  after  life  could  raise  the  limb  over  his  head. 
After  the  peace,  Mr.  F.  was  permitted  to  return  home.  He  then  soon 
engaged  in  mercantile  life  in  Boston  under  the  title  of  '  Freeman  and 
Baty ; '  in  1800,  Thomas  Gushing  being  received  into  the  firm  it  was 
'F.,  B.  and  Gushing;'  in  1807,  Mr.  Baty,  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  F., 
retiring,  it  was  'Freeman  and  Gushing'  to  1812,  when  Mr.  F.  retired 
from  business  with  a  handsome  competency.  They  wei-e  importers 
of  English  goods,  and  concerned  also  in  navigation,  —  Mr.  Feeeman 
was  born  Dec  28, 1762,  in  that  part  of  Harwich  now  known  as  Brews- 
ter ;  and  was  in  direct  lineal  descent  from  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman  Sr. 
the  proprietor  of  Sandwich,  (see  page  461,)  through  Maj.  John  the 
younger  son  who  m.  Mercy  dr.  of  Gov,  Prince  Feb.  13,  1649—50,  and 
removed  to  Eastham  where  he  d.  1719  k.  92,  having  been  distin- 
guished in  military  life,  prominent  in  public  affaire,  some  time  assistant, 
justice  of  the  first  Court  of  G.  P.  established  after  the  Union,  and  a 
VOL.  I,  76 


vGooglc 


602  THS   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   GOD. 

Falmoutli,  on  application,  was  granted  military  assist- 
ance in  defence  of  the  town ;  an  act  in  addition  was 
passed  to  preserve  and  regulate  the  taking  of  shell-fish 
ia  WeUfleet ;  an  act  to  prevent  the  destruction  and  to 

deacon  of  tlie  Eastham  church.     He  had  issne;  John  Feb.  2, 1650 
who  d.  inf.;  John  Dec.  1651 ;  Thomas  Sept.  1653;  Patience  who  m. 
Samuel  Paine  Jan.  31,  1682;  Hannah  who  m,  John  Mayo  April  14, 
1681 ;  Edmund  June  1657  ;  Mercy  who  m.  Samuel  Knowles;  Ben- 
net  who  m.  John  Paine  March  14,  1689;  William,  1663;   Prince 
1665 ;  and  Nathaniel  March  20,  1669.  —  Dea.  Thomas,  the  3d  s.  of 
Maj.  John,  m.  Rebecca  dr.  of  Jona.  SpaiTow  Esq.  Dec.  31,  1673,  and 
d.  Feb.  9, 1715-16  33.  62,  his  widow  surviving  till  1740,  ».  86.     Issue : 
Mercy  Oct.  30,  1674  who  m.  Paul  Sears;   Thomas  Oct.  11,  1676; 
Jonathan  Nov.  11,  1678;  Edmund  Oct.  11,  1680;  Joseph  Feb.  11, 
1682-3;  Joshua  March  7,  1684-5;  Hannah  Sept.  28,  1687;  Prince 
Jan.  3,  1689-90;  Hatsuld  March  27,  1691;  and  Rebecca  April  26, 
1694.  —  Col.  Edmund,  the  3d  p.  of  Dea.  Thomas,  m.  Phebe  dr.  of 
Elkanah  and  Mercy  Watson  of  Plym.  1703,  and  d.  March  10,  1746-6 
fe.66.     Shed.1747-8.     Issue:  Watson  Sept.  24, 1704;  Joahua  May 
1706;  Hannali  Feb.  28,  1708-9;  and  Edmund  Nov.  28,  1710.— 
Capt.  Watson,  eldest  s,  of  Col.  Edmund,  m.  Sarah  Gray  Jan.  30, 
1723-4  and  d.  Feb.  17, 1757.     Issue :  Phebe  .June  1, 1725  ;  Elkanah 
March  31,  1727;    Sarah,  March  29,  1729;    Isaac  Oct.  26,  1733; 
Hannah  April  8, 1736;  and  Watson,  hap.  Feb.  25, 1739.  — Watsor, 
the  last  named,  m.  Thankful  Freeman  March  18,  1762.      Issue; 
Watson  Dee.  28,  1762;  Joshua,  bap.  July  12,  1764;  and  Edward, 
bap.  July  31,  1768.     The  widow  m.  2d  Gideon  Baty  Sr.  Sept.  23, 
1777,  and  3d  Joseph  Blake  of  Boston,  and  d.  Jan.  11,  1809.  —  Wat- 
son, the  eldest  son  of  the  last  family,  and  the  subject  of  the  preceding 
notice,  m.  1st  Sarah  Hinckley  1793  who  d.  soon  after,  and  2d  Experi- 
ence dr.  of  Seth  Freeman  Esq.  of  Sandwich  Nov.  10,  1794,  who  A. 
Decl7, 1806.     He  d.  April  10,1813,  x.  50.     Issue:  Watson,  the 
present  Marshal  of  U.  S.  for  the  Dist.  Mass. ;  Mary  Ann  who  d.  Oct. 
29,  1832  ;  Charlotte  Thankful  who  d.  Feb.  1,  1837,  on  the  island  of 
Cuba ;  Benjamin  who  d.  at  Hillsboro',  III.  July  13,  1841 ;  and  Excy 
Sarah  Hinckley  who  d.  Feb.  25,  1833.  —  Our  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments are  due  to  Hon.  Watson  Freeman  for  consenting  to  furnish 
the  accompanying  engraving,  and  generously  sustaining  the  expense 
of  it. 


vGooglc 


AKNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  603 

regulate  tlie  catcTiing  of  alewives  in  Harwich,  additional 
to  the  act  of  1787,  and  also  of  1813 ;  an  act  establish- 
ing the  Nobscnsset  Point  Pier  Company ;  an  act  estab- 
lishing the  place  of  keeping  the  records  of  the  Probate 
Court ;  and  an  act  incorporating  '  The  Calvinistic  Con- 
gregational Society  in  Sandwich,' 

The  town  of  Brewster,  as  will  be  more  fully  noted 
hereafler,  was  menaced  with  conflagration.  The  Brit- 
ish commodore,  "Ed,  Eaggett  Esq.,  of  His  Britannic 
Majesty's  ship  Spencer,  commanding  a  British  squadron 
in  Cape  Cod  Bay,"  accepted  a  "contribution  "  of  $1250, 
and  gave  to  the  town  an  assurance  that  it  should  no 
more  be  molested.  This  led  to  an  act,  Oct.  13,  author- 
izing $4000  to  be  assessed  on  salt-works  and  buildings 
of  every  description  in  the  town,  as  also  on  vessels 
owned  there  and  frequenting  its  waters.  Money  was 
demanded  by  the  enemy,  of  Orleans  and  other  places, 
with  a  similar  promise  of  guarantee  in  case  of  com- 
pUance ;  but  the  insulting  demand  was  peremptorily 
declined. 

In  the  month  of  August,  the  British  nation  was  dis- 
graced by  an  act  of  Vandalism  without  parallel  in  the 
annals  of  modem  warfare :  not  content  with  taking  the 
capitol  at  Washington,  burning  it,  as  also  the  Presi- 
dent's house,  the  offices  of  the  several  departments,  and 
many  private  dwellings,  the  British  troops  destroyed 
the  public  archives  and  libraries,  together  with  all  the 
works  of  art  contained  in  the  buildings.  All  that  re- 
lated to  peace  and  civilization,  as  well  as  war,  was 
wantonly  and  barbarously  conflagrated. 

The  opposition  to  the  war  at  no  time  abated ;  and, 
in  this  opposition,  a  large  portion  of  the  New  England 
representatives  in  Congress  were  active,  a  majority  of 
their  constituents  coinciding.     The  representative  from 


vGooglc 


604  THE  HISTORY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

the  County  of  Barnstable  and  a  majority  of  his  con- 
stituentsj  still  formed  an  exception  to  the  prevalent 
feeling.  Apprehensions  were  indulged  that  a  crisis 
was  forming  that  might  involve  tlie  country  in  ruin ; 
and,  Dec.  15,  a  convention  assembled  at  Hartford,  com- 
posed of  discontents  delegated  by  parties  opposed  to 
the  General  Government.  The  impression  of  the  mem- 
bers of  that  convention,  and  of  their  supporters,  was 
that  the  General  Government  were  pursuing  a  system 
of  measures  inimical  to  the  interests  of  New  England ; 
and  they  now  asked  that  the  revenue  of  the  New  Eng- 
land States  might  be  applied  to  its  defence.  The  busi- 
ness of  this  convention  being  transacted  with  closed 
doors,  gave  rise  to  impressions  and  rumors  in  regard  to 
their  designs,  that  tended  greatly  to  the  public  disquiet 
But,  Dec.  24,  the  treaty  of  Ghent  was  signed,  and,  of 
course,  further  agitation  ceased.  That  treaty  was  rati- 
fied by  the  Prince  Eegent  of  Great  Britain,  Dec,  27,  and 
by  the  United  States  government,  Feb.  17,  the  following 
year.  The  Hartford  Convention  did  not  cease  to  be 
very  extensively  condemned  for  a  long  time,  as  having 
intended  measures  that  threatened  a  separation  of  the 
New  England  Stiites  from  the  Union.  Whether  the 
odium  that  attached  to  the  proceeding,  was  merited,  we 
may  not  pronounce.  With  the  history  of  that  conven- 
tion, and  the  revelations  that  have  since  been  made  of 
its  doings,  the  pubHc  are  familiar,  and  each  one  is  com- 
petent to  form  an  opinion  for  himself 

Difficulties  of  a  merely  personal  nature  leading  to 
complaints  against  public  officers,  or  disaffections  en- 
gendered hy  merely  political  considerations,  it  is  not 
for  us  to  chronicle ;  but  when  discontent  becomes  uni- 
versal, and  the  most  staid  and  venerable  find  cause 
month  after  month  and  year  after  year  to  rebuke  '  the 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  605 

insolence  of  office,'  a  state  of  things  most  unusual  is 
presented.  Suffice  it  to  say,  the  office  of  public  rev- 
enue in  this  county  was  never  before,  nor  has  ever 
since  been,  subject  of  such  complaint 

Early  in  1815,  news  was  received  of  the  memorable 
battle  of  New  Orleans ;  Gfeu.  Jackson,  with  a  force  of 
6000  men,  mostly  undisciplined,  opposed  to  14,000  vet- 
eran and  select  troops  under  Sir  Edward  Packenham, 
having,  on  the  8th  of  January,  gained  a  complete  and 
most  decisive  victory.  The  loss  of  the  English,  under 
the  well-directed  fire  of  American  marksmen,  was  2600, 
including  the  officer  in  command ;  that  of  the  Ameri- 
cans was  only  6;  and  whilst  the  news  of  this  battle 
was  just  ringing  through  the  land,  a  special  messenger 
arrived  from  Europe  with  the  tidings  of  Peace, 

No  people,  certainly,  had  greater  reason  to  rejoice  in 
the  glad  announcement  that  hostilities  had  ceased,  than 
the  inhabitants  of  Cape  Cod, 

The  difficulties  between  the  two  countries  being  thus 
settled,  a  treaty  also  to  regulate  commerce  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  was  executed  at 
London,  July  3. 

The  country  now  rapidly  returned  to  its  former 
prosperity;  commerce  revived  at  once,  and  every  in- 
terest gave  signs  of  renewed  vigor,'-    ■ 

'  The  incorporation  of  the  '"Welliieet  Manufacturing  Company,' 
capital  560,000,  —  Josi ah  Whitman  and  others,  for  the  purpose  of 
manufacturing  cotton  and  woollen  cloth  and  yarn  —  came  rather  late 
for  the  pievious  exigencies  of  the  times ;  but  not  too  late  to  save  the 
company  fiom  the  ruin  which,  on  the  return  of  peace,  swept  over  the 
iaige-iinvestmenfci  that  had  been  made  in  other  places.  An  act,  to 
regulate  the  fisheries  in  the  town  of  Yarmouth,  was  one  of  those 
instances  of  legislation  often  called  for  on  the  Cape,  and  always 
opportune. 


vGooglc 


DUO  THE   HISTORY   OF  CAPE   COD. 

In  March,  war  was  declared  by  the  United  States 
against  the  Algerines,  on  account  of  depredations  on 
American  commerce.  The  Dey  of  Algiers  was  com- 
pelled to  a  treaty  relinquishing  all  future  claims  for 
tribute.  Arrangements  were  also  made  with  the  regen- 
cies of  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  that  gave  security  to  com- 
merce from  all  depredations  of  Barbary  cruisers. 

An  act  passed  in  Congress,  and  received  the  signa- 
ture of  the  President,  April  10,  incorporating  a  national 
bank,  under  the  title  of  the  Bakk  of  the  Ukfted  States, 
with  a  capital  of  $35,000,000.  Much  diversity  of 
opinion  existed,  and  was  exhibited  in  the  preliminary 
discussion  of  the  question,  as  to  the  constitutional  power 
of  Congress  to  establish  such  an  institution.  It  was 
thought,  however,  by  the  majority,  that  as  the  charter 
of  the  old  Bank  of  North  America,  instituted  during 
Washington's  administration,  expired,  the  commercial 
interests  of  the  country  required  a  substitute  of  this 
kind.  The  bank  established  with  a  charter  for  twenty 
years,  was  soon  in  operation. 

A  tremendous  gale,  or  hurricane,  swept  over  that 
part  of  the  county  contiguous  to  Buzzard's  Bay,  Sept,  23. 
It  will  be  long  memorable  for  its  devastating  effects.*- 

^  The  wind  began  to  rise  the  latter  psirt  of  the  night  preceding.  . 
At  sunrise  the  gale  was  violent,  and  increased  until  10  o'clock  A.  M., 
continuing  extremely  high  nntil  2  o'clock  P.  M.,  hut  prohably  most 
severe  at  11  o'clock  A.  M.  It  came  in  violent  gusts  —  not  in  a  uni- 
form current ;  sky  cloudy,  but  no  rain  ;  east,  first,  —  then  changing 
to  west  and  south ;  moderating  at  night.  Ti-ees  were  uprooted  in 
great  numbers,  or  broken,  or  twisted  as  if  mere  withes;  buildings 
prostrated  j  salt-works  destroyed ;  vessels  scattered  from  their  moor- 
ings, and  driven  ashore ;  and  vegetation  was  in  great  measure  de- 
stroyed. Lower  down  on  the  Cape,  the  gale  was  comparatively 
moderate ;  at  Provincetown  it  was  '  only  a  hard  blow.'  Its  violeiice 
reached  north  and  west  from  the  Cape,  and  was  seriously  felt  in  the 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  607 

In  1816,  the  political  feucis  of  the  country  having 
begun  gradually  to  subside,  and  the  animosities  of  the 
past  giving  way  to  the  spirit  of  enterprise,  public  im- 
provements began  to  be  pushed  forward  in  the  States 

Ij  n  unt  n  (1  f  d  ection.  The  tide  rose  eight  feet  higher 
th  al    n  th    h    h    t       rse  of  tides ;  and  ia  the  bay  was  several 

f  Ih  1  tU  Halth  t  de  men  but  fifteen  inches  higher,  it  would 
ha  J  a  d  mj  1  t  ly  o  the  isthmus  of  the  Cape.  It  may  here 
b  mklh  tlelden  Buzzard's  Bay  is  always  three  houra 
arl  tl  n  Bam  tail  Bay;  it  was  high  tide  that  day  \a  the 
f  rm  b  J  at  11  40  Ft!  wind  and  tide  operated  togetiier.  Houses 
that  were  not  shattered  by  the  wind,  were  abandoned  on  account  of 
the  tide ;  and  from  the  latter  cause  the  greatest  amount  of  injury  was 
inflicted  on  the  salt-works  —  nearly  all,  on  Buzzard's  Bay,  and  they 
were  then  numerous,  were  swept  away.  Groat  loss  was  ausiaincd 
on  the  island  Mashena;  the  ruins  of  works  there,  were  subsequently 
found  in  the  woods  of  Wareham;  and,  in  one  instance,  a  large  lot  of 
salt-works  floated  several  miles  without  being  broken,  until  settling 
on  a  ledge  of  rocks.  One  salt-house,  after  sailing  some  miles,  settled 
across  a  road,  there  standing  on  corner-stones  so  well  adapted  that  ifs 
shape  was  maintained.  It  was  afterwards  taken  by  its  owners,  from 
its  position  nine  feet  above  high-water  mark,  and  conveyed  back  to 
ils  original  place  —  first  being  launched.  The  shores  were  literally 
swept  with  the  besom  of  destruction.  Coasters  were  not  only  driven 
higb  ashore,  but  some  were  afterwards  found  in  forests.  Oue  was 
lodged  among  large  trees  sustaining  it  in  an  upright  position ;  and 
was  re-launched  with  little  damage.  Another  was  lifted  over  a  blufT, 
and  laid  in  front  of  a  dwelling-house,  blocking  the  front  door.  Some 
damage  was  done  at  Faimouth  ;  but  in  the  Vineyard  Sound  the 
waters  were  not  heaped  up  as  in  Euazard's  Bay.  In  Hyannis,a  brig 
was  driven  ashore.  On  Buzzard's  Bay,  grass  and  all  vegetation  were 
killed;  trees,  including  oaks  and  pines,  perished;  cedar-swamps  were 
filled  with  sea-water  destroying  both  shrubs  and  trees ;  Indian  corn 
was  completely  torn  up  or  twisted  to  shreds ;  potatoes  rotted ;  the  rye 
was  killed ;  fences  were  promiscuously  scattered  abroad ;  wells  and 
springs  were  ruined.  Fresh  water  was  long  a  rarity ;  for  besides  the 
overflow  of  wells,  and  springs,  and  watering  places  for  cattle,  even 
wells  not  reached  directly  by  the  flood,  were  made  salt.  The  spray 
from  the  sea  was  like  a  driving  snow  storm.    Many  springs  did  not 


vGooglc 


608  THE   IflSTORr   OF   CAPE   COD. 

generally,  and  private  adventures  met  with  rich  re- 
wards. To  this  last  remark,  however,  there  is  to  be 
noted  one  important  exception.  Extensive  manulac- 
tnring  estaUishments  had,  during  the  period  of  non- 
intercouree  with  Great  Britain  and  other  countries, 
sprung  into  existence.  The  destitution  of  those  arti- 
cles that  had  been  almost  wholly  supplied  by  English 
manufactories,  seemed,  at  the  time,  to  promise  ample 
remuneration  for  these  investments ;  and  their  first 
success  had  been  so  encouraging,  that  an  immense  cap- 
ital was  soon  employed  in  American  manufacture,  the 
country  beginning  to  be  supplied  from  its  own  estab- 
lishments with  almost  every  species  of  merchandise. 
The  return  of  peace  inundated  the  country  with  Brit- 
ish goods ;  and  the  consequence  was  that  our  own 
manufacturing  establishments  suffered  severe  embar- 
rassment, many  of  them  being  entirely  broken  down, 
and  their  enterprising  owners  were  in  many  instances 
involved  in  pecuniary  ruin. 

John  Brooks  was,  this  year,  called  to  preside  over  the 
commonwealth  to  succeed  Gov.  Strong ;  and  for  seven 
successive  years  was  reelected.^ 

recover  for  many  years.  Some  fields  were  so  washed,  or  covered 
with  sand,  that  they  looked  like  a  beach.  It  is  remarkable  loo,  that 
where  the  English  grasses  were  killed,  wild  grasses  appeared  the  next 
year ;  and  ia  some  places  where  the  natui-a!  grasses  were  killed,  clover 
appeared  the  next  year;  and  even  where  only  mosses  had  gi-own, 
grasses  succeeded.     The  land  actually  was  made  better  for  tillage. 

'  Gov.  CitEB  Strong,  whose  last  term  of  office  was  during  the 
difficult  period  of  the  war  of  1812-15,  was,  because  of  hb  political 
course,  viewed  witli  great  disapprobation  by  the  friends  of  the  national 
administration;  and  was  as  warmly  commended  hy  his  supporters. 
But  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  from  1776  to  1780,  and  subse- 
quently as  a  councillor,  his  ability  was  confessed  by  all.  In  forming 
the  constitution  of  Massachusetts  in  1779,  and  that  of  the  United 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  609 

The  Congregational  churches  in  the  county  ■were 
authorized  by  special  act  to  sell  their  several  and  col- 
lective shares  in  the  Hersey  estate ;  the  management 
of  said  estate  being  attended  with  great  inconvenience 
and  expense,  and  as  hitherto  managed,  the  property 
being  unproductive.^     Credit  is  due  to  Dr.  Hersey  for 

States  in  1787,  he  took  an  active  part  He  waa  also  senator  in  Con- 
gress from  1789  to  1797.  With  a  reputation  to  the  very  close  of  life, 
of  fervent  piety,  he  died  Nov.  7,  1819,  x.  74. 

'  Dr.  Hersey's  will  directed  that  his  estate,  after  the  payment  of  a 
legacy  of  £500  to  Harvard  College,  should  vest  in  the  thirteen  Con- 
gregational churches,  at  that  time,  1786,  existing  in  the  county ;  tlie 
proportion  to  each  was  specified  with  minatenoss  ;  the  deacons  of  the 
several  churches  were  constituted  trustees  and  were  to  have  the  whole 
care  and  management  of  the  estate ;  and  the  manner  of  executing 
their  trust  was  spscified  with  great  particularity.  The  fences  upon 
the  farm  were  to  be  kept  entire  —  certain  lots  of  land  to  be  ploughed 
in  rotation,  but  not  oftener  than  once  in  seven  years ;  a  limited  quan- 
tity of  wood  cut,  &c  The  deacons  were  to  pay  over  the  net  income 
to  the  pastors  who  were  to  invest  in  books  and  distribute.  The  books 
were  specified :  one  third  pai-t  of  the  net  profits  of  the  estate  was 
to  be  applied  in  purchasing  Dr.  Doddridge's  Kise  and  Pi-ogress  of 
Religion  in  the  Soul ;  one  third  part.  Dr.  Evans'  Sermons  on  the 
Christian  Temper;  twelve  sixty-third  parts,  Grove's  Discourse  on  the 
Lord's  Supper;  eighteen  sixty-third  parts.  Dr.  Doddridge's  Discourses 
on  Regeneration  and  his  two  Sermons  on  Salvation  by  Faith ;  nine 
sixty-third  parts,  Doddridge's  Discourses  to  Young  People ;  twelve 
sixty-third  parts,  Discourses,  of  the  same,  on  the  Education  of  Cliil- 
dren ;  twelve  sixty-third  parts,  Discourses,  of  the  same,  on  the  Grace 
of  Christ  and  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.  After  the  lapse  of  100 
years,  ministers  of  the  thirteen  parishes  (viz. :  East  Precinct,  Barn- 
stable, one  eighth  part;  West  Precinct,  Barnstable,  five  sixty-fifth; 
Sandwich,  one  fourteenth  ;  Ealmouth,  one  fourteenth ;  West  Precinct, 
Yarmouth,  three  twenty-eighths ;  East  Precinct,  Yarmouth,  one  four- 
teenth; Korth  Precinct,  Harwich,  one  fourteenth;  South  Precinct, 
Harwich,  three  fifly-sixths  ;  Chatham,  one  fourteenth  ;  South  Chnrcli 
in  Eastham,  five  fifty-sixths ;  North  Precinct,  Easthaiu,  three  fifty- 
sixths;  Wellfleet,  three  fifty-sixths;  Truro,  one  fourteenth;)  were  to 
be  allowed  to  "select"  other  books  "  of  like  character  —  except  that 
VOL.  L  77 


vGooglc 


610  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

Ms  good  design ;  but  the  execution  being  imprac- 
ticable, his  dreams  of  tbe  future  must  needs  be,  so  far 
as  relates  to  the  provisions  of  a  most  remarkable  testar 
mentary  document,  pronounced  by  legislative  enact- 
ment, illusory.  It  has  been  the  fate  of  many  :  it  need 
not,  therefore,  be  imputed  to  the  worthy  doctor's  idio- 
syncrasy, that  his  carefully  arranged  programme  was 
set  aside.  That  he  occupied  a  conspicuous  place  among 
skilful  practitioners  of  the  healing  art,  there  can  be  no 
question ;  ^  and  that  his  bequest  furnishes  the  most 
prominent,  and  until  recently  almost  solitary,  instance 
of  posthumous  provisions  among  all  the  wills  of  pros- 
perous denizens  of  the  Cape  departed  this  life,  for 
public  benefit,  is  a  fact  that  is  distinguishing.^  It  is, 
indeed,  a  circumstance  creditable  to  the  medical  pro- 
fession that,  whilst  this  particular  bequest  emanated 
from  one  of  the  fraternity,  so  many  of  its  distinguished 
members  have  been  conspicuous  in  walks  of  honor  and 
usefulness  aside  from  their  professional  practice.  Some 
were  not  only  active  in  political  life  at  eventful  periods, 

every  fourth  year  the  books  purchased  must  forever  be  the  hoots 
afore  specified,"  The  whole  will  was  peculiar.  It  was  finally  dis- 
covered that  the  annual  meeting  of  so  great  a  number  of  trustees  (for 
every  church  had  three  deacons)  coming  from  many  different  towns, 
together  witb  other  contingent  expenses,  exhausted  the  income.  The 
deacons  doubtless  had  a  social  time  of  it  once  a  year ;  but  tbe  minis- 
ters bad  little  to  invest  in  books  for  distribution. 

^  See  note,  page  554. 

"  It  has  been  subject  of  remark  and  surprise  among  prominent  men 
in  other  parts  of  the  State,  that  so  little  has  been  done  by  the  favored 
sons  of  Cape  Cod,  in  the  way  of  public  endowments  in  their  native 
county.  Their  wealth  has  flowed  into  other  channels.  "There  is," 
Bays  one,  "and  ever  will  be  an  interest  in  places  which  have  been 
consecrated  by  the  presence  and  labors  of  our  relatives  and  friends 
during  their  lives;  and,  to  a  generous  mind,  especial  interest  attaches 
to  the  spot  where  their  ashes  repose." 


yGoogle 


AKNALS   OF   BAKNSTABl*:   COUNTT.  611 

but  filled  offices  of  high  trust.'  The  positions  they 
held,  the  influence  they  exerted  in  affairs  of  both  church 
and  state,^  and  not  least  their  zeal  in  the  advancement 
of  education  and  the  diffusion  of  Imowledge,  speak  well 
for  the  brotherhood.^ 

'  Gen  Freeman,  Hon  John  Davis,  Dr  Thomas  Smith,  Dr.  Savage, 
&c.  &c.  &.C 

'  Numbers  ot  the  t.Iei^  'nere  practiaing  phyoiciana  retrularly  edu- 
cated aa  such 

^  The  portrait  of  a  medical  gentleman  honored  in  hn  profession 
and  not  less  as  a  friend  of  science  geneially  is  scLn  on  the  opposite 
page.  Although  hia  career  commenced  about  the  time  of  Dr.  Ker- 
sey's demise,  we  piesent  the  bkenesa  in  tlii*  connettion  as  a  worthy 
embellishment  of  our  present  work  —  more  especially  as  so  few  por- 
traits Hte  eitant  of  those  who  adorning  the  medical  profession  demoted 
also  the  full  measure  of  their  influence  to  give  character  to  the  age  in 
which  they  lived. 

Dr.  Jonathan  Leonahd  was  bom  in  Bridgewater,  Feb.  17,  1763 ; 
grad.  H,  C.  1736  ;  and  settled  in  Sandwich  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine about  1788-9.  By  his  marriage  with  Temperance,  daughter  of 
Mr.  Joshua  Hall  of  the  latter  place  May  10,  1796,  the  issue  was 
Francis  Dana  now  of  Yellow  Springs,  O. ;  Theodore  of  Greenfield, 
Mass. ;  Jonathan  of  Sandwich ;  George  Kingman  who  d.  fe.  about  40, 
leaving  issue ;  and  Charles  Gushing,  Dr.  L.  was  of  the  Gth  gen.  from 
Solomon  who  went  early  from  Duxbury  as  one  of  the  original  propri- 
etors of  Bridgewater :  —  viz.,  was  son  of  Jonathan  of  Bridgewater  b. 
1731,  who  m.  Martha  Washburn  1758  who  d.  1804,  m.  73 ;  who  was 
fion  of  Joseph  who  m.  Mary  Packard ;  who  was  son  of  Joseph 
who  m.  Hannah  dr.  of  Ed.  Jennings ;  who  was  son  of  John  who  d. 
1699;  who  was  son  of  Solomon  the  proprietor  who  d.  1686.  Dr. 
L.  was  eminent  in  his  profession.  Early  a  member  of  the  Mass. 
Med.  Soc.,  his  alma  mater  conferred  on  him  the  honorary  M.  D.  in 
1834.  About  60  years  he  was  diligently  and  successfully  engaged  in 
the  duties  of  his  profession  in  the  town  of  his  adoption,  his  name  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  healing  art  and  his  influence  decided  in 
elevating  tlie  standard  of  professional  character  —  his  practice  ever 
marked  with  conscientious  prudence  —  sympathizingly  patient  and 
forbearing  in  his  treatment  of  chronic  complaints,  and  skilfully  prompt 
in  epidemic  or  occasional  diseases  —  characteristics  always  of  a  good 


vGooglc 


biz  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

The  Hon.  James  Freeman,  high  sheriff  of  the  county, 
died  this  year,  Jan.  10,  se.  51. 

For  the  repairs  of  the  meeting-house  in  Mashpee, 
|500  was  granted  by  the  legislature  ;  —  incorporation 
was  granted  to  '  the  proprietors  of  Bass  River  Bridge,' 
with  authority  to  erect  a  bridge  over  said  river  at  the 
Narrows  in  the  towns  of  Yarmouth  and  Dennis.^  Den- 
nis was  divided  into  North  and  South  Precincts,  the 
public  ministerial  property  to  be  divided  in  due  pro- 
portion.^ Jurisdiction  was  ceded  to  the  United  States 
of  sites  for  lights  on  Kace  Point,  Nashaun,  and  Point 
Gammon. 

physician.  Unostentatious  and  tumble,  simple  in  his  habits,  gentle- 
manly in  all  his  intercourse,  a  dignified  senie  of  honoi  pervading  hia 
whole  life,  the  traits  of  kindness  and  liberality  emphatically  the  law 
of  his  heart,  practically  a  helieTer  m  the  precepts  of  Jesus,  a  good 
citizen,  a  sate  and  judicious  fnend,  he  had  the  confidence  and  respect 
of  his  associates  and  was  held  in  eiteem  a^  fai  a.-:  his  nime  was  known. 
An  active  promoter  of  the  cause  of  education ;  ever  zealous  in  the 
progress  of  science ;  even  a  fondness  for  the  culture  of  fruits  and 
flowers  indicating  that  Nature's  works  were  in  his  esteem  among  the 
truest  pleasures  of  life  ;  — 


he  retained  to  the  5ast  a  cheerful  mind,  and  died  Jan.  25, 1849,  fe.  86, 
his  memory  cherished  hy  many  —  his  unsullied  purity  of  example 
the  grateful  inheritance  of  his  posterity.  His  third  son  succeeds  the 
revered  parent,  in  the  profession,  in  Sandwich ;  and  to  the  courtesy  of 
the  three  eldest  we  are  indebted  for  the  faithful  engraving  of  the  ex- 
cellent likeness  before  us. 

^  Other  minor  acts  were  passed:  regulating  the  fisheries  of  herring, 
alewives,  perch,  and  eels,  in  Yarmouth  and  Dennis ;  incorporating  the 
Proprietors  of  Bass  River  Bridge,  &c. ',  and  a  resolve  for  ascertaining 
the  validity  of  rights  piivileges,  &c.  in  the  plantation  of  Maahpee, 
claimed  hy  Nathan  Bouine  in  right  of  his  ancestors. 

^  These  pirishe"*  were  to  he  "  divided  by  the  following  described 
linea    Beginning  at  the  division  line  between  the  towns  of  Yarraoutli 


yGoogle 


■'-^^y/^ 


jiOHKnoS,-    :uK!. 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BAKNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Commercial  Reverses.  —  The  Mails  and  Post  Offices. — Florida,  — Separa- 
tion of  Maine.  —  MisBouri  Compromise.  —  Falmouth  Banlt.  —  Pirates. — 
Political  Exasperations.  —  The  Tariff,  — Cape  Cod  Harbor.  —  Glass  Man- 
ufacture.—  Disasters  at  Sea.  —  Barnstable  Bank.  —  Public  Offices  de- 
stroyed. —  Political  Changes.  —  Treaties. 

In  1817,  Mr.  Madison'a  term  of  office  having  expired, 
and  Jambs  Monroe  having  been  elected  to  the  Presi- 
dency, he  took  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitution, 
March  4. 

Foreign  merchandise  continued  to  inundate  the 
country ;  and  the  specie  borrowed  in  Europe  at  an 
excessive  premium,  as  well  as  that  previously  in  the 
country,  was  rapidly  leaving  it  to  pay  the  balance 
against  us.  Commerce  was,  therefore,  less  flourishing 
than  had  been  anticipated.  Much  of  the  legitimate 
trade  was  in  the  hands  of  foreigners ;  many  ships  were 
lying  at  the  wharves,  unemployed,  and  the  multiplica- 
tion of  vessels  nearly  ceased. 

We  find  the  towns  this  year,  strange  as  to  us  it  now 
appears,  petitioning  the  Postmaster  General  or  Con- 
gress, for  a  mail  twice  a  week  to  Brewster,  and,  if  prac- 
ticable, to  Provincetown.^     We  can  scarcely  realize  that 

and  Dennis,  in  the  road  to  Chatham,  near  the  "Welden's ;  thence  east- 
erly in  sd.  road  opposite  the  house  of  Seth  Bangs ;  tbence  easterly  on 
Bach  a  course  as  to  strike  the  easterly  line  of  the  said  town  of  Dennis 
at  a  point  therein  which  is  the  N.  W.  corner  of  the  town  of  Harwich, 
and  the  S.  W.  comer  of  the  town  of  Brewster,  near  the  Wliite  Pond 
so  called." 

'See  Appendix  B. 


yGoogle 


614  THE   HISTORY   OF   GAPE   COD. 

SO  short  a  time  back,  such  a  measure  w 
when  we  consider  the  present  advantage  of  daily,  and 
in  many  of  the  towns,  twice  daily  mails.  We  also 
find  that  a  company  was  incorporated  by  the  name 
of  "The  Eastham  and  Orleans  Canal  Proprietors,"  for 
opening  a  canal  from  the  head  of  Nauset  Cove  to  Boat 
Meadow  Creek. 

"We  pass  over  the  year  1818,  as  one  of  not  mnch  pub- 
lic interest  comparatively.  Nothing  of  special  local  in- 
terest occurred  save  the  incorporation  of  "  The  South 
Congregational  Society  in  Barnstable." 

In  1819,  a  treaty  was  negotiated  at  Washington, 
bearing  date  Feb.  23,  between  John  Q.  Adams,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  Don  Onis,  the  Spanish  Minister,  by 
which  Spain  ceded  to  the  United  States  the  Floridas 
and  adjacent  islands.  —  One  of  the  prominent  men 
which  the  Cape  contributed  in  great  numbers  to  Maine 
in  its  early  settlement,  Maj.  George  Lewis,  died  this 
year  at  an  advanced  age.^  —  Alpheus  Childs  and  others 
were  incoi-porated  as  the  Falmouth  Wharf  Company. 

^  Maj.  Lewis  emigrated  from  Barnstable  after  the  revolutionary 
war,  1784,  to  Gorham.  Eev.  Dr.  Prentias,  editor  of  the  memoirs  of 
his  brother  the  distinguished  and  talented  S.  S.  Prentiss  of  Missis- 
sippi, whose  maternal  grandfather  Was  Maj.  Lewis,  says  of  liim :  "  He 
was  a  man  of  great  weigM  of  character,  excellent  understancling,  and 
was  noted  for  tlie  earnestness  of  his  religious  and  political  convic- 
tions." He  was  an  officer  of  the  church ;  and  Dr.  P.  says,  "  One 
might  have  gone  far  before  finding  a  truer  specimen  of  the  Puritan  dea- 
con or  of  the  old-fashioned  WashJngtonian  federalist.  Before  emi- 
grating to  Maine,  he  had  beea  out  in  the  revolutionary  war,  served  as 
an  officer  in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  was  deeply  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  times.  Among  Maj.  L.'a  inornate  friends,  were  his 
cousin  Hon.  Geo.  Tliacher  of   Biddeford,  Gen.  Peleg  Wadsworth, 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  615 

In  1820j  the  Constitutioii  of  Massachusetts  was 
amended.  Maine  was  also  made  a  distinct  and  inde- 
pendent State,  Its  separation  had  for  some  years  been 
the  subject  of  discussion ;  but  hitherto  it  had  remained 
a  Province.  A  large  proportion  of  its  inhabitants  origi- 
nated from  Cape  Cod,'  and  from  an  early  period  nearly 

Judge  Longfellow,  and  Hon.  Prentiss  Mellen,  Chief  Justice  of  Me. ; 
when  visited  by  these  friends,  the  state  of  the  country  waa  an  invari- 
able subject  of  discourse,  and  they  would  often  sit  up  till  midnight, 
absorbed  in  political  discussions.  Maj.  L.,  like  many  others  of  the 
same  political  school,  ' hated  Mr.  Jefferson  with  perfect  hatred.'" — 
He  m.  1st  Mary  Davis  of  Be.  Oct.  12,  1760,  who  d.  1782,  and  2d 
Desire  Parker  Jan.  27,  1783,  who  d.  1815.  Issue:  Mehitable,  July 
21,  1762,  who  m.  Crociter;  Lothrop,  Feb.  13,  1764;  Sarah,  Jan.  13, 
1766,  who  m.  Peabody;  Annah,  March  21,  1768,  who  m.  DarUiig; 
James,  Aug.  21,  1770;  Ansel,  Feb.  2,  1773;  George,  March  28, 
1775  !  Daniel,  July  22,  1777  ;  Mary,  Sept.  29,  1779  ;  aud  Robert  and 
Abigail,  gera.,  Nov.  12,  1782 ;  the  latter  m.  Prentiss.  The  whole  of 
this  Qumei-ous  family  were  b.  in  Barnstable,  and  most  of  them  lived  to 
a  great  age.  The  eldest  son,  Hon.  Lothrop  Ltswis,  b.  1764,  and  d. 
Oct.  9,  1822,  removed  with  his  father  to  Gorbam,  was  "  a  maa  of  emi- 
nent worth,  mildness  and  dignity  of  character  —  a  model  of  public 
virtue."  The  second  son,  Eev.  Ja.mes  Lewis,  b.  in  Be.  1770,  and  d. 
Aug.  19,  1855,  in  Me,,  was  a  venerated  elder  and  local  preacher  of 
the  Meth.  Ep.  church ;  of  whom  his  biographer  says,  "  There  are  few 
men  in  Me.  who  have  been  in  the  ministry  so  long  or  whose  Christian 
labors  have  been  fraught  with  such  abundant  and  lasting  good,"  It 
has  been  estimated  that  during  the  55  yrs.  of  his  ministry,  he  officiated 
at  1500  funerals  —  sometimes  travelling  40  miles  for  the  purpose. 
His  labors  were  chieiiy  divided  among  the  towns  within  a  circuit  of 
90  miles  from  his  farm ;  and  yet  he  never  received  a  dollar  for  his 
ministerial  services.  Another  son,  George,  d.  Sept.  19,  1857 ;  and 
yet  another,  Eev.  Daniel,  Sept.  20,  1849. 

'  It  were  a  task  indeed  to  undertake  to  trace  all  the  removals  from 
the  Cape  to  the  Province  of  Maine.  Besides  the  settlement  of  Goi"- 
ham  almost  exclusively  by  Cape  people,  the  early  history  of  nearly 
all  the  old  towns  in  Maine  shows  that  the  Cape  was  largely  repre- 
sented in  their  beginning  and  progress.  Phinney,  Lombard,  Gorham, 
Lewis,  Freeman,  Bodfish,  Cobb,  Smith,  Snow,  Ellis,  Treat,  Thacher, 


vGooglc 


bib  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

all  the  Patres  conscnjdi  of  the  Cape  towns  have  been  rep- 
resented in  their  descendants  scattered  thickly  over  the 
Pine  State.  The  population  of  Maine  at  this  time  num- 
bered 298,335.  The  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States,  as  appeared  by  the  census  this  year,  was 
found  to  be  9,718,135,  of  whom  1,543,688  were  slaves. 
The  census  of  Massachusetts  showed  523,287;  that  of 
Barnstable  Co.,  24,431. 

The  great  question  which  was  now  destined  to  agi- 
tate the  country  and  apparently  to  threaten  the  sta- 
bility of  the  Union,  cume  up  before  Congress,  from 
Missouri.  The  celebrated  "  compromise  "  was  passed  ; 
the  end  of  altercation  between  the  two  great  sections 
of  our  country,  however,  we  regret  being  obliged  to 
sapy,  was  not  yet  to  be. 

A  vacancy  was  occasioned  in  the  senatorial  repre- 
sentation from  this  county,  by  the  decease  of  Hon. 
Solomon  Freeman  of  Brewster.' 

Doane,  Paine,  Davis,  Fuller,  Hatoblin,  Poster,  Eldi-idge,  Dilliiigham, 
Weeks,  Wing,  Hoxie,  Tupper,  Toung,  Burgess,  Sears,  Tol)y,  Hatch, 
Howes,  Hall,  Jenkins,  Jennings,  Jones,  Johnson,  Knowles,  Nickerson, 
Percival,  Bowman,  Thornton,  Hallett,  Lovell,  Hinddey,  and  a  host  of 
others,  are  names  that  having  been  transferred  to  the  Kennebec,  Pe- 
nobscot, or  elsewhere,  are  largely  represented  in  "the  eastern  conn- 
try,"     See  Appendix  C. 

'  Hon.  Solomon  Freeman  d,  Nov,  9,  1821),  greatly  esteemed  and 
much  lamented.  He  had  been  a  leading  man  and  had  filled  many 
responsible  stations.  He  was  son  of  Hon,  Solomon,  b.  1732-3,  who 
also  was  for  many  years  senator,  judge  of  the  Ct,  Com,  Pletui,  dele- 
gate for  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  &c^  and  a  lineal 
descendant  from  Mr.  Edmund  Freeman  Sr.,  the  earliest  of  the  assist- 
ants and  magistrates  from  the  Cape,  who  d.  1682,  We  have  referred 
(p.  5(i8)  to  the  place  of  interment  of  the  aged  progenitor  of  so  many 
bearing  the  name  now  widely  scattered  over  every  part  of  the  Union ; 
and  our  allusion  to  "the  saddle  and  pillion"  may  justly  demand  a 
word  of  explanation.     When  the  original  proprietor  of  Sandwich  waa 


vGooglc 


AMNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  617 

In  1821,  the  Independence  of  the  South  American 
Kepubhca  was  recognized  by  the  United  States.  —  The 
Falmouth  Bank  was  incorporated,  Eeh.  14 ;  capital 
1100,000;  also  the  Salt  Manufacturing  Co.  of  Billings- 
gate Island,  capital  $50,000. 

called,  in  old  age,  to  bury  hia  wife,  it  is  well  understood  that  moiin- 
ments  wrought  and  lettered  were  not  to  be  easily  obtained.  The  ven- 
erable man  calling  his  sona  to  his  aid,  suggested  that  some  memorial 
should  mark  tho  spot  where  the  mortal  remains  of  their  mother  had 
been  committed  to  the  earth ;  and,  directing  them  to  follow  with  a 
learn,  led  the  way  lo  a  large  stone,  or  rock,  which  in  shape  resembled 
R  pillion.  This  being  conveyed  from  a  distant  field,  was  placed  over 
the  recent  grave.  Admonished  by  bereavement  and  age  that  his  own 
time  might  be  short,  he  caused  yet  another  stone  to  be  brought  from 
an  adjoining  field,  the  form  of  which  stone  he  fancied  to  resemble  a 
saddle.  These  emblems  of  the  conveniences  on  which  the  aged 
couple  had  long  rode  Co  the  house  of  Gtod  in  company,  he  thought 
proper  should  rest  on  their  respective  gi'aves.  Designating  the  pre- 
cise spot  in  which  he  would  be  buried,  and  placing  the  "  saddle  "  beside 
it,  the  three  together  proceeded  to  enclose  the  area  by  a  massive  cir- 
cular wall,  containing  within  the  enclosure  two  venerable  oaks. 
"  Hither,  after  death  has  taken  your  father,"  said  he,  "  bring  me  and 
lay  my  remains  by  the  side  of  your  mother ;  then  place  upon  my 
grave  the  intended  stone,  and  here  let  us  remain  undisturbed  until 
the  resurrection  day."  Within  the  recollection  of  persons  yet  living, 
the  remains  of  those  ancient  trees  were  standing  and  the  last  vestiges 
of  the  wall  were  removed  —  the  lllle  having  passed  into  the  hands  of 
those  of  another  name  ;  but  neither  the  two  graves  nor  the  rude  mon- 
uments placed  over  them  have  ever  been  disturbed.  The  land,  again, 
some  half-century  since,  came  into  possession  of  the  blood ;  and  it  has 
been  the  design  of  successive  owners  that  tho  spot  be  considered  as 
sacred.  And,  inasmuch  as  a  considerable  area  around  the  two  graves 
was  dearly  the  ancient  burial-place  of  others,  the  present  owner, 
Watson  Freeman  Esq.,  U.  S.  Marshal  for  the  District  of  Mass.,  has, 
with  filial  devotion  and  commendable  liberality,  caused  a  survey  of 
the  land  that  he  may  invest  the  title  in  perpetual  trust  —  to  be  used 
for  no  future  burials,  but  —  to  be  held  forever  protected  from  secular 
use  as  the  resting-place  of  the  mortal  remains  of  venerated  progeni- 
tors. It  is  also  in  contemplation,  of  himself  and  others,  if  circum- 
VOL.  I.  78 


vGooglc 


618  THE   HISTOET   OP   CAPE   COD. 

In  1822,  Gen.  Joseph  Dimmick,  of  revolutionary 
fame,  and  sometime  high  sheriff,  died  Sept  21,  at  ad- 
vanced age/  —  Great  annoyance  to  commerce  was  suf- 

stances  favor,  to  erect  there  a  suitable  moQument  with  inscription ;  but 
BO  placed  as  not  to  inftinge  on  "  the  saddle  and  pillion."  The  location 
is  about  1^  miles  west  of  the  Town  Hall  in  Sandwich.  The  two  sons 
of  Edmund  Sr.  —  Edmund  Jr.  b.  1622  and  John  b.  1629,  (see  pages 
461  and  601) — have  descendants  numerous  on  the  Cape,  and  far 
more  numerous  elsewhere.  Edmund  Jr.  remained  in  Sandwich ;  John 
removed  to  Eastham.  Both  m.  drs.  of  Gov.  Prince ;  and  both  sons 
were  much  in  public  life,  holding  prominent  positions  in  their  respec- 
tive towns,  or  as  deputies  to  the  General  Court,  &c.  John  was  also  a 
military  man,  an  assistant  in  the  government  of  the  colony,  and  the 
first  magistrate  commissioned  in  the  county  after  the  union  of  the 
Plymouth  Colony  with  Mass.  —  Genealogy  to  be  resumed  hereafter. 
It  is  proper  to  say  in  this  place  that  in  the  order  of  our  geneaioo^cal 
notices  we  are  governed  by  no  rule  or  suggestion  of  precedence. 
Genealogical  notes  are  made  when  and  where  most  convenient.  Nu- 
merous important  ones  are  delayed  simply  to  gain  a  more  accurate 
knowledge  of  facts  and  data.  Thus  much  to  guard  against  a  suppo- 
sition that  invidious  preferences  are  intended. 

'  Gen.  Joseph  Dimmiok,  a  lineal  descendant  of  eider  Thomas  of 
Barnstable,  d.  Sept.  21, 1822,  te.  88.  He  m.  Mary  Mciggs,  April  17, 
1759.  Issue:  Braddock,  Feb.  26,  1761;  Prince,  Feb.  11,  1763; 
Martha,  ISfov.  16, 1764,  who  m.  Joseph  Crocker,  Nov.  23,  1785,  and 
d.  Dec.  20,  1836;  Temperance,  Aug.  9, 1766,  who  m.  1st  Palmer,  2d 
Davis,  and  d.  1847;  Mary,  March  16,  1763,  who  m.  Timo.  Crocker, 
Oct.  1,  1792,  and  d.  1834;  Joseph,  April  27, 1770  ;  Anaehn,  Mai-ch 
16, 1772  ;  William,  March  16,  1774  and  d.  early  ;  Tabitha,  June  26, 
1776,  who  m.  1st  Elisha  Sherman  of  Bocb.  Jan.  20,  1799,  and  2d 
Elijah  Bourne,  Jan.  16,  1814;  and  John,  Dec.  16,  1779.  Early  en- 
listed in  his  country's  cause,  he  served  as  It.  of  the  militia  under  Gen, 
Aberorombie  at  Ticonderoga ;  and  at  the  opening  of  the  revolution 
took  a  decided  stand  on  the  side  of  liberty  —  always  firm,  efficient, 
brave.  The  utmost  confidence  was  reposed  in  his  fidelity,  good  judg- 
ment, and  indomitable  energy.  He  shrunk  from  no  danger  in  his 
country's  service  ;  his  presence  was  always  inspiring  to  his  associates, 
and  his  name  was  respected  though  feared  by  the  enemy.  He  was 
early  a  professor  of  religion,  and  maintained  a  consistent  Christian  life. 


vGooglc 


ASNAL3   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  619 

fered  by  the  West  Indian  seas  being  infested  by  pirates ; 
and  measures  were  taken  by  government  to  abate  the 
evil.  The  United  States  schooner  Alligator  captured  a 
piratical  schooner,  and  recaptured  sundry  vessels  be- 
longing to  Americans,  that  had  fallen  into  piratical 
hands. — Acts  were  passed  ceding  to  the  United  States, 
jurisdiction  of  part  of  Billingsgate  Island  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  lighthouse;  to  regulate  the  firing  of  coal 
pits,  &c.^ 

The  year  1823  was  one  of  much  political  excite- 
ment William  Eustis  was  elected  to  the  chief  magis- 
tracy of  the  State,®  and  the  change  of  administration 

'■  It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  detadl  all  the  minor  acta  of 
legislation  designed  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  Cape ;  although  we 
are  aware  that  these  indicate  in  some  degree  the  progress  being  made. 
The  last-named  act,  with  subsequent  similar  legislation,  had  become 
higUy  necessary  to  prevent  damage  to  the  public  as  well  as  the  pro- 
prietors of  extensive  wood-lands  in  the  several  adjoining  towns.  The 
negligence  of  some  engaged  in  making  charcoal  or  clearing  up  brush- 
wood, and  the  disasters  occasioned  by  the  injudicious  selection  of  times 
for  burning,  became  a  source  of  frequent  alarm.  In  addition  to  the 
above  acts,  were  those  for  the  preservation  of  the  lobster  fishery  in 
Proviocetown ;  and  for  the  incorporation  of  Bass  Eiver  Lower  Bridge 
Co.  between  Dennis  and  Tarmouth,  authorized  to  build  'with  draw' 
and  receive  toll. 

^  Gov.  Brooks  who  now  retired,  whose  early  years  were  spent  on 
his  father's  farm  with  no  other  advantages  of  education  than  those  of 
a  common  school,  had  early  become  conspicuous  both  as  an  eminent 
physician  and  a  military  man.  His  services  in  the  high  offices  he 
held  in  the  army  during  the  revolutionary  period,  are  recorded  to  his 
honor.  He  filled  with  credit,  subsequent  to  his  retirement  from  the 
army,  several  important  offices  previous  to  his  being  called  to  the 
gubernatorial  chair.  No  one  questioned  his  integrity  and  devoted 
patriotism ;  and  he  was  as  much  beloved  in  private  life  as  he  was  dis- 
tinguished in  liis  of^cial  career  by  judicious  and  unwearied  labors  for 
the  public  good.  He  died  Mai-ch  1, 1825,  ec.  72  —  "a  humble  and 
devoted  Christian." 


vGooglc 


620  TEE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

called  forth  a  renewal  of  former  exasperiitions.^  Arti- 
cles were  this  year  entered  into  by  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain,  authorizing  the  commissioned  ofB- 
cem  of  each  nation  to  capture  and  detain  ships  of  the 

^  The  temper  of  the  public  mind  may  be  inferred  from  the  answer 
of  the  House  of  R^preaentatives,  in  June,  to  Gov.  Eustia'  inaugural 
address:  "The  change  of  political  sentiment,  evinced  in  the  late  elec- 
tions, forms,  indeed,  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  our  Commonwealth. 
It  is  the  triumph  of  reason  over  passion,  of  patriotism  over  party 
spiriL  Massachusetts  has  returned  to  her  flret  love  and  is  no  longer 
a  stranger  in  the  Union,  And  it  is  with  peculiar  pleasure  we  recog- 
nize in  her  cliief  magistrate,  one  who  contended  first  for  the  freedom 
and  independence  of  these  States,  and,  afterwards,  for  the  continuance 
of  their  sovereignty  and  existence  as  a  nation  j  and  whose  whole  life 
has  been  devoled  to  his  country  We  reioice  that,  though,  during  the 
last  wai',  such  ma.  w        <kd  p  ed    n  this  Slate,  as  occasioned 

double  sacrifice  of  d    f  I  f        overed  the  friend"  of  the 

nation  with  humU        n       d  m  d  fixed  a  stain  on  tlie  page 

of  our  history ;  a  d  m  p  has  length  arisen  to  take  away 
our  reproach,  and       to     to  u  g     t     ime,  our  rank  among  our 

sister  States,  and         j  fl  h    Union.     And  while  we  re- 

joice that  the  rism     g  n  wh  Id  have  had  no  agency  in 

these  measares,  app  ah  k  n  rnest  and  so  honorable  an 

interest  to  redeem  our  character;  we  rejoice, also, that  our  redemption 
has  come,  while  most  of  those  whose  heads  were  bowed  down  with 
afBiction  are  yet  in  existence  and  can  once  more  look  op  and  behold 
the  cheering  light  which  shines  on  their  native  State. 

"  Though  we  would  not  renew  contentions,  or  irritate  wantonly,  we 
believe  that  there  are  cases,  when  it  is  necessary,  we  should  '  wound 
to  heal.'  And  we  consider  it  among  tlie  first  duties  of  the  friends  of 
our  national  government,  on  this  return  of  power,  to  disavow  the  un- 
warrantable course  pursued  by  this  State  during  the  late  war ;  and  to 
hold  up  the  measures  of  that  period  as  beacons,  that  the  present  and 
succeeding  generations  may  shun  that  career  which  must  inevitably 
terminate  in  the  destruction  of  the  individual  or  the  parly  who  pur- 
sues it;  and  may  leatn  the. important  lesson  that,  in  all  times,  the 
path  of  duty  is  the  path  of  safety ;  and  that  it  is  never  dangerous  to 
rally  around  the  standard  of  our  country.  .  .  . 

"  The  House  of  Representatives  appreciate  the  wisdom  and  moder- 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  621 

other  wlien  found  engaged  in  tlie  slave  trade.  —  A  site 
for  a  lighthouse  on  Monomoy  Point,  Chatham,  was 
ceded  to  the  United  States.  —  Hon.  Ezra  Sampson,  a 
native  of  Barnstable,  well  known  by  several  valuable 
publications,  died  Dec.  12,  se.  74,  at  Hudson,  N.  T. 

In  1824,  Aug.  13,  Gen.  La  Fayette  visited  the  United 
States,  and  became  a  nation's  guest.  Before  his  return 
to  France,  Congress  voted  him  $200,000  and  a  town- 
ship of  land  as  a  testimony  of  gratitude  for  revolution- 
ary services.  During  his  visit  he  had  the  mournful 
satisfaction  of  taking  by  the  hand  a  few,  and  compara- 
tively few  only,  of  the  gray-headed  veterans  of  the 
revolution.  Though  nearly  half  a  century  had  passed 
away,  his  faithful  memory  had  retained  both  the  coun- 
tenances and  the  names  of  those  who  had  been  his 
companions  in  arms.  His  progress  through  the  States, 
was,  as  right  it  should  be,  one  continued  triumph,  — ■ 
the  most  illustrious  of  any  on  the  page  of  history ;  for 
his,  was,  every  where,  the  tribute  of  a  free,  enUghtened, 
grateful  people. 

The  tariff-question  now  agitated  the  country.  A  bill 
for  a  new  tariff  was  passed.  But  the  great  and  ab- 
sorbing topic  was  the  presidential  election.  There 
were,  in  one  sense,  no  parties,  strictly  so  called,  in  exist- 
ence during  the  canvass.  The  existing  state  of  things 
was  quite  an  anomaly,  which  we  know  not  how  bet- 
ter to  express  than  to  say,  there  were  several  factions, 
consisting  of  partisans  of  most  distinguished,  able,  and 

ation  of  jour  excellency's  prediicessor  who  is  followed  to  hia  retire- 
ment witli  the  gratitude  of  this  whole  people.  They  will  never  foi^et 
his  personal  sacrifiees  and  services  in  the  war  of  the  revolution ;  and 
the  sacrifice  of  a  son  who  bore  up  his  name  in  '  the  late  war  that  ter- 
minated with  so  much  glory  to  our  nation.'  " 


vGooglc 


622  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

patriotic  men,  Adams,  Jackson,  Clay,  Crawford,  and 
Calhoun.'- 

The  Hon.  Geoege  Teacher,  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court  of  Massachusetts,  died  April  6,  je.  70.^ 

*  The  incorporation  of  tlie  proprietors  and  owners  of  Eastern  Har- 
bor meadows  and  beaches  in  Truro,  is  the  only  local  event  we  may 
record. 

*  See  notice  of  Judge  Thacher's  ancestry,  pages  142-5.  We  here 
resume  the  family  genealogy :  Col.  and  Hon.  John  Thacher,  s.  of 
Mr.  Anthony,  who  d.  in  Yarmouth  May  8,  1713,  iE.  75,  m.  1st  Re- 
becca "Win  slow  of  Mai-slifleld  Nov.  6,  1664,  and  2d  Lydia  Gorhatn, 
dr.  of  John  Esq.  of  Be.  Jan.  1,  168i,  who  d.  Aug.  2,  1744,  k.  84. 
Issue:  Peter  May  26,  1665,  at  Y.;  Josiah  April  26,1667;  Eebecca 
June  1, 1669,  who  m.  1st  James  Sturgis,  2d  Ebenezer  Lewis ;  Eethia 
July  10,  1671, who  m.  James  Payne;  John  Jan.  28,  1674;  Elizabeth 
June  19,  1677,  who  m.  Moses  Hat'ih  of  F.;  Hannah  Aug.  19,  1679, 
who  d.  1689;  Mary  Aug.  3,  1682,  who  d.  early,  Lydia  Feb.  11, 
1684,  who  m.  Joseph  Freeman  of  H. ;  Mary  Feb.  5,  1686,  who  m. 
Shubael  Gorham  of  Be.;  Desire  Dec.  24,  1688,  who  m.  Josiah 
Crocker  of  Be.;  Hannah  Oct.  9,  1690,  who  m.  Nathaniel  Otis  and 
settled  in  Colchrater,  Ct. ;  Mercy  July  22, 1692,  who  d.  early ;  Judah 
Aug.  20,  1693;  Mercy  Dec  8,  1695,  who  d.  early;  Anna  May  7, 
1697,  who  m.  John  Lothrop  of  F.  and  went  to  Tolland,  Ct. ;  Joseph 
July  11,  1699 ;  Benjamin  June  25, 1701 ;  Mercy  Feb.  7,  1703,  who 
m.  Ist  Joshua  Sears  and  went  to  Norwalk,  Ct.,  1724,  and  2d  James 
Harris  of  Saybrook;  and  Thomas  April  2,  1705.  Col.  T.  was  early 
It.,  sel.  man.  20  years,  rep.  1 668-83  excepting  one  or  two  years,  of  the 
coondl  of  war  1681  several  years,  assistant  5  years,  of  the  council 
soon  after  the  Union  most  of  the  time  to  1812  about  20  years.  Greatly 
honored  and  esteemed,  he  was  buried  under  arras,  and  his  grave-stone 
was  the  firet  with  an  inscription  put  up  in  Yarmouth,  being  brought 
from  England.  —  Hon.  Peter  Thacher,  eldest  s.  of  Col.  John,  who 
d.  fe.  71,  m.  Thankful  Stur^s,  and  had  Thankful  Jan.  13,  1693-4, 
who  m.  John  Hallett  of  Y. ;  Peter  Dec.  11,1695,  who  d.early;  Sarah 
Feb.  2,  1708-9,  who  m.  Geo.  Lewis  of  Be.;  Temperance  Sept.  16, 
1711;  Peter  Aug.  24,  1712;  and  Hannah  Aug.  10,  1715.  Mr.  T. 
was  just.  C.  C.  P.  1720,  chf.  just.  1728,  and  several  years  of  the  coun- 
cil. He  was  a  humble  Christian,  and  much  esteemed.  —  Lt.  Peter 
TiiACHEK,  8.  of  Hon.  Peter,  m,  Anner  dr.  of  Geo.  Lewis  of  Be.,  and 


vGooglc 


BoTR  1754.-liieil  162^. 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


AHNALS    OP   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  623 

In  1825  the  quiet  and  prosperous  administration  of 
Mr.  Monroe  being  about  to  expire,  and  the  electora 
having  failed  to  make  choice  of  a  successor,  the  duty 
devolved  on  the  House  of  Representatives  by  whom 
John  Quincy  Adams  was  chosen,  Feb.  9;  and  he  was 
inaugurated  March  4. 

Gov.  Eustis'  death  occurring  Feb.  6/  Lieut.  Gov. 
Maecus  Morton  presided  to  the  close  of  the  poMtical 
year,  when  Levi  Lincoln,  being  elected,  assumed  the 

had  Josiah  July  22,  1735;  Pel«r  Nov.  25,  17S7 ;  Temperance  Feb. 
25, 1739  (  Lewis  March  15,  1741,  who  d.  inf. ;  Lewis,  who  d.  early ; 
Thankful  Feb,  28,  1744,  who  d,  ee.  about  18 ;  Anna  who  died  early ; 
Sarah  June  5,  1749,  who  m.  Isaac  Gorham ;  Lewis  Not,  23,  1751, 
who  d.  1778;  George  April  12, 1754;  and  Thomas  Jan.  20, 1757.— 
Hon.  George  Thacher,  s.  of  Peter  2d,  who  grad,  H.  C.  1776,  and 
d,  April  6,  1824,  ».  70,  m.  Sarah,  dr.  of  Samuel  P.  Savage  Esq.  of 
Weston,  July  20,  1784,  having  located  at  Biddeford,  Me.  Iss«e: 
Samuel  P.  April  1785,  who  practised  law  at  Saco,  m.  Jane  C.  D. 
Savage,  had  2  drs.  who  with  himself  d.  at  Mobile,  Ala-,  1342 ;  Sally 
1787,whom.  Joseph  Adams  Esq.ofE.  Sudbury;  George  Sept.  1790, 
who  grad.  H.  C.  1812,  m,  Lucy  Eigelow,  practised  law  in  Saco,  was 
collector  at  Belfast,  and  d.  at  Westford  1857,  leaving  3  drs. ;  Lucy  S. 
1792,  who  m.  Abner  Sawyer  Jr.  of  Saco ;  Henry  8.  Jan.  25,  1794, 
who  m.  Eliz.  Haven  Wardrobe  of  Portsmouth  Sept.  26,  1822,  and 
was  cashier  of  the  Saco  Bank,  then  of  tlie  York  Bank  of  S.,  25  years, 
and  has  sons  and  drs. ;  Lewis  Jan,  16,  1796,  who  m.  Mary  Goodrich 
of  N.  Y.,  and  d.  1830;  Anna  L.  1797,  who  m.  Charles  T.  Savage  of 
Newburyport  Sept.  20,  1821 ;  Josiah  1800,  who  m.  Jane  Scammon  of 
Saco,  and  d.  183R;  Nancy  B.;  and  Eliza  J.,  who  m.  John  T.  Balch 
of  N.  Y.  A  biographical  sketch  of  Judge  T.  will  be  found  in  Chap. 
xxix.  —  For  the  engraved  portrait  of  Hon.  Mr.  Thacher,  herewith 
presented,  we  are  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  his  son,  Mr.  Henry  S. 
Thacher,  and  the  liberality  of  other  relatives. 

^  Gov.  William  Eustis  was  by  profession  a  physician,  and  was  a 
surgeon  in  the  army  of  the  revolutionary  war.  He  was  elected  to 
Congress  in  1800,  and  appointed  secretary  of  war  in  1809.  He  was 
ambassador  to  Holland  in  1815;  and  again,  in  1821  and  for  four  suc- 
cessive sessions,  was  in  Congress,     He  died  Feb.  6,  1825,  k,  71. 


vGooglc 


624  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE    COD. 

cliair  of  state,  continuing  long  in  office.  The  pro- 
visions of  the  act  of  1786  in  regard  to  the  preservation 
of  the  Cape  harbor  were  found  to  have  been  *'  sadly 
neglected ;  the  trees  had  been  cut  down  for  fuel  and 
other  purposes,  and  the  lands  of  the  Commonwealth 
treated  as  if  free  to  the  inroads  of  any  one ;  the  strip 
and  waste  depriving  the  sands  of  their  natural  pro- 
tector, they  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  winds;  and,  as 
was  anticipated,  the  sands  had  been  and  continued  to 
be  forced  over  the  meadows  to  their  great  detriment, 
and  also  into  the  north-east  part  of  the  harbor.  These 
injurious  consequences  were  more  immediately  appre- 
ciated by  the  inhabitants  of  Truro,  and  the  selectmen 
of  that  town  petitioned  the  General  Court  to  take 
measures  to  protect  East  and  Cape  Cod  harbors."  ^  —  The 

^  So  says  the  report  of  the  legislative  committee  of  1854 ;  and  the 
result  of  the  application  at  tbis  present  time,  was  the  appointment  of 
commissioners  to  examine  the  harbor  and  ascertain  and  estimate  the 
danger  to  be  upprehendedof  damage  to  the  same;  the  necessity  of  meas- 
ures to  obviate  the  evil ;  the  measures  that  may  be  necessary  for  the 
purpose ;  and  the  probable  expense.  Messrs.  Zabdiel  Sampson  and 
Nymphas  Marston,  in  their  report,  stated  that  the  trees  having  been 
cut  down  and  the  beach  grass  destroyed  on  the  seaward  side  of  the 
Cape,  the  sand  was  constantly  being  driven  in  great  quantities  towards 
the  harbor.  They  made  reference  to  the  utter  disregard  of  the  exist- 
ing laws  for  the  preservation  of  the  beaches  and  harbor,  on  this  wise ; 
"The  space  where  a  few  years  since  were  some  of  the  highest  lands 
on  the  Cape,  covered  with  trees  and  bushes,  now  presents  an  extensive 
waste  of  undulating  sand."  They  recommended  prohibiting  "hy  se- 
vere penalties  neat  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep  from  going  at  large  on 
the  Province  Lands  —  the  cutting  of  beach  grass  and  woods  —  and 
the  pulling  up  of  any  roots,  shrubs,  trees,  or  grasses;"  and  also 
proposed  "  the  cultivation  of  beach  grass,  the  setting  out  of  such  grass 
on  the  Cape  and  on  Long  Beach,  and  the  construction  of  a  brush  fence 
on  said  beach."  The  estimated  cost  of  this  work  was  $3600.  The 
result  of  this  report  was  a  resolve  "  that  the  senators  of  this  Common- 
wealth in  Congress  be  instructed  and  the  representatives  rec^uested. 


vGooglc 


AKHALS   OF   BAEHSTABLE   COUNTY.  625 

Hon.  John  Dates,  judge  of  probate,  died  May  27,  se.  80^ 
years  —  universally  respected  —  an  upright  judge,  a 
faithful  physician,  a  most  estimable  citizen. 

A  flint-glass  manufactory  was  established  in  Sand- 
wich, the  present  year,  by  individual  enterprise. 
Ground  was  broken  in  April,  dwellings  for  the  artisa-ns 
and  other  workmen  were  built,  and  the  first  design  of 
the  establishment  was  so  far  executed  tliat  the  glass 
blowing  commenced  on  the  4th  July.  The  following 
year  the  establishment  was  purchased  of  the  propri- 
etor, and,  as  ■will  appear,  the  company  purchasing  was 
incorporated. 

This  year  also  occurred  one  of  those  often  recurring 
disasters  that  involve  Cape  families  in  deep  affliction, 
A  vessel,  M.  Graton  master,  returning  from  Charleston, 
S.  C,  in  the  month  of  May,  was  lost,  in  which  as  pas- 
sengers were  some  thirty  or  more  of  the  most  estimable 
young  men  of  the  upper  towns.^  Nor  was  this  the  only 
disaster:  the  year  was  peculiarly  afflictive  to  Truro. 
Many  of  its  most  active  and  enterprising  citizens  found 

to  use  their  endeavors  to  procure  an  appropriation  by  Congreaa  for 

the  purpose  of  preventing  the  destruction  of  Provincetown  harbor." 

The  apphcation  to  Congress  vras  so  far  effectual  that,  May  20,  1826, 

$3500  waa  appropriate il.     The  ainonnta  appropriated  by  Congress, 

at  various  times,  "  for  the  preservation  of  Cape  Cod  Harbor,"  were  as 

late  aa  1833,  as  follows  :  — 

May  20, 1826,       $3500  March  S,  1835,      $4400 

March  2,  1831,         2050  July  2,  1836,  4400 

Joly  3, 1832,  4600  Joly  7,  1838,  4500 

June  28, 1834,  4400  

Total,  $27,850 
'  These  wore  generally  mechanics  returning  from  (heir  annual  so- 
journ during  the  healthy  seasons  in  prosecution  of  their  business  in  South 
Carolina-  Of  the  number  were  Charles  Bassett,  William  Tobey,  Isaac 
Bates,  Eara  Bourne,  Rowland  Fish,  "William  Crowell,  and  Henry 
Crowell,  all  of  Sandwich.  The  others  were  of  neighboring  towns. 
VOL.  L  79 


vGooglc 


626  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

a  watery  grave  whilst  engaged  in  their  avocations  upon 
the  great  deep.  A  monument  erected  in  the  burying 
ground  of  that  town,  to  commemorate  the  lost,  tells  of 
an  event  that  carried  the  cry  of  sad  distress  into  & 
large  portion  of  the  families  of  the  place.^ 

The  Barnstable  Banlt,  located  in  Yarmouth,  -was  in- 
corporated Feb.  26.^^  Other  legislation  of  a  less  public 
nature  was  had.* 

In  1826,  a  treaty  of  commerce,  navigation,  &e.,  be- 
tween Denmark  and  the  United  States  was  concluded  ; 
and  a  similar  treaty  with  the  federation  of  Central 
America. 

"Whilst  the  people  of  these  States  were  engaged  in 
celebrating  their  national  anniversary,  July  4,  John 
Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson  died ;  the  day  being  the 
completion  of  the  first  half  century  of  our  Independ- 
ence. The  coincidence  is  more  remarkable  from  the 
fact  that  these  distinguished  statesmen  and  ex-presi- 
dents were  the  first  on  the  committee  for  preparing  the 

^  It  Tvas  stated  in  the  journals  of  the  day  that  nearly  600  seamen 
belonging  to  various  fishing  towns  in  Mass.  were  lost  by  the  succes- 
sion of  severe  storms  that  occurred  this  year.  Among  those  belong- 
ing to  Truro,  were  Capt.  Reuben  Snow  and  Thomas  Hopkins  who 
were  lost  at  sea  near  Pi-ovincetown  in  the  month  of  Jan. ;  Leonard 
Snow,  Moses  Collins,  John  Snow,  Henry  Snow,  Jonathan  Collins, 
Jonathan  C.  Lee  and  John  S.  Molany,  who  shared  the  same  fate  June 
1 ;  and  Ephraim  Atkins,  Jamea  Lewis,  David  Dobbs,  Parker  Lam- 
bert, Joseph  Smith,  and  Francis  Churchil,  lost  by  the  foundering  of 
their  vessel  on  the  Grand  Bank  in  March  or  April. 

*  The  capital  of  this  hank,  when  first  established  in  1825,  was 
$100,000  ;  increased  in  1835,  to  $150,000 ;  in  1848,  to  $200,000 ;  in 
1851,  fo  $300,000 ;  and  in  1854,  to  $350,000. 

^  Additional  legislation  for  the  preservation  of  forests  and  wood- 
lands ;  regulating  the  eel  fishery  in  Harwich,  the  lobster  and  clam 
fishery  in  Truro,  and  the  taking  of  alewives  in  Harwich, 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAKNSTABLE    COUNTY.  627 

Declaration  of  Independence,  one  the  writer,  the  other 
the  foremost  advocate  of  that  memorable  document ; 
they  were  also  respectively  at  the  head  of  the  two 
opposite  parties  tliat  early  divided  the  country  in  its 
political  views.  Differences  of  opinion,  however,  did  not 
sunder  their  mutual  esteem  and  friendship,  nor  did 
death  separate  them. 

The  first  printed  newspaper  attempted  in  the  county 
was  commenced  this  year  at  Falmouth.^  The  Boston 
and  Sandwich  Glass  Manufacturing  Co,  was  incorporat- 
ed Feb.  22,  capital  $300,000.  The  capital  was  subse- 
quently increased.^  —  Sites  for  lights  were  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  the  one  on  Long  Point,  Provincetown, 
the  other  on  Sandy  Neck,  in  Barnstable.  Additional 
legislation  was  had  for  the  preservation  of  Cape  Cod 
harbor ;  as  also  the  protection  of  the  lobster,  tautog, 
bt^s,  and  other  fisheries  in  Falmouth. 

In  1827,  the  revision  of  the  tariif.  with  a  view  to 
afford  adequate  protection  to  American  manufactures, 
again  occupied  the  deliberations  of  Congress.  The  re- 
sult was  the  passing  a  bill  to  that  end,  May  13,  which 
was  not  only  the  cause  of  dissatisfaction  to  the  conntry, 
but  entirely  unconformable  to  the  wishes  of  the  advo- 
cates of  a  protecting  system. 

The  burning  of  the  County  House  in  Barnstable,  a 
brick  building  and  intended  to  be  fire-proof,  at  night, 
Oct  22,  with  ninety-three  folios  of  Records  of  Deeds, 
also  numerous  deeds  left  for  record  and  remaining  in 
the  office,  vols.  29,  44  and  46  of  the  Probate  Records, 
and  other  records  and  papers,  was  a  serious  calamity.* 

^  See  Appendix  D.  '  See  Appendix  E. 

'  The  first  record  of  a  deed,  made  in  this  county,  was  Oct.  6,  1666  ; 
previous  to  that  time  the  recording  was  done  at  Plymouth. 


vGooglc 


628  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

—  The  Chatham  and  Harwich  Manufacturing  Co.,  for 
cotton  and  woollens,  in  Harwich,  was  incorporated. 
That  there  should  be  cherished  a  disposition  to  vary 
the  industrial  pursuits  of  the  Cape,  is  natural ;  but  ob- 
servation has  hitherto  shown  that  such  attempts  in  the 
lower  towns  are  rather  spasmodic  than  enduring,  and 
that  the  seas  claim  a  transcending  influence.^ 

The  4th  of  July,  this  year,  witnessed  the  demise  of 
ex-president  Monroe. 

In  1828,  Jan.  16,  an  extra  term  of  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sions was  authorized,  "  to  take  measures  for  the  erection 
of  county  buildings  in  consequence  of  the  late  destruc- 
tion by  fire ; "  and,  March  10,  an  act  was  passed  by  the 
General  Court  to  remedy  as  far  as  possible  the  loss  of 
records.  It  was  made  the  duty  of  the  selectmen  of 
each  town  to  cause  to  be  fairly  recorded  all  deeds  for 
conveyance  of  any  real  estate  or  any  interest  therein, 
lying  in  their  respective  towns,  which  shall  he  brought 
to  them  for  the  purpose,  and  which  bear  date  not  more 
than  forty  years  back  and  have  been  recorded  in  the 
registry  of  deeds  of  the  county  before  the  23d  of  Oct. 
last ;  the  said  books  of  records  then  to  be  deposited  in 
the  office  of  the  register  of  deeds  for  the  county,  and 
to  bo  as  effectual  in  law  as  the  first  records  destroyed 
by  fire.  —  Sites  for  lights  were  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  the  one  Dumpling  Eock  in  Buzzard's  Bay,  the 
other  Nobsque  Point  in  Falmouth.  —  The  Rev.  Timothy 
AiDEN,  the  venerable  pastor  at  Yarmouth,  died  this 
year,  at  the  age  of  92  ;  also  Col.  John  Freeman  of  Sand- 
wich, June  8,  aged  65. 

During  the  year,  the  approaching  Presidential  elec- 

'  See  Appendix  F. 


yGoogle 


AHNA18   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  629 

tion  was  the  engrossing  topic  of  political  discussion,  as 
again  in  1832.  The  result  of  the  election  is  meraorar 
ble  from  the  fact  that  the  great  man  himself  whose 
name  was  preferred  by  the  American  people,  made  no 
use  of  those  demagogical  arts  that  are  supposed  to  be 
the  resort  of  popular  leaders  where  democratic  institu- 
tions prevail.  The  zeal,  however,  with  which  the  con- 
test was  waged  by  the  respective  partisans  of  both  the 
candidates  was  highly  acrimonious. 

In  1829,  Andrew  Jackson  became  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  remained  the  head  of  the  Govern- 
ment two  terms.  Addressing  himself  to  "  the  task  of 
reform,"  great  changes  were  made  by  the  removal  of 
officers  of  every  department.  The  condition  of  the 
country  was  one  of  unexampled  prosperity ;  at  peace 
with  all  nations;  the  national  debt  in  a  course  of  rapid 
diminution;  the  treasury  plethoric;  the  revenue  annu- 
ally exceeding  by  a  large  surplus  the  demands  of  gov- 
eniment ;  and  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures 
in  a  flourishing  state.  The  first  message  of  the  Presi- 
dent excited  intense  interest  throughout  the  Union. 
The  tariff,  internal  improvements,  our  Indian  affairs, 
and  the  United  States  Bank,  as  well  as  exec\itive  ap- 
pointments, became  prominent  and  universal  subjects 
of  discussion, 

Chatham  Academy  was  incorporated  March  2 ;  the 
Provincetown  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Co.  was  in- 
corporated June  12  ;  certain  estates  were  annexed  from 
Truro  to  Provincetown ;  and  David  Dimmick  and  others 
were  authorized  to  erect  and  maintain  a  wharf  at  Red 
Brook  in  Sandwich, 

In  1830,  a  new  treaty  of  commerce  was  concluded 


vGooglc 


630  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

with  Great  Britain,  by  which  the  ports  of  that  power 
were,  in  the  West  Indies,  South  Ataerica,  the  Bahamas, 
Bemudas,  &c.,  thrown  open  to  the  vessels  of  the  United 
States ;  and  the  ports  of  the  United  States  to  British 
vessels  coming  from  those  places.  The  result  of  this 
arrangement,  it  has  been  said,  was  the  giving  of  the 
carrying  trade  between  this  country  and  the  West  In- 
dies, to  Great  Britain  chiefly. 

A  treaty  with  Turkey  also,  gave  to  the  United  States 
the  free  navigation  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  trade  of 
the  Turkish  Empire. 

The  decease  of  the  Hon.  Wendell  Davis  of  Sandwich 
who  had  filled  positions  of  much  prominence  in  the 
county  occurred  this  year.^ 

^  Hon.  "Wendell  Davis  was  the  son  of  Thomas  of  Plymouth,  b. 
in  Albany,  1722,  and  g,  s.  of  Thomas  of  Albany,  who  m.  Cathanne 
Wendel!  and  emigntted  to  N,  Carolina  and  settled  on  the  N.  side  of 
Albemarle  Sound  near  Little  River  in  Hertford  Co.,  not  far  from 
Edenton.  The  father  came  to  Plymouth  from  N.  C.  abt,  1742.  He 
was  a  successful  merchant,  and  d.  March  7, 1785.  By  m.  with  Mercy 
dr.  of  the  first  Barnabas  Hedge,  he  had  Sarah,  June  29, 1754,  who  m. 
Le  Baron  Bradford  and  d.  Nov.  10,  1818;  Thomas,  June  26,  1756, 
who  was  several  years  treaa'r  of  the  Commonwealth,  tuid  d.  Jan.  21, 
1805  !  William,  July  13,  1758,  a  protperous  merchant  and  influential 
citizen ;  John,  June  25,  1761,  who  vis  40  yr  judge  of  TJ.  S-  Dist. 
Court,  and  d.  Jan.  14, 1847;  Samuel  Maieh5  1765,  the  distinguished 
antiquarian,  who  d.  July  10,  1829  Isiac  P  Oct.  7,  1771,  to  whom 
Mr.  Webster  in  token  of  long  and  clo'^e  friendship  dedicated  the  2d 
vol.  of  his  works,  and  who  d.  Dec  30  1830  and  Wendell,  Feb.  13, 
1776.  The  latter  grad.  H.  C.  1796,  was  ad.  to  the  bar  1799  and  set- 
tled in  Sandwich,  where,  1802,  he  m.  Caroline  Williams,  dr.  of  Dr. 
Thos.  Smith  by  his  2d  wife  the  dr.  of  Rev.  Abraham  Williams.  Issue ; 
Wendell  Bayard,  July  17,  1803,  grad.  H.  C.  1823,  d.  whilst  a  theol. 
student  at  C,  March  8,  1827 ;  Sam'l  H.,  April  1,  1808,  who  d.  in 
Boston,  Nov.  14,  1831 ;  George  Thomas,  Jan.  12,  1810,  grad.  H.  C. 
1829,  ad.  to  the  bar  1832,  settled  at  Greenfield,  Mass.,  Senate  1840-- 
41,  Cong.  1851-3  ;  and  Wendell  Thornton,  April  12,  1818,  grad.  H. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XSVII. 

Baok  Veto.  —  Frenoli  Spoliations.  —  New  Tariff.  —  Nuliifloation  threat- 
ened.—  The  Cholera.  —  Mashpee,  enlarged  Privileges  to. —  The  De- 
posits. —  Panic  —  Surplus  Eevenue.  —  Commercial  Crisis.  —  Ceiehra- 
tion  at  BamBtable. — Agricultural  Society. — Disasters  at  Sea.  —  The 
Cambria.  —  Cape  Cod  Railroad,  —  Severe  Winter.  —  Successive  Events. 
— -Mashpee  Indians.  —  Cape  Cod  Association  organized,  —  Province 
Lands.  —  Celebration.  —  ProTincctown  Bank.  —  Bank  of  Cape  Cod. — 
Telegraphs.  —  Propagation  of  Fish,  —  Eepresentation.  —  Canal. 

In  1831,  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  whose  char- 
ter was  to  expire  in  1836,  was  destined,  by  the  Presi- 
dential veto,  and  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  the 
constitutional  majority  for  passing  the  bill  for  its  re- 
charter  without  the  signature  of  the  President,  to  cease 
to  be  a  national  institution. 

A  treaty  with  France  was  negotiated,  and  Louis 
Philippe  agreed  to  pay  the  United  States  25,000,000 
francs,  to  indemnify  for  spoliations  on  American  com- 
merce made  under  the  decrees  of  Napoleon.  The  sum 
stipulated  did  not  amount  to  more  than  one  third  of 
the  just  claims  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  but 
the  liquidation,  even   on   terms  so   unfavorable,  was 

C.  1838,  ad.  to  the  bar  1841,  mem.  legislature  from  Greenfield  185-2, 
'53, '57,  —  Mr.  Davis  was  clerk  Mass.  Senate  ;  afterwards  senator, 
as  also  rep.  from  the  town  of  S.,  and  several  years  high  sheriff  of 
Barnstable  County.  He  d.  Dec.  SO,  1830,  and  was  buried  in  Plym- 
outh. Of  his  maternal  ancestry  were  Gov.  Bradford,  Elder  Brews- 
ter, Richard  Warren,  &c,  Mrs.  Davis,  who  was  a  woman  of  fine 
education,  unusual  elegance  of  person,  and  highly  accomplished,  sur- 
vived her  husband  many  years. 


vGooglc 


632  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

hailed  with  the  pleasing  hope  of  realizing  something 
from  their  just  dues  so  long  deferred.  It  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  nearly  all  of  the  original  claimants  that 
then  survived,  were  fated  by  the  remissness  of  their 
own  country  to  fulfil  its  obligations  to  them,  to  go 
down  to  their  graves  with  disappointed  expectations. 

The  Institution  for  Savings,  in  Barnstable,  was  incor- 
porated Jan.  1829;  the  Duck  Harbor  and  Beach  Co. 
in  the  town  of  "Wellfleet;  the  Union  Wharf  Co.  in 
Truro ;  the  Skinnaquits  Fishing  Co.  in  Harwich ;  and 
an  act  was  passed  for  the  preserv'ation  of  the  harbor, 
&c.,  in  the  west  side  of  Griffin's  Island. 

The  year  1832  was  the  period  of  threatened  nullifi- 
cation on  the  part  of  South  Carolina.  A  new  tariff 
bill  was  passed  in  Congress,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  "  State's  rights  party,"  as  they  were  at  first  called, 
prepared  themselves  by  high  excitement,  for  rash 
measures  and  consequent  humiliation.  —  That  terrible 
scourge,  the  Asiatic  cholera,  also  made  its  first  appear- 
ance in  this  country. 

Incorporation  was  granted  to  the  Fishing  In- 
surance Co.  of  Provincetown,  for  taking  marine  risks 
on  vessels  employed  in  the  fishing  and  coasting  busi- 
ness, &c.,  which  object  was  afterwards  extended ;  to  the 
Salt-water  Pond  Co.  in  Harwich,  for  the  purpose  of 
constructing  a  harbor  in  Salt-water  Pond,  opening  and 
maintaining  a  channel  from  the  same  into  the  bay,  &c„ 
&c, ;  to  the  Proprietors  of  Bass  River  lower  bridge ;  and 
an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  towns  of  Chatham 
and  Orleans  to  open  a  passage  through  Nauset  Beach 
in  Chatham  for  the  improvement  of  Chatham  harbor. 

In    1833,  March  3,  another  compromise,  this  time 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  633 

touching  the  tariff  was  effected,  "  designed  to  promote 
the  stability  of  the  Union " !  The  national  bank's 
apphcation  for  a  renewal  of  charter  was  again  before 
Congress,  in  connection  with  the  question  of  the  valid- 
ity of  the  removal  by  the  Executive  of  the  public 
deposits  from  the  United  States  Bank.  Great  excite- 
ment prevailed  throughout  the  country,  and  some  tem- 
porary derangement  of  the  currency  occurred,  occa^ 
sioning  a  partial  suspension  of  commercial  transactions. 
The  "  panic,"  however,  soon  passed  away. 

The  Barnstable  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Co. 
at  Yarmouth  was  incorporated  March  2  ;  incorporation 
was  also  granted  to  the  Central  "Wharf  Co.  in  Yar- 
mouth; the  proprietors  of  Bass  River  upper  bridge; 
the  Union  Wharf  Co.  in  Provincetown ;  the  Herring 
Elver  Co,  in  Harwich,  formed  for  the  purpose  of  deep- 
ening the  channel,  and  improving  the  navigation,  tSic. ; 
a  bridge  with  draw  was  authorized  to  be  built  over  the 
N.  "W.  arm  of  Duck  Creek  in  Wellfleet ;  the  capital  of 
the  Barnstable  Bank  was  increased ;  and  additional 
legislation^  was  had  for  the  protection  of  Cape  Cod 

'  "That  no  neat  cattle,  horses,  or  sheep  shall  be  permitted  to  go  at 
large  in  the  town  of  Provincetown,  nor  on  that  tract  of  land  situate  in 
the  town  of  Truro,  between  the  line  which  divides  the  towns  of  Prov- 
incetown and  Truro,  and  a  line  drawn  parallel  with  the  aforesaid  line 
from  the  foot  of  Eastern  Harbor  Meadow  in  Truro,  to  the  Northern 
side  of  Cape  Cod,  in  Barnstable  County.  And  if  any  person  ehall 
voluntarily  suffer  any  of  the  creatures  aforesaid  to  go  at  large  on  the 
aforementioned  lands,  he  shall  forfeit  and  pay  to  the  use  of  the  person 
prosecuting  therefor,  for  every  one  of  s^d  creatures,  excepting  sheep, 
not  less  than  five,  nor  more  than  ten  dollars,  and  for  every  sheep  one 
dollar;  and  if  any  person  shall  wilfully  pull  up  or  destroy  any  beach 
grass  planted,  or  which  hereafter  may  be  planted  within  the  limits 
aforesaid,  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  Provincetown  harbor,  he  shall 
forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  ten  dollars  for  the  first,  and  twenty-fiva 
VOL.  L  80 


vGooglc 


bd4  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

harbor.  —  The  Eev.  Mr.  Goodwin,  minister  of  the  first 
parish  in  Sandwich,  died  Feb.  5,^ 

In  1834,  the  Indian  Plantation  of  Mashpee  was,  by 
act  of  the  legislature,  again  constituted  a  d^trict,  un- 
der restrictions  judged  expedient,  but  restoring  to  the 
Indians  some  rights  and  privileges  of  which  they  had 
been  despoiled  by  various  and  long-continued  acts'  of 
legislation.*^  —  The  President  of  the  United  States  ad- 
vised reprisals  to  satisfy  the  amount  fixed  by  treaty  as 
the  just  claims  on  the  French  nation,  for  spoliations 
committed  under  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees ;  but 
these  claims  were  soon,  in  consequence  of  the  en- 
ergetic course  of  the  President,  paid  to  the  American 
Government. 

JoHH  Davis  was  Governor  of  the  State,  as  also  the 
succeeding  year.  Incorporation  was  granted  to  the 
Poca^et  Iron  Co.  in  Sandwich ;  the  Institution  for 
Savings  in  WelMeet ;  the  Tirst  Baptist  Society  in  Or- 
leans ;  and  the  First  Universalist  Society  in  Orleans. 
Authority  was  given  to  build  a  bridge  over  Sesuit 
Creek  in  Dennis,  also  over  Herring  River  in  Harwich ; 
and  an  act  was  passed  to  protect  the  oyster  and  other 
shell  fisheries  in  Sandmch.  A  Prussian  brig,  wrecked 
at  Truro,  furnished  another  instance  of  the  dangers 

dollars  for  every  subsequent  offence,  to  the  use  of  the  person  pros- 
ecuting therefor."  Other  acts  to  render  the  laws  more  effectual,  were 
passed  in  1835,  1837,  and  18S8,  to  which  we  may  not  again  refer. 

^  The  Eev.  Ezra  Shaw  Goodwin,  youngest  son  of  Gten.  Nath'l 
Goodwin  of  Plymouth  by  his  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  Rev. 
JohiiShawofBridgewat«r,  wash.  Sept.  11,1787;  grad.  H.  C.  1807; 
supplied  the  parish  from  Sept.  1811,  through  the  greater  part  of  1812, 
and  was  ord.  pastor  Mar.  17,  1813.  He  m.  Ellen  Watson,  d.  of  Hon. 
John  Davis  of  Boston,  1811,  and  d.  fe.  46,  in  the  20th  of  his  ministry. 

*  For  a  view  of  these  several  enactments,  see  chapter  on  Mashpee. 


yGoogle 


AKNAIS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  635 

that  beset  this  part  of  the  coast,  and  illustration  of  the 
noble-heartedness  of  Truro  men  in  imperilling  their 
own  lives  in  endeavors  to  rescue  strangers  from  death.^ 

In  1835j  Ealmouth  Academy  vras  incorporated 
March  7 ;  and  legislation  authorized  the  building  of 
a  bridge  over   Swan-pond   River  in  Dennis,  and  the 


'  Mr.  Elisha  Paine  of  North  Truro  perislied  in  the  attempt  The 
family  of  Paine,  or  Payne  as  often  written,  has  been  numerous  and 
respectable  on  the  Cape,  and,  although  the  descendants  are  still  nu- 
merous in  this  county,  has  hecome  also  widely  scattered  abroad.  Mr. 
Thomas  Patne,  tradition  tells,  came  over  early  and  brought  with 
him  a  son  10  or  12  years  old  bearing  the  same  name.  A  Thomas 
3v.  was  early  in  Sandwich  and  Yarmouth  several  years,  and  in  East- 
ham  in  1655.  Thomas  Sr.  of  E.,  whoso  wife  was  Mary  Snow,  it  is 
generally  understood  had  Eleazer  M'af.  10,  1658;  Thomas;  Joseph; 
Nicholas;  Samuel;  Elisha;  John  Mar.  4, 1661  who  was  inhaVt  1675; 
Mary ;  James ;  and  Dorcas.  We  do  not  presume  to  determine  the 
order.  Thomas  Jr.  it  is  supposed,  was  Thomas  Esq.  the  "  propri- 
etor's clerk,  who  settled  at  Pamet  and  m.  Shaw,  some  say  Hannah, 
others  Abigsul,  Aug.  5,1678.  Issue;  Hannah  1679,  who  d.  early; 
Hugh  July  5,  1680,  and'd.  1681 ;  Thomas  Feb.  28,  1681-2  ;  Han- 
nah 1684,  who  m.  John  Binney  Jr.  of  Hull  1704;  Jona.  Feb.  1, 
1685-6;  Abigail  1688,  who  d.  1689  ;  Abigail  1689;  Phebe  1691; 
Elkanah  Feb.  1,  1692-3;  Moses  Sept.  28,  1695;  Joshua  Aug.  28, 
1697,  who  m.  Eebecca  Sparrow,  Oct,  20,  1720,  and  removed  tp  Ot.i 
Phebe  1699;  Lydia  1700;  and  Barnabas  Nov.  13,1705.  Ensign 
Joseph,  "b.  of  Thomas,"  m.  Patience  Sparrow  May  27,  1691,  and  d. 
in  Harwich,  Oet.  6,  1712.  Issue:  Eben'r  Ap.  8,  1692;  Hannah 
1694;  Joseph  Mar.  29,  1697  ;  Richard  Mar.  25, 1699  ;  Dorcas  1701, 
who  m.  Joseph  Jenkins  Jr.  of  Be.  1723 ;  Phebe  1703  ;  Eeliance 
1705 ;  Thomas  and  Mary,  (gem.)  Dec.  ,1, 1708 ;  Jona.  Dec.  10, 1710  j 
and  Experience  1713.  Nicholas  of  E.,  by  his  wife  Hannah  who  d. 
Jan.  24,  1731-2,  had  Thankful  Mar.  14,  1699-1700  ;  Priscilla  1701 ; 
Philip  Nov.  18, 1704,  who  d.  Ap.  10, 1725  ;  Lois  Sept.  29, 1705,  who 
it  is  sup.  m.  Edmund  Freeman  of  E.  1725  ;  Abigail  1707  ;  and  Han- 
nah 1709.  Samuel  of  E.  m.  Patience  Freeman,  dr.  of  John,  Jan'y 
31, 1682,  and  d.  Oct.  13, 1712.  Issue:  Samuel  Oct.  30, 1688,  who  d. 


vGooglc 


636  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

construction  of  a  wharf  by  Dariiis  Weeks  and  others 
on  the  south  shore  of  Harwich.  —  The  Rev.  James 
Freeman,  D.  D.,  a  lineal  descendant  from  Samuel  of 
Watertovvn,  and  son  of  Constant  of  Truro,  died  this 
year,  Nov.  14,  Ee.  77.     Dr.  Freeman  was  highly  distin- 

Oct.  5,  1706;  Mercy  Aug.  5,  168G;  Nath'l  July  9,  1G89,  who  d. 
Mar.  14,  1706-7;  ELeii'r  June  17,  1692;  Eliz.  June  11,  169i; 
Joshua  May  20,  1696;  Isaac  Jau'y  3,  4698-9;  Mary  Feb.  24, 
1703-4;  Seth  Oct.  5,  1706,  who  d.  Mar.,23,  1723 ;  and  some  say 
John,  last,  Elisha.  m,  Rebecca  Doane,  Jan'y  20,  1685,  removed  to 
Caoterbury,  Ct.,  about  1700,  and  d.  Feb.  7,  1735;  she  d.  Dec.  19, 
1758.  Issue:  Abigail  1686,  who  m.  Josiah  Cleaveiand;  Abraham 
bap.  1691— Be.  ch.  rec.  — who  m.  Kuth  Adams  Dec  19,  1717; 
Elisha  Dec.  29,  1693,  who  m.  Mary  Johnson  Sept.  25,  1720  ;  Mary 
1696,  who  m.  1st  Rob't  Freeman,  2d  Wm.  Fitch  ;  Solomoii  May  16, 
1698,  who  m.  1st  Sarah  Carver  Nov.  2,  lt20,  2d  Priscilla  Fiteh ; 
Doi^cas  1700 ;  Constance  who  m.  1st  Wm.  Baker,  2d  Joshua  Paine ; 
Rebecca  who  m.  Edward  Cleaveiand  Ap.  17,  1717  ;  Hannah  who  m. 
"Watts;  and  John  who  m.  Sarah  Church.  James  and  Elisha  were 
admitted  inhab.  Be.  bet.  1660  and  1700.'  John,' son  of  Thos.  Sr.  of 
E.  m.  Bennet  Freeman  Mar.  14,  1689,  who  d.  May  30,  1V16,  and  2d 
Alice  Mayo  Mar.  3,  1719-20,  who  d.  1748.  He  d.  Oct.  18,  1731. 
Issue:  John,  Sept.  18,  1690;  Mary  Jan'y  28,  1693,  who  m.  Sam'l 
Freeman  1712 ;  Witliam  June  6,  1695 ;  Benj.  Feb.  22,  1697,  who  d. 
1719 ;  Sarah  Ap.  14,  1699,  who  m.  Joshua  Knowles ;  Elizabeth  June 
2,  1702,  who  m.  Jabez  Snow;  Theophilus  Feb.  7,  1703-4^ Jbsiah 
Mar.  8,  1705-6,  who  d.  May  7,  1728  ;  Math'l  Nov.  18,  1707,  who  d. 
Nov.  i,  1728;  Rebecca  Oct.  31,  1709,  who  m.  Elisha' Linnell ; 
Mercy  Ap.  3,  1713,  who  m.  Eben  Cook,  and  d.  in  Ct  1774;  Beiy. 
Mar.  18,  1714,  who  d.  Jan'y  14, 1716-17  ;,  Hannah  Jan'y  11^1720-1, 
who  a.  1724;  James  Dec.  17,  1723,  wh'o  d.  1724;  THomai  Ap.  6, 
1725 ;  and  Alice  who  m.  Jason  Knowles,  and  Hannah,  (gem.)  Dec.  4, 
1728.  James  son  of  Thomas  of  E.  and  g.  a.  of  Thos.  of  Plym. 
resided  in  Be.  and  m.  Bethiah,  d.  of  Hon,  John  Thacher  of  Tarm, 
and  g.  dr.  of  Anthony,  Ap.  9,  1691.  Issue :  James  Mar.  24,  1691-2, 
who  d.  July  13,  1711 ;  Thomas  Ap.  9,  1694;  Bethia  1696;  Mary 
1700,  who  m.  Kath'l  Freeman  of  Be,  son  of  Capt.  Sam'l  of  E. 
Oct  11,  1723;  Experience  1703,"who  m.  Hunt  of  Norton ; "^ Re- 
becca 1705,  who  d.  1726;  and  Thomas  who  m.  Eunice  Treat. — 
f  resumed  hereafter. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  637 

guished,  and  was  miniater  of  tlie  Stone  Chapel,  Boston. 
lie  ever  retained  a  deep  interest  in  his  ancestral  con- 
nections with  the  Cape.^ 

An  important  act  of  the  session  of  Congress  com- 
mencing Dec.  7,  was  that  regulating  the  deposits;  and, 
the  public  debt  being  extinguished,  the  distribution  of 
the  Surplus  Revenue  among  the  several  States.  The 
United  States  Bank,  established  in  1816,  was  now 
winding  up  its  affairs.^ 

In  1836,  Maktin  Van  Buren  was  duly  elected  to  suc- 
ceed Gen.  Jackson,  whose  presidential  term  was  to  ex- 
pire March  4  of  the  coming  year.  The  election,  in  its 
results,  forcibly  illustrated,  so  far  as  the  opposing  party 
was  concerned,  the  effects  of  disunion.  One  thought, 
however,  may,  in  future,  cheer  the  desponding:  in  all 
the  political  battles  tliat  have  been  fought,  it  has  been 
predicted  that  ruin  to  the  country  was  inevitable  if 
somdhmg  should  not  happen.  Although  that  something 
has  not  happened,  the  country  has  moved  onward  in 
strength.  The  ruin,  quadrennially  predicted,  does  not 
come  to  pass. 

Edward  Eveeett  was  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and 
continued  to  1840.     Incorporation  was  granted  to  the 

'  "Honesty  and  truth  pure  and  tranapareni,  aasociafd  with  gentle- 
nesa  and  urbanity,  unaffected  modpaty  and  real  kindness  and  good 
will,-  were  qualifications  eo  distinctly  marked  in  every  word  and 
action,  and  every  look,  that  no  one  could  know  him  without  reading 
them  there.  His  candor  was  proverbial,  never  rude,  harsh,  or  unchar- 
itable. He  was  always  generous,  affectionate,  just"  —  Eev,  F.  W.  P. 
Greenwood, 

^  The  Bank  of  North  America,  national,  established  under  the 
auspices  of  Hamilton  1784,  continued  but  4  jrs.,  when  its  charter  was 
repealed.  The  old  Bank  of  the  U.  S.  inc.  1791,  expired  by  limitation 
181 1.  The  first  bank  in  Mass.  under  the  State  Constitution  was  inc. 
Feb.  7,  1784,  cap.  £500,000. 


vGooglc 


035  THE  HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

Rock  Harbor  River  Co.  in  Orleans  and  Eastham ;  to 
the  Andrews  Fishing  Co.  in  Harwich;  to  the  Brewster 
Harbor  Co.  for  widening,  deepening  and  rendering  nav- 
igable Mill  River  Creek  in  Brewster,  and  the  Orleans 
Fishing  Co.  to  open  the  brook  running  from  Hester's 
Pond  to  Pleasant  Bay.  Another  part  of  Truro  was 
annexed  to  Provincetown  ;  and  an  act  was  passed  for 
regulating  the  alewive  fishery  in  Wellfleet. 

A  commercial  crisis  reached  its  maturity  in  1837- 
Facilities  having  been  freely  granted  for  credit,  and 
the  good  old  ways  of  frugal,  honest  industry  having 
given  place  in  sad  degree  to  a  mania  for  amassing  for- 
tunes in  ha,ste  by  speculation,  the  revulsion  attendant 
on  this  state  of  things  was  felt  by  the  whole  commu- 
nity in  a  greater  or  less  degree  ;  specie  payments  were 
suspended,  and  a  commercial  gloom  overspread  the 
country.  By  this  condition  of  affairs,  the  interests  of 
the  Cape  were  necessarily  somewhat  affected.  Pros- 
perity, however,  after  a  while  beginning  again  in  the 
great  marts  of  trade  to  follow  business  conducted  witli 
moral  legitimacy,  the  industrial  interests  of  the  Cape 
also  revived.  The  effect,  notwithstanding,  of  the  dis- 
astrous crisis  of  1836-7,  there  has  been  reason  to  ap- 
prehend, if  we  may  speak  of  our  country  as  a  whole, 
has  never  been  entirely  obliterated.  The  Cape,  we 
think,  has  maintained  its  integrity ;  but  whether  the 
needed  reformation  in  individual  extravagance,  a  gen- 
eral resort  in  the  whole  country  to  modes  of  whole- 
some and  productive  industry,  and  stern  conscientious- 
ness universally  in  business  transactions,  have  charac- 
terized the  age  in  which  we  live,  is  a  grave  question. 

Incorporation  was  this  year   granted   to    the    Fish 
Wear  Co.  of  Orleans;  the  North  Falmouth  Fishing  Co. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUHTT.  bd9 

—  authorized  to  regulate  the  brook  running  from  Nye's 
Pond  to  Cautomet  Harbor,  &c. ;  the  Boat-meadow  River 
Co.  of  Eastham ;  and  the  Rock-harbor  Fishing  Co.  of 
Orleans.  An  act  was  also  passed,  Feb.  22,  establishing 
the  dividing  line  between  WeUfleet  and  Truro. 

In  1838,  incorporation  was  granted  to  the  North 
Whftrf  Co.  in  Truro ;  the  Benevolent  Society  in 
Truro ;  and  the  Camp-Meeting  Grove  Corporation  of 
Eastham  —  to  hold  a  tract  of  land  for  the  use  of  annual 
religions  meetings.  The  'North  Parish  in  Harwich' 
was  authorized  to  take  the  name  of  The  First  Parish  in 
Brewster.  Acts  were  passed  in  favor  of  wharves  at 
Little  Harbor  at  Wood's  Hole,  Red  Brook  Landing  in 
Sandwich,  and  Wood's  Hole  Harbor.  —  Hon.  Edward 
D.  Bangs,  long  time  secretary  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  in  direct  lineage  from  Mr.  Edward,  the  pilgrim, 
died  April  2.^ 

^  Mr.  Edwae»  Bangs  of  E.  who  came  over  in  the  Anne  1623,  it 
is  said  was  from  Chicliester.  He  snperintendeil  the  huilding  of  the 
first  vessel  launched  at  Plymouth,  a  bark  of  40  or  50  tons.  He 
was  deputy  several  years.  He  came  to  Eastham  in  1644,  and  died  in 
the  winter  of  1677-8,  £e.  86.  He  m.  Eebecca  dr.  of  Et.  Hii-ks  and 
had  ten  ch,  in  Ply.  and  E.,  ail  of  whom  lived  to  mature  age ;  viz., 
Eebecca  who  m.  Jona,  Sparrow  Esq.  Oct.  28,  1654;  Joha;  Sarah 
who  m.  Capt.  Thomas  Howes  Jr.  of  T.  1656;  Jona.  1640 ;  Hannah 
who  m.  John  Doane,  son  of  Dea.  John ;  Lydia  who  m.  Benj.  Higgins 
Dec.  24,  1661;  Joshua;  Bethia  May  28,  1650  who  ra.  Gershom 
Hall;  and  Mercy  and  Apphia  Oct.  15,  1651  gem.,  the  first  of 
whom  m,  Stephen  Merrick,  the  second  m.  1st  John  Knowles  and 
2d  Joseph  Atwood.  —  Capt.  Jonathan  b.  1640,  who  was  deputy 
several  years,  and  representative  many  years,  and  d.  Nov.  9, 1728,  te. 
88,  m.  1st  Mary  Mayo  July  16,  1664  who  d.  June  17U  k.  66,  had 
Edward  Sept.  30,  1665  at  E. ;  Eebecca  1667 ;  Jona.  April  30,  1670 
who  d.  inf. ;  Mary  1671 ;  Jona.  May  4, 1673  ;  Hannah  1676 ;  Thom- 
as in  May  1678 ;  Samuel  July  12,  1680  ;  Mercy  Jan.  7, 1682  ;  'EIW.-,.. 
1685;    Sarah,  1687;   and  Lydia    1680  who  m.  Shubael  Hinckii^y 


vGooglc 


640  THE  HISTOKY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  1839,  was  celebrated,  Sept.  3,  at  Barnstable,  "the 
two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  incorporation  of  that 
town."^  As  it  was  designed  to  be  also  a  celebration  of 
"  the  settlement  of  Cape  Cod/'  ^  invested  with  more 
than  local  interest,  we  shall  give  hereafter  a  somewhat 
full,  though  condensed,  notice  of  the  doings  at  that 
festival.' — Incorporation  was  granted  to  the  Union  In- 
surance Company  of  Provincetown;  the  Truro  Break- 
water Company  —  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  arti- 
ficial harbor ;  and  the  Eastham  Fishing  Company, 
Acta  were  also  passed  annexing  part  of  Eastham  to  Or- 

1712.  —  Capt.  Edwakd,  s.  of  Jona.,  b.  1665,  and  d.  May  22,  1746, 

m.  1st  Kuth ,  and  had  Joshua  1685  in  H, ;  Eben'r;  Kebecca; 

Jona.;  Mercy  who  m.  Benj.  Hateh  Aug.  11, 1715;  Edward,1694i 
and  Euth  1699  who  d.  se.  3  yra.  —  Mr.  Edwaed  Jr.,  b.  1694,  and  d. 
June  3,  1756  at  H.,  m.  1st  Sarah  Clavk  Feb.  11,  1720,  who  d.  Aug. 
8,  1727  ie.  26,  and  2d  Eebecca  Higgiiis  1730  who  A.  1768  ie.  abt.  75, 
had  Benj.  June  24,  1721 ;  Eliza.  March  6,  1723 ;  Sarah  July  29, 
1727 ;  and  Elkanah  March  31,  1732.  —  Benjamin  Esq.  of  H.,  b. 
1721  and  d.  Oct.  31, 1769,  m.  Desire  Dillingham  Jao.  4,  1750  who  d. 
Oct.  1807,  and  had  Joshua  1751 ;  Isaac  Dec.  11,  1752  who  grad.  H. 
0. 1771 ;  Lydia,  1754  who  m,  Capt.  Sliubael  Downes;  Edward  Sept. 
5,  1756,  grad.  H.  C.  1777;  Benj.  July  21,  1758;  Desire  1760  who 
IB.  Thomas  Leach  Esq.  of  Boston;  Mehitable  1762  who  m.  Hon. 
Matthew  Cobb  of  Portland;  and  Elisha  1764.  —  Edwaed  Esq.  b. 
1756  in  II.,  and  d.  1818  at  Worcester,  ra.  Haonafi  Lynde  1788,  and 
had  Edward  Dillingliam  Aug.  24,  1790  who  wa^  sec.  of  Cora,  of 
Mass.  many  yrs.  and  d.  at  "Worcester  April  2,  1838 ;  Joshua  who  d. 
young;  and  Anna  L.  who  d.  yoang. —  Genealogy  to  be  resumed  in 
other  branches  in  future  pages. 

'  The  ovation  of  Dr.  Paifrey  was,  as  might  be  expected,  an  interest- 
ing production ;  and  the  celebration  in  all  its  arrangements  was  most 
felicitous. 

^  The  title  of  the  oration  delivered  on  the  occasion,  is  "A  Discourse 
pronounced  at  Barnstable  on  the  3d  of  Sept.  1839,  at  the  Celebration 
of  the  Second  Anniversary  of  the  Settlement  of  Cape  Cod."  The 
latter  clause  of  the  title  is,  inadvertently  no  doubt,  a  misnomer.  "We 
note  this  not  captiously,  bat  from  regard  to  strict  historical  accuracy. 
'  See  Appendix  G. 


vGooglc 


^'H, 


Q^^^^C^. 


BQin,J]ibfI7?-17e4  -  Bied.Sepf.  :^';:  1639. 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


ANSAL9    OF   BARKSTAELE   COUHTf.  641 

lesins ;  also  for  protecting  tlie  fisheries  in  Oyster  Island 
and  Poppenessit  Harbor.  —  Abner  Davis  Esq.,  for  many- 
years  register  of  probate  and  holding  other  important 
offices  with  honor,  died  this  year,  Sept.  4.^ 

In  1840,  Marcus  Morton  succeeded  Mr.  Everett  as 
Governor  of  Massachusetts.  —  The  census,  this  year, 


'  Mr.  Datis  was  highly  aad  deservedly  esteemed.  Admitted  to  the 
practice  of  law  1811,  he  established  himself  ia  Barnstable,  his  native 
place.  In  1816,  he  was  appointed  deputy  marshal  for  the  district  of 
Barnstable;  in  1819  received  the  appointment  of  clerk  of  the  courts 
for  the  county ;  and  in  1823  was  appointed  register  of  probate.  The 
two  last-named  offices  he  held  until  1836,  then  resigning  oa  account 
of  the  state  of  his  health.  He  was  also  just,  pac  et  quo.  from  1818, 
as  also  of  the  number  appointed  to  qualify  civil  officers.  Mr.  Davis 
was  b.  July  17,  1784,  and  was  the  youngest  son  of  Joseph  who  m. 
Ist  Lucretia  Thacher  and  2d  Mary  Bacon,  and  had  by  the  1st  ni. 
Elisha  T,,  Joseph,  Kebecca,  Polly,  Lucretia,  — by  the  2d,  John,  Bar- 
nabas, and  Abner.  Of  this  family,  Elisha  T.  m.  Euth  eldest  dr.  of 
Hon.  John  Davia,  and  had  Barzillai  who  settled  in  Haverhill,  Tim- 
othy of  New  York,  Louisa  who  d.  young,  Phebe  T.  wlio  m.  Eben. 
Bacon,  Lucretia  who  m.  Mr.  Sweet  of  Boston,  Elisha  who  d.  witiiout 
issue,  and  Lothro[)  who  d.  early ;  John  m.  1st  Lydia  dr.  of  Joseph 
Allen  and  2d  Lydia  S.  dr.  of  Daniel  Crocker,  and  had  by  the  1st 
m.  Joseph  A.  no.v  of  Boston,  —  by  the  2d,  Barnabas  now  of  Boston 
who  m.  Abigail  S.  Bacon,  Lydia  S.  who  m.  Horace  Scudder,  and  John 
William  who  d.  w.  12 ;  and  Abnbk  Esq.,  whose  death  is  mentioned 
above,  m.  Nancy  dr.  of  Daniel  Cobb,  by  whom  he  had  Adolphus 
now  of  Boston  who  m.  Mary  Draper,  Abigail  who  m.  Jolm  Gray, 
Frank,  James  who  in.  Abigail  Earns,  Elizabeth,  Mai-y,  Frederick 
who  m.  Eveline  Smith,  John,  and  Joseph  who  m.  Henrietta  KendalL 
—  These  were  all  descended  from  Kobert,  through  his  son  Joseph 
who  m.  a  g.  dr.  of  Elder  Henry  Cobb,  and  through  Joseph's  son 
James  who  m.  Eeliance  Cobb  and  was  the  father  of  Joseph  the  father 
of  Abner  Esq.  See  page  578.  For  the  engraved  portrait  that  ac- 
companies this  brief  notice,  we  acknowledge  with  gratitude,  obligations 
to  Barnabas  Davis  Esq.  of  Boston,  merchant,  whose  disinterested  and. 
generous  impulses  we  have  also  witnessed  on  other  occasions. 
VOL.  I.  81 


vGooglc 


642  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

showed  the  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States  to  be  17,068,666 ;  in  Barnstable  County,  31,662. 

—  The  Wellfleet  Marine  Benevolent  Society  was  in- 
corporated ;  also  Truro  Academy.  Acts  were  passed 
authorizing  the  laying  out  of  a  road  and  constructing 
a  bridge  across  Oyster  Eiver  in  Barnstable ;  a  road 
and  bridge  across  Snow's  Creek  in  Barnstable ;  and 
investing  Mashpee  with  the  duties  and  liabilities  of 
a  parish. 

In  1841,  John  Davis  was  elected  Governor  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  was  continued  in  office,  to  1843. 

—  William  Hekry  Harsison,  having  been  elected  as 
President  of  the  United  States,  by  a  majority  of  elec- 
toral "votes,  174,  was  inaugurated  March  4.  He  ex- 
pired, at  Washington,  April  4,  just  one  short  month 
from  the  day  of  his  assuming  the  oflice ;  and  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provision  in  the  Constitution,  John  Tyler, 
Vice  President,  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office  the  re- 
mainder of  the  term, — A  part  of  Mashpee  was  annexed 
to  Falmouth  ;  the  Wharf  and  Harbor  Company  of  Den- 
nis was  incorparated  —  to  construct  and  maintain  a 
breakwater  and  improve  the  harbor  at  Suet  Creek ; 
and  authority  was  given  to  construct  a  highway  and 
bridges  across  Pamet,  Hopkins,  and  East  Harbor  Creeks 
in  Truro.  —  The  Rev.  Nathan  Underwood,  who  for  a 
long  time  was  pastor  of  the  South  Precinct  church  in 
Harwich,  died  this  year.  May  1,  te.  88;^  also  the  Kev. 

^  The  Rev.  Nathan  Undeewood  waa  born  in  Lexington,  Aug.  3, 
1753.  "When  the  oppressive  measures  of  the  British  government 
were  being  pushed,  he  was  an  apprentice  to  a  carpenter,  but  had 
begun  to  cherish  a  ?tiong  desire  to  achieve  a  hberal  education.  The 
spirit  which  actuated  some  of  his  friends  and  neighboi's  present  at 
the  Lexuigton  bitth,fiom  p irtieipating  in  whidi  he  had  beun  kept 


yGoogle 


AHNAL9   OE   BAENSTABLE    COUNTY.  643 

Philander  Shaw,  the  pastor  at  Easthara,  Oct.  10,  as.  73. 
—  Another  dreadful  calamity  befell  the  town  of  Truro. 
In  October  fifty-seven  men  of  that  town  perished  in 
one  gale. 

only  by  a  severe  cut  of  the  foot,  began,  however,  at  once  to  influence 
his  youthful  mind,  and  he  soon  relinquished  all  thoughts  of  trade  or 
learning,  and  joined  the  provincial  anny  at  Cambridge  to  follow 
the  fortunes  of  the  approaching  stormy  contest.  He  was  present  at 
the  battle  of  Bunker  HilJ,  and  was  among  tlie  last  to  leave  when  the 
enemy  took  possession  of  the  ground.  At  Cambridge,  when  Gen. 
Washington  arrived,  he  participated  in  the  rejoicings  which  that  event 
occasioned ;  and  was  subsequently  stationed  at  Roxbury  Heights  in 
the  right  wing  under  command  of  Gen.  Ward.  Of  the  detachment 
sent  to  New  York,  he  was  in  1776  with  the  forces  of  the  American 
army  on  Long  Island  and  in  West  Chester  County ;  was  in  the  regi- 
ment of  Col,  Williams  posted  on  the  road  from  Flatbush  to  Bedford, 
and  the  slaughter  made  by  the  attack  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and  the 
ferocity  of  the  Hessians  when  the  Americans  cut  their  way  through 
British  hordes,  he  never  spoke  of  without  deep  emotion.  The  carnage 
was  tremendous,  and  the  courage  displayed  by  Mr.  U.'s  fellow-soldiers 
has  scarcely  its  equal  in  tlie  war.  When  Gen.  Washington  had  de- 
termined to  cross  over  to  New  York,  Mr.  U.  was  appointed  a  non- 
cotomissioned  officer  to  command  sixteen  men  in  removing  the  ship 
slores  and  ordnance.  Great  secrecy  was  necessary,  for  if  the  move- 
ment should  be  known  to  the  British,  the  whole  American  foi-ce  Avould 
inevitably  be  cut  in  pieces.  When  intrusted  with  the  secret  and  the 
duty,  the  orders  he  received  were, '  Let  not  a  loud  word  he  spoken  ; 
if  any  man  speaks  loud,  run  him  through,'  He  was  one  of  the  num- 
ber who,  under  command  of  Col.  Glover,  resisted  the  enemy  at  Fell's 
Point ;  and  participated  in  the  sufferings  of  the  army  afterwards  when, 
destitute  of  the  common  necessaries  of  life,  hunger  and  nakedness  ac- 
companied their  fatigues  and  their  tradts  in  the  snows  were  colored 
with  blood  from  their  bare  feet  as  they  marched  along.  He  fre- 
quently, in  after  life,  referred  to  '  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls,' 
and  smd  that,  on  one  occasion  in  his  marches  in  New  Jersey  and 
Pennsylvania,  a  piece  of  pork  so  discolored  and  rusty  that  it  appeared 
like  old  leather,  was  the  sweetest  morsel  he  ever  ate.  On  another 
occasion  where  encamped,  it  was  reported  that  a  bullock  had  been 
butchered  and  supplied  to  some  of  the  soldiers,  and  Mr.  U.  set  off  wilji 


vGooglc 


644  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE    COD. 

In  1842,  the  corporate  name  of  Falmouth  Academy ' 
was  changed  to  Lawrence  Academy ;  the  Marine  In- 
surance Company  of  Chatham  was  incorporated,  and 
the  Long-Pond  Fishing  Company  of  Yarmouth  —  to 
open  an  outlet  from  Long  Pond  to  Swan  Pond  and 
impro"7e  Parker's  River.     A  division  to  proprietors  of 

others  to  obtain  a  share ;  but  on  arriving  they  found  only  the  head  re- 
maining; thia,  having  kindled  a  fire,  they  thrust  into  the  flames,  for  a 
few  minutea,  and  then,  without  salt  or  bread,  seventeen  men  made  their 
breakfiist  from  it  —  their  only  meal  that  day,  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Delaware.  He  was  witji  Washington  at  the  crossing  of  the  Delaware ; 
and  in  the  engagements  at  Trenton  and  Princeton.  The  march  to 
Momstown,  Mr.  U.  used  to  say  was  the  severest  he  ever  experienced ; 
"the  ground  frozen,  the  soldiers  barefoot,  hungry,  thirsty,  cold,  need- 
ing sleep,  many  sunk  under  their  fatigue."  When  Mr.  U.  left  the  ser- 
vice, lie  received  an  honorable  discharge  with  the  promise  of  a  com- 
mission ;  but  his  anxiety  to  see  his  friends  brought  him  ^ain  under 
his  mother's  roof,  and,  although  his  purpose  had  been  to  accept  a  com- 
mission and  rejoin  the  army,  her  entreaties  led  him  lo  reconsider  the 
matter;  when  the  idea  indulged  in  former  years  of  devoting  himself 
to  study,  returned,  leading  him  to  prepare  for  admission  to  Har- 
vard College  which  he  soon  entered,  gi-aduated  1788,  then  studied 
for  the  ministry,  and  was  settled  in  Harwich  Nov.  21,  1792.  Under 
the  law  of  Congress  for  the  benefit  of  surviving  soldiers  of  the  revolu- 
tion, he  received  a  pension.  Mr.  U.  was  repeatedly  in  the  legislature. 
His  position  as  a  clergyman  was  highly  respectable.  With  a  small 
salary,  practising  the  same  industry  and  economy  that  on  leaving  the 
Continental  army  had  secured  to  him  a  good  education,  he  became 
possessed  of  considerable  estate  and  is  reported  to  have  been  one  of 
the  most  successful  and  scientifically  practical  farmers  in  the  county. 
He  reared  a  large  family  of  sons  and  gave  them  a  good  education.  — 
By  his  m.  with  Susannah  Lawrence  of  Waltham  Sept.  26,  1793,  who 
d.  1843,  he  had  Nathan  Jr.  July  18,  1794;  Phineas  L.,  Sept  6, 
1796;  Joseph,  Sept.  29, 1798 ;  Leonard,  May  22, 1801 ;  Sidney,  June 
15,  1804;  Horatio,  Sept.  22,  1808 ;  and  Marshal  S.,  June  29,  1812. 

with  peace," 
succeeded  a  Christian  death,  and  a  memory  revered. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  645 

Mashpee  of  the  plantation  lands,  under  certain  restric- 
tions, was  authorized ;  and  acts  were  passed  for  the 
protection  of  the  shell-fisheries  in  Falmouth,  and  the 
shad-fishery  in  Monomoy  Bay.  —  The  Eev.  Mr.  Burr, 
for  a  long  period  ministering  in  Sandwich,  died  this 
year,  ^  85 ; '  also  Hon.  Eussell  Freeman,  Jan.  9. 

In  1843,  Maecits  Morton  was  Governor  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. The  Barnstable  County  Agricultural  As- 
sociation was  organized  May  25;  its  incorporation  was 
not  effected  until  the  next  year.  An  act  of  General 
Court  was  designed  to  regulate  the  herring  fishery  a,t 
the  Herring  Eiver  at  Marston's  Mills.    The  Hon.  David 

*  Eev.  JoMATHAN  BuER  was  b.  in  W  Bridgew'r  1757  ;  grad. 
H.  C.  1784;  and  ord.  at  Sandwich  Ap.  18,  1787.  He  m.  1st  Sally, 
dr.  of  Eev.  Sam'l  Cooke  of  Cambridge,  July  1787,  who  d.  Mar.  9, 
1788  i,  and  2d  Sarab,  dr.  of  Dr.  Thos.  Smith  of  Sandwich  Oct. 
1788,  who  survived  him,  and  d.  Sept  28,  1847,  le.  82.  Mr.  Burr  d. 
in  Sandwich  Aug.  2.  He  was  a  fine  scholar,  a  faiihful  ministei',  an 
estimable  man.  In  the  cause  of  education  his  influence  was  widely 
felt,  and  many  afierwards  distinguished  in  life  have  acknowledged  him 
as  their  aocompliahed  preceptor.  Numbers  of  highly  respectable 
clergymen  pursued  their  early  theological  studies  under  his  direction. 
He  d.  without  issue.  He  was  descended  from  Rev.  Jonathan,  min- 
ister of  Dorchester  ord.  1640,  d.  1641,  who  «as  b.  at  Redgrave,  Suf- 
folk, Eng.,  1604,  and  came  with  his  wife  Frances  and  3  ch.  Jona,, 
John,  and  Simon,  to  N.  Eng.  in  1639.  Of  these  John  settled  in 
Fairfield,  Ct,  and  was  father  of  Judge  Peter,  who  was  f.  of  Rev. 
Isaac,  who  was  f.  of  Eev.  Aaron  the  Pres't  of  Nassau  Hail  College, 
N.  J.,  who  was  f.  of  Aaroa  Vice  Pres't  of  the  U.  S. ;  Simon  settled 
in  Hinghani  1646,  and  d.  1691,  of  whose  issue  was  John,  1659,  who 
m.  Mary  Lazell,  and  d.  1716,  leaving  a  son  John,  b.  1695,  who  set- 
tled in  Bridgew'r  1720,  m.  Silence  Howard  1722,  was  a  deacon  in 
W.  Bridgew'r,  and  had  Jona.  1731,  who  m.  Mariha  Codworth  1764, 
and  had  a  large  family,  of  whom  was  Kov.  Jona.  above.  We  may 
not  omit  to  mention  that  be  was  a  fifer  in  the  Eev.  army,  and  ia  his 
old  age  received  a  pension. 


yGoogle 


646  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

Crocker,  High  Sheriff  of  the  County,  died  July  29;* 
also  the  Rev.  John  SimpkLns,  Feb.  28,  who  is  respect- 
fully remembered  as  the  estiinable  and  able  minister 
of  Brewster. 

In  1844,  George  N.  Beiggs  was  duly  elected  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts,  and  John  Reed  of  Yarmouth 
Lieutenant  Governor,  by  the  legislature.  They  con- 
tinued in  office  a  series  of  years.  The  Marine  In- 
surance Co.  of  Provincetown  was  incorporated,  and  the 
charter  of  the  Truro  Eire  and  Marine  Insurance  Co. 
was  repealed.     Acts  were  passed  to  authorize  wharves 

'  Mr,  Crocker  was  of  the  5  gen.  in  lineal  descent  from  Dea,  Wil- 
liam Croeker,  wbo  waa  in  Barnstable  at  its  first  settlement.  His 
g.  g.  gd.  f.  was  Dea,  William;  bis  g.  gd.  f.  waa  Dea.  Job,  b.  1644; 
his  gr.  f.  Dea.  John,  b.  1683 ;  tie  issue  of  each  of  whom  is  noticed,  - 
p.  563.  The  father  was  Daniel,  the  7lh  s.  of  Dea.  John,  b.  in  Baro- 
stable  Mar.  1,  1725-6,  and  m.  Ist  Eliza.  Childs,  May  19,  1748,  2d 
Phebe  Wioslow  of  Harwich,  May  19,  1748,  and  3d  Bathsheba  Jen- 
kins. The  issue  of  Daniel  was  Job,  Mar.  6,  1749 ;  Winslow,  Dec. 
31, 1756  ;  Eliza.  Mar.  14,  1760;  Daniel,  Mar.  8,  1762  ;  Mary  July 
11,  1767  ;  Abigail  Nov.  6,  1769,  who  m.  Hon.  Eb.  Bacon,  and  d. 
1859;  Joseph  Jan.  1771;  Prince  Sept.  6,1772  ;  Temperance  July  28, 
1776  ;  David  Feb.  21,  1779  ;  and  Josiah  Aug.  24,  I78I.  Hon.  Da- 
vid Crocker,  the  6th  s.  of  Daniel  above,  m.  Rachel,  dr.  of  Hon, 
Eben'r  Bacon;  shed.  June  17,  1343.  Issue:  Frederick  W.  Ap.  16, 
1309,  who  m.  Louisa  G.  dr.  of  Joseph  Sawyer  o£  Bolton  ;  Jane 
1810,  d,  inf. ;  Eben  B.  Nov.  1, 1811,  who  m.  Alicia  D.  dr.  of  Matthew 
Cobb,  Esq.  of  Be,;  Eliza,  d.  se.  7;  Caroline  who  m.  Dr.  Henry 
Tuck  of  Be.  who  was  from  Kensington,  N,  H. ;  Henry  H.  who  m. 
Mary  A,  dr.  of  Gideon  Eldridge  of  Be. ;  and  EUza  Jane  who  d.  inf. 
Mr.  Crocker  was  not  only  prominent  in  public  life,  but  was  greatly 
esteemed.  For  the  engraved  portrait  of  him,  we  are  indebted  to  the 
kind  consent  of  his  son,  Eben.  Crocker,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  first 
Prea.  of  the  C.  C.  Ass'n  of  N.  York,  sen'r  of  the  firm  of  Crocker  & 
Warren,  merchants.  It  is  but  a  proper  expression  of  gratitude  to 
record  that  Mi'.  C.  voluntarily  assumed  the  whole  expense  of  the 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


AKMALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUMTY.  647 

in  Barnstable  and  Provincetown  harbors,  tlie  con- 
structing of  bridges  in  Truro,  and  regulating  the  ale- 
wive  fishery  in  Harwich.  The  Barnstable  Coixnty  Ag- 
ricultural Society  was  incorporated  Mar.  15.  A  fishing 
schooner,  the  Commerce,  with  ten  men  on  board, 
anchored  within  a  mile  of  the  shore  of  Truro  harbor, 
and  the  next  morning,  Sept.  15,  all  were  missing  — 
supposed  to  have  been  lost  by  the  swamping  of  the 
boat  in  going  oil  shore  the  previous  night.  Five  of 
them  had  families.  ._ Dr.  James  Thacher,  of  Plymouth, 
a  native  of  Barnstable,  d,  in  the  month  of  May,  se.  90. 
His  Revolutionary  Journal,  Medical  Biography,  History 
of  Plymouth,  American  Orchardist,  Medical  Dispensa- 
tory, &c.,  are  works  that  have  been  before  the  public.' 

In  1845,  James  K.  Polk  was  inaugurated  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  The  Equitable  Marine  In- 
surance Co.  of  Provincetown  was  incorporated ;  also 
the  Herring  River  Co.  in  Harwich.  The  "1st  Reform 
Methodist  Society  in  Brewster  "  was  authorized  to  take 
the  name  of  the  "Wesleyan  Methodist  Society ;  Truro 
to  construct  a  bridge  across  Hopkins  Creek ;  Barn- 
stable a  bridge  in  Centreville ;  and  Godfrey  Eider  a 
wharf  in  Provincetown.  Hon.  Braddoek  Dimmick  of 
Falmouth  d.  Ap.  30,  se.  84.^     The  entire  crew  of   a 

^  Dr.  Thacher  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Abner  Hersey  of  Be., 
and  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Rev.  army  from  1775  about  7J  years.  He 
then  settled  in  Plym.  and  m.  Susanna  Hayward  of  Bridgw'r.  He 
has  left  behind  him  this  significant  testimony  recorded  a  few  yrs.  be- 
fore hia  death:  "I  have  seen  public  offices  courting  competent  men 
to  fill  them ;  and  I  have  seen  them  filled  by  men  who  with  a  religious 
conscientioasness  acquitted  themselves  of  the  duty:  but  this  now 
seema  an  antiquated  morality." 

"  Hon.  Beaddock  Dihmick,  the  eldest  of  the  issue  of  the  brave 
Gen.  Joseph  Dimmick  of  Falmo.  was  b.  Feb.  26, 1761.    He  m.  1st 


vGooglc 


64o  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

fishing  vessel  belonging  to  Truro  perished  on  the  Grand 
Banks;  and  within  about  a  yea^r  afterwards,  nearly  a 
"whole  crew  perished  within  hailing  distance  of  Pond 
Village.^  It  is  painful  indeed  to  record  so  frequent 
disasters,  and  yet  we  have  hardly  begun  to  recount  the 
fatalities  to  which  especially  Truro  men  have  been  ex- 
posed. It  were  not  a  fair  estimate  of  the  deaths  by 
casualties  in  other  maritime  towns,  to  take  these  as  an 
average.  The  reader  must  consider  the  almost  entire 
devotion  of  Truro  men  to  maritime  pursuits;  and, 
more  than  this,  the  peculiar  situation  of  the  town  — 
near  the  extremity  of  the  Cape,  the  sea  being  but  a 
very  short  distance  on  either  hand,  and  the  coast  bor- 
dered with  dangerous  shoals.  Shipwrecks  are  here 
almost  constantly  occurring  ;  and  the  humane  energies 
of  the  people  on  shore  are  as  often  taxed  in  endeavors 
to  rescue  the  crews  of  stranger-vessels,  in  which 
attempts,  heroically  made,  but  sometimes  in  vain,  the 
inhabitants  jeopard  their  own  lives.*^     We  will  not  fur- 

Celia  Crowell,  Dec  23,  1784,  2d  Sarah  B.  Lewis,  June  2,  1885,  and 
3d  Susan  D.  Robinson,  Oct.  27,  1836.  He  was  at  the  time  of  his 
decease  one  of  the  few  left  who  had  witnessed  the  revolutionary 
struggle.  He  was  many  years  a  member  of  the  State  legislature,  and 
served  in  both  branches.  He  also  held  other  positions  of  public  trust 
in  the  town,  county  and  state.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the  1st  Cong.  Ch. 
in  F.  35  years.  Faithful  in  ail  public  trusU,  a  lover  of  good  men, 
given  to  hospitality,  and  deeply  interested  in  the  general  welfare,  he 
was  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  liad  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaint- 
ance. 

^  The  first  vessel  was  in  command  of  Capt.  Wm.  Hutehings  ;  the 
iiisl,  in  command  of  Capt.  Samuel  Coan. 

*  In  1851,  "twenty  or  more  lives  were  lost  at  sea."  Mr,  Bartlett 
of  Eng.,  in  his  interesting  work  pub.  in  London,  entitled  "  The  Pil- 
grim Fathers,"  gives  a  glowing  account  of  his  visit  to  the  Cape  about 
this  time,  and  says,  "  At  the  very  moment  of  my  arrival  -(at  Truro,) 
an  English  vessel  was  on  shore,  and  two  noble-hearted  inhabitants  of 


vGooglc 


AHNAL8   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  649 

ther  pursiie  the  record  of  these  painful  details,  than  to 
state  that,  subsequently,  other  lives  have  been  sacri- 
ficed ;  and  that,  in  looking  over  the  record  of  deaths 
generation  after  generation,  nothing  surprises  one  more 

Traro  had  lost  their  Uvea  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  rescue  the  crew," 
He  quotes  "from  a  Cape  Cod  newspaper  containing  the  particulars  ol" 
this  disaster,"  as  follows ;    "  Thick  weather,  easterly  gales,  and  storms, 
never  seemed  to  prevail  with  such  results  to  vesselh  at  Ihis  end  of  the 
Cape,  aa  we  have  witnessed  this  month.     The  Daniah  brig  struck  on 
the  bar,  and  came  to  pieces ;  all  hands  were  losl.     The  marble  with 
which  she  was  laded  lies  there  in  seven  feet  of  wafer.     One  of  the 
bodies  of  the  crew,  supposed  to  be  the  captain,  was  picked  up  to-day. 
The  ship 'Inez'  and  bark  '  Queen,' and  two  English  sdiooners,  one 
of  which  came  to  pieces  almost  immediately  on  the  landing  of  the 
crew,  came  ashore   last  week;   crew  saved.     The  hark   'Josepha' 
came  ashore  off  the  head  of  the  meadow  this  week  on  Thursday;  the 
screeches   of  her  crew  were   heard  on  shore.     Out  of  a   crew  of 
18  men,  only  2  reached  the  shore  alive.     Two  men,  Jonathan  Collins 
and   Daniel   Cassity,  belonging   to  Truro,  sacrificed   their  lives  in 
attempting  to  board  her  with  a  line.     The  body  of  Mr.  Cassity,  with 
six  others,  was  picked  up  to-day,  and  brought  in  and  identified.     The 
papers  of  the  bark  '  Solway*  were  picked  up  on  Monday,     Articles 
not  mentioned  in  the  list  of  the  cargo  of  the  Josepha.  are  said  to  be 
floating  in  the  surf,  and  it  is  supposed  that  another  vessel  must  ha^e 
gone  to  pieces  and  all  on  board  perished.     There  are  striking  and 
sad  coincidences  in  these  events:  the  first  is,  that  the  Josepha  eame 
ashore   probably  not  five  rods  from  where  the  Prussian  brig  was 
wrecked  in  1834 ;  in  attempting  to  save  the  erew  of  tlie  latter,  Mr. 
Elisha  Paine  perished,  and  in  attempting  to  save  the  crew  of  the  for- 
mer, two  men  from  the  same  part  of  Truro  are  now  drowned :  an- 
other is,  that  Mr.  Cassity  was  the  last  of  three  brothers,  all  of  whom 
met  a  similar  death.     Andrew  Cassity  was  drowned  by  the  upsetting 
of  a  boat  passing  from  Provincetown  harbor  to  Truro  in  the  spring 
of  1846  ;  with  him  perished  Capt.  Sam'l  Coan,  Daniel  Pendergrass, 
Nath'l  Paine  and  two  lads.     Timothy  Cassity  was  lost  last  fall  in  the 
schooner  '  E.  W.  Shaw,'  in  the  Bay ;  with  him  perished  Thomas 
Shaw,  Aaron  W.  Snow,  Cornelius  Shaw,  John  Brensich,  Cornelius 
Shaw,  Jr.,  Joseph  P.  "Wells,  Michael  Rich,  Jr.,  and  others,  in  the 
same  vesseL     Daniel  Cassity,  in  attempting  to  save  others  from  meet- 
VOL.  L  82 


vGooglc 


650  THE  HISTOKY  OF  CAPE  COD. 

than  the  vast  number  that  have  occurred  at  eea  by 
drowning.  The  piibUc  are  hardly  aware  of  the  perils 
of  the  service,  and  can  form  but  a  faint  conception  of 
the  noble  daring  of  men  who,  knowing  these  perils, 
have  hearts  full  of  feeling  for  their  fellow-men  in  the 
hour  of  danger.  "We  sincerely  believe,  and  aver  with- 
out the  fear  of  contradiction,  that  there  is  no  class  of 
men  in  the  wide  world,  of  more  kindly  sympathies, 
more  truly  great  and  generous  and  self-sacrificing  when 
the  necessities  of  their  fellow-men  call  for  action,  than 
the  mariners  of  Cape  Cod. 

In  1846,  the  British  Steam-ship  Cambria,  which  left 
Liverpool  April  19,  grounded  on  the  beach  at  Truro, 
about  five  miles  from  the  light.  Two  passengers  went 
by  express  to  Boston,  ma  Plymouth  and  the  Old  Col- 
ony Railroad,  conveying  the  mail ;  and  steamers  were 
sent  which  succeeded  in  hauling  the  Cambria  oft'  with- 
out serious  damage.  —  The  Government  of  Mexico  de- 
clared war  against  the  United  States  April  23.  —  The 

ing  the  fate  of  his  hrothers,  meets  the  same  himself.  He  Lad  been 
married  but  a  few  weeks.  Mrs.  Cassity  lias  often  drank  the  cup  of 
sorrow  in  this  form.  Her  father  and  only  brother  were  drowned  in 
the  gale  of  1841 ;  her  brother-in-law  was  drowned  in  the  gale  of 
Oct.  1851 ;  and  now,  her  husband  follows  them.  Thus,  of  the  four 
—  tbe  mother  and  three  daughters  —  three  are  now  widows,  and  aU 
made  so  in  the  same  way.  Mr.  Collins,  no  doubt,  confided  in  hia 
skiU  to  manage  a  dory.  He  had  a  brave  heart.  D.  D.  Smith  took 
his  valuables  from  bis  pockets  to  go  with  Collins,  but  Cassity  pushed 
him  aside  and  took  his  place.  They  wore  told  hy  many  that  tlie  boat 
could  not  live ;  but  the  piercing  cries  from  the  wreck  moved  them  to 
do  their  best  to  save  those  who  must  perish  unless  there  were  speedy 
communicafioa  from  on  shore.  Noble  men  I  they  wiU  live  in  the 
hearts  of  sailors  forever.  Mr.  Collins  arose  from  the  tea  table  oa  the 
cry  of  '  A  ship  ashore,  and  all  hands  perishing ! '  and  in  less  than  ao 
hour  had  perished  himselfl" 


vGooglc 


AMNALS   OF   BARK8TABLE   COUNIT.  651 

Cape  Cod  Branch  Eailroad  was  incorporated ;  ^  also 
the  Pine  Grove  Seminary  in  Harwich.  Authority  was 
given  to  Darins  Weeks  and  Valentine  Doane,  severally, 
to  huild  wharves  in  Harwich ;  to  Stephen  HiUiard  and 
Samuel  Cookj  severally,  in  Provincetown ;  to  J.  W. 
Nye,  at  Eocky-Point  Landing  in  Cotaumut  Harbor, 
Falmouth ;  to  E.  Rich,  at  Newcomb's  Point  in  Truro ; 
and  to  the  Union  Wharf  Co.,  in  WeUfleet.  William 
Fessenden  Esq.,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Sandwich,  died 
this  year,  se.  77-^ 

'  Name  subsequently  changed  fo  that  of  "  The  C.  C.  Railroad." 
'  The  first  of  this  name  on  these  shore';,  were  John  who  came  from 
the  County  of  Kent  lo  Cambridge,  1G36,  isith  his  wife  Jane  and  his 
nephew  Nichola'i  and  niece  Hannah  John  was  made  a  freeman 
1641,  and  was  •>ub'*equpntly  "^plectman  John  dying  Dec.  21,  1666, 
and  his  widow  3va  13,  1682,  se  80,  without  issue,  Nicholas  and  his 
sister,  who  were  constituted  by  their  uncle  his  heirs,  were  the  first 
whose  descendant'*  remain  H-mn'ih  m  John  Sewall  of  Newbury 
Oct.  28,  1674,  who  was  s  of  Henry  bee  Chf  Ju-^t.  Sewall's  diary. 
Nicholas,  of  Cam  then  iiidudiiig  Lexington,  m  Marg't  Cheney  — 
possibly  Mary,  and  had  Jane  1674,  who  d,  1676 ;  Hannah  1676,  d. 
inf.;  John  1677;  Nicholas  1680;  Thos.  1682,  d.  inf.;  Thos.  1684; 
Marg't  1687,  did  not  m. ;  Jane  1688,  who  m.  Sam'l  Winship,  High 
Sh'f  of  Middlesex,  1712  ;  Mary  1689,  who  m.  Joshua  Parker,  1712 ; 
William  1694;  Joseph  1697,  who  m.  Mindwell  Oldham  1733  ;  Benj. 
Jan.  30,  1701  ;  Hannah,  who  m.  John  Chipman  of  Sandwich,  and 
d,  1758 ;  and  Eben,  youngest,  who,  as  per  one  account,  m.  Eliza. 
Barrett  June  13,  1733,  and,  as  says  another,  m.  Alice  Babcoct,  and 

had  2  drs. The  eldest  of  the  above  sons,  John,  resided  in  Cam., 

and  by  his  wife  Sarah  had  John  1704,  Sarah  1706,  and  others.  The 
next,  Nicholas,  grad.  H.  C.  1701,  and  d.  1719,  w.  88,  having  been 
m,  Aug.  8,  1706,  to  Sarah,  wid.  of  Stephen  Coolidge,  by  whom  he 
had  Stephen,  who  grad.  H.  C.  1737  {and  was  a  prominent  lawyer  at 
Worcester,)  and  others.  ThOS.  b.  1684,  m.  1st  Abigail  Poulter  abt. 
1709,  and  set.  at  Lexington,  2d  m.  Ab'!  Locke  1720,  3d  Anna 
Phillebrown  1737,  and  d.  1738,  leaving  issue;  Thos.  1709,  who  m. 
Hannah  Prentice  1735;  Sam'l  1711,  who  m.  Eliza.  Allen  1740; 


vGooglc 


652  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  1847,  the  Manomet  Iron  Co.  of  Sandwich  was 
incorporated,  Jan.  29.  The  act  of  1763,  incorporating 
"  the  North  Precinct  of  Eastham  into  a  District  by  the 
name  of  Wellfieet,"  was  repealed.     Leave  was  granted 

AbigT  1713,  wlio  m.  Weilington  ;  Mary  1716,  wlio  m.  Brown  ;  Eliza. 
1721,  who  m.  John  Pierce ;  Hannah  d.  inf. ;  Jona.  1723,  who  m. 
Martha  Crosby  June  4,  1747  ;  Hannah  1725  ;  John  1729,  who  m. 
Eliaa.  Wyman  Nov.  23,  1749  ;  Timothy  1731,  who  m.  Eiiza.  Pierce; 
Benj.  173i,  who  m.  1st  Lash,  2d  Colder ;  and  Submit  1736.  Wil- 
liam, bvo.  of  the  preceding,  m.  lat  Martba  Wyell  1716,  2d  Martha 
Brown  1728,  and  d.  1756,  m.  62.  He  had  Wilham  1717,  who  grad. 
H.  C.  1737,  and  had  WiHiam  1747,  who  grad.  H.  C.  1768,  and  was 
oi-d.  minister  of  Fryburg  1775,  from  which  branch  ai'e  Gen.  Sam'l 
and  Hon.  Wm.  Pitt  of  Portland  ;  and  Thos.  who  grad.  H.  C.  1758,  the 
minister  of  Walpole,  N.  H.  Bekja.  b.  at  Camb.  Jan.  30,  1701,  and 
grad.  H.  C.  1718,  was  the  minister  and  physician  at  Sandwich,  ord. 
Sept.  12,  1722,  and  d.  Aug.  7, 1746.  He  m.  Rebecca  Smhh  Oct.  18, 
1724,  and  had  Abig"!  Aug.  4, 1725 ;  Lucy  1727,  who  m.  Rev.  Gideon 
Hawley  June  14,  1769  ;  Benj.  July  9,  1729  ;  William  Sept.  5,  1732, 
who  set.  in  Harwich  ;  and  Thos,  July  8,  1739,  who  removed  to  Lex- 
ington and  then  to  Framingham.  The  Locke  genealogy  says  (we 
know  not  on  what  authority)  that  Kev,  Eenj.  had  also  Ruth,  who  was 
adopted  by  her  uncle  Winship,  acd  m.  Fr?.  Locke  Sept,  13,  1743  j 
and  also  Joseph,  who  resided  at  Camb.     But  these  last  are  not  found 

in  the  Sandwich  records. Of  the  above  sons  of  Rev.  Beaj.  of  S., 

Beijja.  grad.  H.  C.  1746,  resided  in  S.,  and  though  educated  for  the 
ministry,  became  an  "  innholder."  He  m.  1st  Deborah  Perry, 
July  22,  1750,  and  2d  Sarah  Newcomb,  Oct.  19,  1760,  and  d. 
Oct.  24,  1783,  £6.  55.  Issue  :  Stephen,  Oct.  27, 1750  ;  Sam'l  Sept.  2, 
1752;  Deborah  1754,  who  m.  Nath'l  Haskell  of  Roch'r,  May  4, 
1775;  Samh  1761,  who  m.  1st  Mosea  Allen  —  his  2d  wife,  and  2d 
Nathan  Nyo  —  his  2d  wife  ;  Rebecca  1762,  who  m.  Nathan  Dilling- 
ham then  of  Pittsfield ;  Abigail  1767,  who  m.  Wm.  Bodflsh  —  his  2d 
wife  Ap.  14,  1794;  Bathsheba,  who  m.  Dea.  Lemuel  Freeman 
May  26,1793;  William  Jan.  4,  1769;  Lucy  1770,  who  ra.  Rev. 
Alvin  Hyde,  D.  D.,  of  Lee;  Thomas  July  22,  1772,  wlio  ra.  Ruth 
Wilcox  1802  ;  Hanuah  1774,  who  m.  Thos.  Eldred  of  Falmo.  1795 ; 
and  Benja,  Aug.  7,  1776. Of  this  last  feniily,  Sam'l,  b.  1752, 


vGooglc 


AKSALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUSTY.  653 

to  J.  H.  Baker  to  build  a  wharf  in  Dennis,  near  Shad 
Hole;  and  similar  acts  were  passed  to  authorize  the 
erection  of  wharves,  as  follows :  to  Stephen  Dillingham, 
at  West  Falmouth  harbor ;  to  Seth  Nickerson,  Isaiah 
Gifford,  H.  W.  Freeman,  and  Jonathan  HiU,  severally, 
at  Provincetown ;  and  to  Owen  Bearse,  at  Barnstable, 
in  Hyannis,  Leave  also  to  the  Commissioners  of  Barn- 
stable County  to  construct  a  highway  and  bridge  across 
Scorton  Creek  in  Sandwich,  and  across  Frost  Fish 
Creek  in  Chatham  and  Wading-Place  Creek  in  Chat- 
ham and  Harwich.  Acts  were  also  passed  authorizing 
a  mill  dam  across  Mill  Creek  in  Truro,  and  regulating 
the  herring  fisheries  of  Falmouth. 

The  severity  of  the  winter  of  1846-7  was  such  that 
travel  was,  for  a  longer  time  than  before  known,  within 
the  memory  of  any  living,  obstructed.  There  was,  in 
fact,  a  general  blockade.     Even  Provincetown  harbor 

m.  Patience  Tobey  Ap.  22,  1774,  and  had  Stephen  Feb.  ],  1775,  who 
d.  when  a,  yonug  man,  of  lockjaw ;  Sam'l  Jr.  Feb,  22,  1777,  who 
m.  Hannah  Davis  of  Falmo.  Nov.  11,  1801,  and  d.  without  issue  5 
Cornelius  Oct.  27,  1778,  who  removed  to  Lee;  Deborah  1780,  who 
m.  Wm.  Eldred  of  F.  1802  ;  Sarah  1783,  who  m.  John  Hatch  of  F. 
1804;  Lucy  who  m.  John  Bassett;  Lois;  and  William  Jr.,  who  m. 
Lucy  Pope.  William,  Esq.,  b.  1769,  m,  Martha,  dr.  of  Hon,  Nath'I 
Freeman,  Aug.  7,  1794,  and  had  Stephen  Sept.  1, 1795,  who  m.  Car- 
oline Larkin  of  Boston ;  Benja.  June  13, 1797,  who  grad.  H.  C.  1817, 
was  ord.  at  E.  Bridgew'r  Sept.  19, 1821,  in.  Mary  Wilkinson  of  Paw- 
tucket,  and  resigned  the  pastoral  office  Nov.  6,  1825  —  now  a  man- 
ufacturer in  E.  L ;  Nancy  F.,  July  22,  1799,  who  m.  Capt.  Ezra  Nye 
Jan.  5,  1826  ;  Martha  Aug.  23,  1801,  who  m.  Joshua  Tobey  Nov.  8, 
1824 ;  Wm.  H.  Aug.  7,  1803,  who  m.  1st  Lydia  Kussell  of  N.  Bed- 
ford, and  2d  Cath. ;  Joshua  Allen  Oct.  3,  1805,  who  d.  Dec.  15, 

1830,  a  merch't  in  Boston ;  Nath'I  F.  Mar.  31,  1808,  who  m.  Betsey 
Clark  of  Ply.  1835  ;  Tryphosa  C.  Dec.  2,  1810,  who  m.  Wm.  T.  Mayo 
of  Ply.  Aug.  14,  1832  ;  Charles  B.  H.  July  17,  1813,  who  m.  Sarah 
A.  H.  Clark  of  Lima,  N.  Y. ;  and  Henry,  Ap.  29,  1816,  who  d.  Aug. 
27,  18i7,  at  Victoria,  Hong  Kong,  China. 


vGooglc 


THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


was  partially  frozen,  and  for  ten  days  there  was  no 
The  mails  were  delayed  a  still  longer  time.' 


In  1848,  commissioners  were  appointed  to  visit  the 
Indians  within  the  Commonwealth,  and  examine  and 
report  their  condition,  &c.  —  The  Cape  Cod  Branch 
Railroad  was  opened  for  travel."  —  Incorporation  was 
granted  to  the  Hyannis  Packet  Insiirance  Co.;  to  the 
Sandwich  Savings  Bank,  April  21 ;  to  the  Truro  Wharf 
and  Breakwater  Co.  —  to  construct  near  Pond  Land- 
ing ;  and  to  the  Provincetown  Marine  Railway,  April 
24 — for  examining  and  repairing  vessels. — The  County 
Commissioners  were  authorized  to  lay  out  a  highway 
and  build  bridges  across  Herring  River  and  Swan  Pond 
Creek  in  Harwich  and  Dennis;  also  across  Garden 
River  and  Bass  Hole  Creek  in  Yannouth  and  Dennis. 
The  capital  of  the  Barnstable  Bank  was  permitted  to 

'  At  this  time,  the  acliooiier  Eonita,  of  and  from  Eastport,  waa 
wrecked,  about  lialf  a  mOe  east  of  Race  Point,  in  a  thick  snow  storm. 
She  had  parted  cables  and  drifted  from  Cape  Ann.  After  striking  on 
the  shore  near  Eace  Point,  the  sea  made  a  complete  breach  over  the 
vessel ;  one  man  was  washed  off  and  lost  before  relief  was  at  hand ; 
another  perished  on  hoard,  buried  under  the  floating  rubbish  of  the 
cabin.  Through  the  noble  efforts  of  citizens  of  Provincetown,  four 
were  saved  from  impending  death.  The  water  was  already  above 
their  waists  in  the  steerage,  and  the  house  broken  up  ;  the  captain  had 
lashed  himself  to  the  bit-heads,  and  others  clung  about  the  gaff  and 
mainmast.  The  male  succeeded,  after  great  exposure  and  suffering, 
in  floating  some  spun-yam  through  the  surf  to  the  beaeh,  by  which  he 
received  a  small  hawser,  to  which  he  fastened  the  benumbed  captain 
and  threw  him  overboard ;  as  he  also  threw  two  others  in  succession ; 
then  bent  himself  on ;  and  al!  were  hauled  through  the  surf  a  distance 
of  forty  or  fifty  yards.  The  captain  was  badly  frozen  and  nearly  ex- 
hausted, before  being  thrown  over ;  but  by  the  kindly  attentions  of  the 
rescuers,  all  were  finally  restored. 
^  See  Appendix  H. 


yGoogle 


AKiSALS    OP   BARNSTABLE   CODNTY.  655 

be  increaaed ;  the  dividing  line  between  Harwich  and 
Brewster  was  changed ;  laws  were  enacted,  to  enable 
Benj.  Freeman  and  others  to  straighten  and  widen  Mill 
Creek  in  Brewster,  Jeremiah  Mayo  and  others  to  build 
a  breakwater  and  wharves  at  the  Point  of  Bocks  in 
Brewster,  and  for  the  improvement  of  the  harbor  of 
Dennis  ;  also  to  legalize  the  erection  of  wharves,  by  J. 
A.  Paine  and  Allen   Hinckley/    severally,  in  Truro; 

^  The  mention  of  the  name  of  Hinckley  puts  us  in  mind  to  con- 
tinue in  this  place  because  convenient  to  do  so,  the  genealogy  in  part 
of  a  numerous  and  widely-scattered  iamily  of  high  respectability.  — 
The  ancestor,  Mr.  Samuel,  (see  p.  343,)  had  children :  Thomas,  b.  in 
Eng.  1618 ;  Susanna,  who  m.  Mr.  John  Smith,  1643 ;  Sarah,  who  m. 
elder  Henry  Cobb,  his  2d  wife,  Dec.  13,  1649;  Mary;  Samuel,  bap. 
at  Scituate,  Feb.  4,  1637  ;  Samuel,  bap.  Feb.  10,  1638 ;  Samuel,  bap. 
July  24,  1642;  John,  bap.  May  24,  1644;  and  Elizabeth.  These  are 
all,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  Samuela  who  d.  early,  mentioned  in 
his  will,  pr.  1663.  There  have  been  conflicting  statements  in  regard 
to  the  time  of  the  nativity  of  the  eldest  son.  Gov,  Thomas ;  hut  his 
age  is  affixed  to  a  poem  which  he  wrote  in  1703  on  occasion  of  the 
"sad  event"  of  the  decease  of  his  second  wife,  and  this  is  decisive. 
He  was  then  "  tetatis  85," 

.  The  issue  of  Gov.  TnoUAa  we  have  named  p.  343,  with  one  es- 
ception,  which  omission  we  will  here  supply,  as  also  a  minuter  state- 
ment of  dates  and  events.  His  children  were  Mary,  Aug.  3,  1644, 
who,  according  to  the  Gen.  Reg.,  is  supposed  to  have  m.  a  Weyborne ; 
Sarah,  Noy.  4, 1646,  who  m.  Nath'l  Bacon  Jr.  March  27, 1673 ;  Mel- 
atiah,  Dec.  25,  1648,  who  ra.  Josiah  Crocker,  Oct.  22, 1668  ;  Hannah, 
Apr.  15, 1650,  who  m.  Nath'l  Glover;  Saml,  Feb.  14, 16S2 ;  Thomas, 
Dec.  5,  1654;  Bathshua,  May  15, 1657,  who  m.  Sheaij.  Bourne;  Me- 
hitable,  March  24,  1658-9,  who  m.  1st  Sami  "Worden,  2d  Wm.  Avery 
Oct.  13,  1698;  Admire,  Jan.  28,  1661,  by  2d  m.,  who  d.  es.  i 
Ebenezer,  Feb.  22,  1662,  who  d.  young;  Mercy,  Jan.  1663,  who  m. 
Sam'!  Prince  Esq.  of  Sandwich ;  Experience,  Feb.  1664,  who  m 
James  Whipple ;  John,  June  9,  1667 ;  Abigail,  Apr.  8,  1669,  who  m 
Eev.  Joseph  Lord  of  Chatham,  1698  ;  Thankful,  Aug.  20,  1671,  wk 
m.  Eev.  Experience  Mayhew,  Nov,  12, 1695  ;  Eben'r,  Sept.  23, 1673 
and  Keliance,  Dec.  15,  1675,  who  m.  Kev.  Natii'l  Stone  of  Hai-wich. 


vGooglc 


656  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

Amasa  Nickersoa,  at  Deep  Hole  in  Harwich ;  Job  Chase, 
Harwich ;  Levi  Barlow,  Sandwich  ;  John  Atwood  Jr.,  at 
Long  Point  in  Provincetown ;  Joshua  Dyer  and  Seth 
Nickerson,  severally,  at  Provincetown ;  J.  W.  Magoun, 

— The  Hist.  Eeg.  says  the  2d  wife  of  Gov.  II.  was  "  widow  of  Nath'l 
Glover ;  "  others  say,  "  widow  of  John." 

Samuel,  4th  s.  of  Mr.  Samuel,  b,  1642,  m,  1st  Mary  Goodspoed, 
Dec.  14,  1664,  who  d.  Dec  20,  1666,  and  2d  Maiy  Fitzrandle,  Jan. 
15,  1668.  They  had  Benj.,  Dec.  6,  1666;  Saaiuel,  Feb.  6,  1669,  by 
2d  m.,  who  d.- Jan.  S,  1676 ;  Joseph,  May  15,  1672  ;  Isaac,  Aug.  20, 
1674;  Mary,  May  1677,  who  d.  1679;  Mercy,  April  9, 1679;  Eben'r, 
Aug.  2,  1685  ;  and  Thomas,  Jan.  1,  1688-9. 

John,  5th  s.of  Mr.  Samuel,  b.  1644,  and  d.  Dec.  7, 1709,  m.  Bethia 
Lothrop,  July  1668,  who  d.  July  10,  1694,  and  probably  m.  2d  Mary 
Goodspeed,  Nov.  24,  1697.  He  had  by  Bethia,  Sarah,  May  1669 ; 
Samuel,  Feb.  2,  1670;  Bethia,  March  1673,  who  d.  April  2,  1715  ; 
Hannah,  May  1675;  Jonathan,  Feb.  15,  1677;  Ichabod,  Aug.  28, 
1680  ;  and  Gershom,  April  2,  1682. 

Samusl,  eldest  s.  of  Gov.  H.,  b.  1652,  was  in  the  Narraganset 
war.  He  m.  Sarah  Pope,  Nov.  13,  1676,  and  had  Maiy,  July  22, 
1673,  who  d.  young  ;  Mehitable,  Dec  28,  1679  ;  Thomas,  March  19, 
1680-1 ;  Seth,  Apr.  16, 1683 ;  Sam'l,  Sept.  24, 1684 ;  EInathan,  Sept. 
8,  1686,  who  d.  early;  Job,  Feb.  16, 1687-8;  Shubael,  May  1, 1690; 
Mercy,  Jan.  11,  1692-S;  Josiah,  Jan.  24,  1694r-5;  EInathan,  Dec. 
29,  1698, 

Samuel,  the  2d  son  of  Sam'l  above,  b.  1684,  m.  Mary,  dr.  of  Ed- 
mund Freeman  of  Eastham,  and  g.  dr.  of  Maj.  John.  Issue ;  Seth, 
Dec.  25, 1707  ;  Shubael,  March  25,  1708-9  ;  Sam'l  and  Mary,  gem., 
Feb.  12,  1710-11,  the  latter  of  whom  d.  early;  Edmund,  Nov.  20, 
1712;  Reliance,  Nov.  21,  1714;  and  probably  Aaron,  in  Me.,  1716, 
whither  the  parents  had  removed.  The  fiither  was  one  of  the  "  asso- 
ciated persons"  for  the  purpose  of  forming  the  lat  church  in  Bidde- 
ford  1729-30,  and  at  the  1st  town  meeting  held  ia  Brunswick,  March 
28,  1739,  he  was  mod'r.  He  was  also  chosen  town  clerk,  selectman, 
and  representative  in  1747. 

Shubael,  of  the  last  named  family,  "  whose  father  was  from  Barn- 
stable," was  of  "  Old  York,  Me.,  and  moved  io  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Kennebec."  He  m.  4  times,  had  20  ch.,  and  d.  at  Hallowell,  Feb. 
2,  1798,  te.  91.   The  families  thus  descended  are  numerous  and  widely 


vGooglc 


ANNAIS   OF   BiBMSTABLE   COTOTY.  657 

Truro ;  N.  Piske,  Dennis ;  and  S.  J.  Eldred,  at  West  Fal- 
mouth harbor.  —  "We  have  thus  far  noted  the  improve- 
ments sanctioned  by  special  laws,  aa  indicating  the 
progress  of  the  business  of  the  county ;  but  as  we  ap- 
proach the  close  of  our  general  history  of  the  Cape 
these  events  are  so  multiplied  that  we  economize  the 
space  allotted  to  us,  and  omit  much  of  the  minor 
details. 

In  1849j  Zachary  Taylor  became  President  of  the 
United  States.  —  Capt.  Benjamin  Hallett  of  Barnstable 
died,  Dec.  31,  aged  90.' 

Within  a  few  years  past,  much  attention  has  been 


laine.  From  James,  son  of  Shubael,  b.  Jan.  i,  1739-40, 
was  Dea.  James,  Aug.  14,  1769,  of  Hallowell,  who  was  the  father  of 
Owen  of  Eastport,  Rev.  Smith  of  Dresden,  Nicholas  of  Monmouth, 
and  Henry  K.  now  of  Portland. 

^  Capt.  Benjamih  Hallett,  b.  Jan.  IS,  1760,  at  Hyannis,  was  in 
many  respects  an  extraordinary  man.  His  tomb-stone  records  that 
"  his  lineal  descendants  living  at  his  decease  were  79,  viz. :  8  children, 
32  grandchildren,  and  1  great-grandchild.  In  the  war  of  Inde- 
pendence he  served  three  years  — on  board  the  Dean  frigate  and  in 
the  land  forces.  The  pioneer  in  the  coastiug-trade,  he  raised  the  first 
Bethel  flag  for  seamen's  worship  in  New  York  and  Boston."  It  is 
stated  that  "  he  was  the  first  who  opened  the  coasting-trade  between 
Boston  and  Albany,  1788,  a  trade  then  in  danger  of  being  overdone 
by  two  sloops,  but  which  now  loads  fieets  and  railroad  trmns.  In 
1808  ho  built  the  sloop  Ten  Sisters,  the  most  noted  packet  for  many 
years  between  Boston  and  New  York.  On  board  this  vessel  the  sail- 
ors' meefjngs  were  first  held  in  New  York  in  Coenties'  Slip,  just  after 
the  war  of  1812."  Capt.  H.  was  from  his  20th  year  a  professor  of 
the  Christian  faith,  and  a  prominent  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 
"  Singularly  gifted  in  prayer  and  exhortation,"  he  took  an  active  part 
in  religious  meetings,  and  was  distinguished  among  his  denomination 
in  his  later  years  as  "a  Christian  patriarch,"  He  desired  that  the 
test  for  his  funeral  sermon  should  be, "  By  grace  are  ye  saved,  through 
faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves  —  it  is  the  gift  of  God." 
VOL.  I.  83 


vGooglc 


658  THE   HISTORY    OF    CAPE   COD. 

given  to  the  improvement  of  public  roads  in  the  county ; 
and  the  subject  has  awakened  an  interest  that  is  des- 
tined ultimately  to  secure  for  the  Cape  fine  roads  in  all 
its  towns.  The  county  commissioners  were  authorized 
to  lay  out  a  highway  and  build  a  bridge  across  navigar 
ble  waters  in  Dennis ;  and  a  highway  across  East  Har- 
bor in  Truro,  "  from  the  end  of  Beach  Point  to  Province- 
town."  Individuals  were  authorized  to  construct  bridges 
over  Eed  River  in  Chatham,  and  Swan  Pond  Kiver  in 
Dennis.  —  A  site  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  for 
a  light  at  Hyannis;  and  Loring  Crocker  et  al  were  au- 
thorized to  build  a  dike  across  Rendezvous  Creek  in 
Barnstable. 

In  1850,  July  9,  Gen.  Taylor,  President  of  the  United 
States,  died  at  Washington,  and  Millard  FiLLMOiui,  Vice- 
President,  became,  ex  offido,  the  supreme  executive.  — 
The  population  of  the  United  States  appeared  by  the 
census  returns  to  be  23,171,680;^  of  Massachusetts 
994,514;  of  this  county,  33,997.  — The  preservation  of 
Cape  Cod  harbor  was  yet  again  the  subject  of  legisla- 
tive enactment,  and  an  appropriation  by  Congress  was 
urged.^  —  The  activity  of  the  Cape  has  at  no  time  since 

'  The  Abbe  Eaynal,  in  his  "  Revolution  of  America,"  said,  in 
1780,  "  We  cannot  determine,  without  rashness,  what  may  one  day  be 
the  population  of  the  TJniled  States ;  if  ten  millions  of  people  ever 
find  a  certain  subsistence  in  tbose  provinces,  it  will  be  much." 

"  The  State  Legislature  directed  that  the  attention  of  Congress 
should  be  called  to  the  "  immense  importance  of  the  liarbor  to  our  na- 
tional and  commercial  marine."  The  danger  threatened  is  thus  set 
forth  ;  "  The  harbor  is  being  greatly  injured  by  the  drifting  of  loose 
sand  from  Ihe  beach  into  said  harbor,  by  which  or  by  other  causes,  the 
current  of  the  tide  ia  undermining  and  wearing  away  said  beach,  which 
is  the  only  barrier  between  the  liarbor  and  ocean,  and  which,  if 
once  removed,  will  effectually  destroy  said  harbor." 


vGooglc 


AHNALS   or   BARNSTABLE    COtlNTi'.  659 

its  first  settlement  been  on  the  wane  ;  but  tbe  channels 
of  its  industrial  enterprise  have  from  time  to  time 
varied  according  to  circumstances.  In  the  extent  of  its 
fishing  operations,  it  now  finds  worthy  rivals  elsewhere.' 
Whatever  may  be  the  final  result  of  any  attempts  to 
reclaim  for  more  useful  purposes  the  vast  amount  of 
salt  marshes  that  indent  the  bounds  of  the  Cape,  the 
incorporation  this  year  of  "  The  Great  Marsh  Diking, 
Water  Power,  and  Fishing  Co.  of  Barnstable,"  discovers 
a  reaching  for  improvement.  The  object  was  "  to  con- 
struct a  dike  in  the  northerly  part  of  the  town,  from 
Calves-pasture,  so  called,  to  Sandy  Neck,  to  prevent  the 
flow  of  the  salt  waters  above  the  line  of  the  contem- 
plated dike,  for  the  purpose  of  draining  the  marshes 
there  situate,  and  converting  the  same  into  meadow  or 
tillage  land,"  &c.  —  Other  indications  of  progress  are 
found  in  the  grant  of  authority  to  constri;ct  a  marine 
railway  near  Lewis'  Bay ;  and  bridges  over  Oyster  Pond 
Eiver  in  Chatham,  and  Duck  Creek  in  Wellfleet;  as 
also  in  the  call  for  additional  banking  establishments, 
and  the  increase  of  capital. 


■  We  wish  it  were 

convenient  to  exhibit  the  statistics  of  the  fish- 

eries  of  the  Cape  in 

full  ;  but  it  would  require  more 

iabov  than  we 

are  willing  to  assume  at  this  stage  of  our  Histoiy, 

We  may  state, 

however,  that  the  mackerel  and  other  fisheries  of  the  Cape,  upon  the 

year,  in  barrels. 

asfoUows:  — 

Barnstable,  in 

1849,   at  6,212  bis. ;  in   1850, 

at  6,065. 

Yarmouth, 

5,832     " 

5,821. 

Dennis, 

"           11,085     " 

20,395. 

Harwich, 

14,605     « 

14,839. 

Chatham, 

3,84.^     «               " 

6.764. 

Wellfleet, 

18,549     "               " 

17,615. 

Truro, 

"           11,862     " 

8,570. 

Province  town. 

"           23,347     " 

27,865. 

yGoogle 


mi)  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  1851,  George  S.  Botitwell  was  elected  Governor 
of  Massachusetts.  —  "  The  Cape  Cod  Association  in  Boa- 
ton,"  was  organized  May  12.  "A  general  desire  had 
been  for  some  time  expressed  among  the  sons  and  de- 
scendants of  Cape  Cod,  residents  of  Boston  and  vicin- 
ity, that  there  should  be  some  more  direct  and  agreea- 
ble method  than  had  before  existed,  for  bringing  into 
acquaintance  and  familiar  social  communion  those 
claiming  a  common  Cape  Cod  origin."  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  "  general  consultation  and  interchange  of  sen- 
timent upon  the  subject,"  and  a  "determination  to  or- 
ganize a  society  for  the  purposes  above  indicated."^  — 
The  renewed  increase  of  bank  capital ;  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Seamen's  Savings  Bank  at  Provincetown, 
and  the  Marine  Eailway  Co.  at  Chatham ;  together  with 
the  application  made  by  the  C.  C.  Branch  Railroad  Co. 
for  permission  to  extend  the  road  from  Sandwich, 
through  the  towns  of  Sandwich,  Barnstable,  and  Yar- 
mouth, on  the  north  side  of  the  range  of  hills  dividing 
the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  Cape,  to  some  point  in 
or  near  the  village  of  Yarmouth  Port,  and  thence  to 
and  into  tide-water  at  Hyannis  harbor — with  the  in- 

^  The  object  of  the  Association,  as  set  forth  in  the  con slitu lion,  is 
,"  To  encourage  and  promote  among  all  the  native  born  and  descended 
of  Cape  Cod,  temperance,  industry,  sincerity,  good  humor,  charity, 
the  social  affections  and  generous  sentiments ;  and  all  natives  of  Cape 
Cod,  and  their  descendants,  who  are  residents  of  Boston  and  its  vicin- 
ity, may  become  members  on  signing  the  constitution  and  conlbrming 
to  its  by-laws."  At  the  first  election,  the  following  officers  were 
chosen :  President,  David  Sears ;  Vice-Presidents,  "William  Sturgis, 
Lemuel  Shaw,  Daniel  C.  Bacon,  Benj'n  Bangs,  Prinee  Hawes,  Benj'n 
Burgess,  Beuj.  F.  Hallett,  Joshua  Sears,  Francis  Bassett,  Robert  Ba- 
con, Thomas  Thacher,  S.  K.  Lothrop,  and  John  G.  Palfrey;  Treas- 
urer, Isaac  Thacher ;  Cor.  Sec,  H.  A  Scudder ;  Kec.  Sec,  Wm.  S. 
Thacher.  —  See  Appendix  I, 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  ODl 

crease  of  capital,  are  items,  to  say  nothing  of  various 
other  indications,  that  betoken  prosperity. 

In  1852,  action  was  again  had  in  the  legislature  for 
the  preservation  of  Cape  Cod  harbor,  and  in  response 
of  the  call  Congress  appropriated  |5000  for  the  pur- 
pose —  a  miserable  pittance  so  totally  inadequate  that 
the  subject  must  needs  be  before  the  legislature  the 
next  year,  when  a  commission  was  appointed  at  the 
head  of  which  was  Hon.  Francis  Brinley,  to  examine 
Cape  Cod  harbor  and  report  An  act  was  passed, 
now  as  at  various  times,  authorizing  the  construction 
of  wharves  by  enterprising  inhabitants  of  Province- 
town;^  also  an  act  incorporating  the  "Union  Marine- 
railway  Company  "  of  the  same  place.  Acts  were  also 
passed  incorpoi^ating  the  Flax-pond  Fishing  Company 
of  Dennis,  for  the  purpose  of  opening  an  outlet  from 
Sursuifc  Creek  for  the  alewive  fishery ;  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  fisheries  in  Barnstable  and  Mashpee,  that  is 
Osterville  Harbor  and  Popponeeset  Bay ;  and  for  incor- 
porating the  2d  Methodist  church  in  Harwich. 

In  1853,  Franklin  Pierce  became  President  of  the 
United  States;  and  John  H.  Clifford  Governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. —  Among  the  events  of  local  interest  that 
may  or  might  be  noted,  are  the  increase  of  the  cap- 
ital of  the  Boston  and  Sandwich  Glass  Company  by 
$200,000;  the  increase  again  of  tiie  stock  of  the  Barn- 

^  The  acts  authorizing  the  construction  and  maintaining  of  wharves 
in  most  of  the  towns  have,  for  some  years,  heen  so  numeroas  that  we 
have  ceased  to  be  careful  to  note  them.  For  a  time  such  acts,  with 
those  establishing  various  enterprises,  helped  to  show  the  symptoms 
of  progress.  'To  continue  to  refer  to  them,  would  needlessly  consume 
the  space  we  must  reserve  for  other  purposes. 


vGooglc 


662  THE   mSTORT   OF   CAPE   COD. 

stable  Bank ;  the  mcorporation  of  Insurance,  Ice,  and 
Machine  Companies ;  the  cession  to  the  United  States 
of  certain  rights  in  Provincetown  and  Truro  for  the 
preservation  of  the  harbor  of  Cape  Cod,  and  in  Pal- 
mouth  for  a  searwall  to  improve  the  harbor  of  Wood's 
Hole  ;  &c.  &c.  &c. 

In  1854,  Emoky  Washburn  being  governor,  the  legis- 
lative committee  appointed  for  the  p"urpose,  made  a 
full  and  able  report  touching  the  right  of  tlie  Common- 
wealth to  the  Province  lands,  and  the  best  means  of 
providing  for  the  preservation  of  Cape  Cod  harbor ; 
suggesting  the  great  value  of  the  locality  in  a  commer- 
cial point  of  view,  and  the  joint  duty  and  action  of  the 
town,  the  State,  and  the  General  Government  respect- 
ing it ;  recommending  that  a  bridge  be  erected  by  tlie 
town  from  the  extreme  end  of  Beach  Point  to  the  op- 
posite shore  near  Deep  Hole;  that  amendments  to 
existing  laws  be  made  by  the  State  and  the  laws  rigidly 
enforced ;  and  that  "  the  General  Government  dispense 
its  means  with  a  liberal  hand  for  the  preservation 
of  one  of  the  most  important  harbors  in  the  United 
States." 

The  "Cape  Cod  Association  in  Boston"  celebrated 
their  third  anniversary,  at  Yarmouth  Port,  Wednesday, 
Aug.  2.  The  occasion  was  one  of  much  enjoyment 
both  to  the  members  of  the  association  and  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  Cape  whose  guests  they  became.'  —  Sha- 
drach  Freeman  Esq.,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Sandwich, 
died  this  year,  June  13,  se.  84. 

The  Provincetown  Bank  was  incorporated,  March  28, 
capital  $100,000;  also  the  East  Sandwich  Diking  Com- 
pany —  to  construct  a  dike  across  Scorton  Creek,  &c. ; 

^  See  Appendix  J. 


yGoogle 


ANNAIS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  663 

the  Cape  Cod  Branch  Railroad  was  permitted  to  assume 
the  title  of  "  The  Cape  Cod  Railroad  Company,"  with  an 
increase  of  stock  by  ^60,000;  the  Provincetown  Gas- 
light Company  was  incorporated;  the  county  commis- 
sioners were  authorized  to  construct  a  bridge  over  East 
Harbor  in  Truro  and  Provincetown ;  and  an  act  was 
passed  for  the  protection  of  cranberry  vines  ou  the 
Province  lands.' 

^  The  culture  of  cranberries  has  become  an  object  of  much  interest 
on  the  Cape  in  every  town.  Every  possible  patch  of  land  —  or  rather 
awamp,  most  fit  for  the  culture  is  being  held  at  gi'catly  advanced 
prices,  and  much  of  it  is  already  in  requisition  for  cranberry  plats.  It 
is  alleged  that  according  to  the  yield  of  the  last  year,  {1859.)  each 
acre  under  this  culture  is  worth  $10,000,  This  may  be  an  exagger- 
ated estimate;  bat  according  to  statistics  carefully  prepared,  the 
haiTest  has  become  very  considerable.  The  Provincetown  Banner 
reports  the  product  of  that  town  the  last  year,  331  barrels,  producing 
$4320,  Mr.Obed  Brooks  of  Harwich,  has  furnished  a  statistical  table 
showing  that  831  barrels  were  raised  in  Dennis,  valued  at  $9637 ;  in 
Harwich,  856^^,  at  $10,145 ;  in  Brewster,  322J^,  at  $3848 ;  making  in 
the  aggregate,  including  Provincetown,  2821  barrels,  worth  $27,950, 
But  this  includes  only  four  out  of  thirteen  towns.  In  Barnstable,  Fal- 
mouth, and  indeed  every  other  place  the  culture  is  being  undertaken 
in  right  earnest  and  in  some  places  on  a  large  scale.  From  the  At- 
lantic Messenger  we  gather  suggestions  that  "the  culture  of  the  fruit 
to  any  verj  laige  extent  is  a  new  thing  in  the  county,  but  that  there 
IS  no  dinger  of  the  bu  iness  being  overdone.  The  demand  is  great 
and  constantly  increasing  The  Cape  Cod  cranberries  are  pro- 
nounced by  geoeril  consent  of  superior  quality,  commanding  a  pre- 
mium in  the  mirketa  wherever  known.  For  the  cultivation  of  this 
delicious  f  uit  the  C  ipe  pos^^ses  facilities  nowhere  else  found  to 
the  same  exti-nt  The  etpense  of  preparing  the  land  for  culture  ia 
\ery  inconsiderable  ind  the  tracts  easily  susceptible  of  being  brought 
into  cranbeines  and  best  idipted  to  the  culture,  have  been  hilherto 
conipatatively  valuple-is  for  other  purposes,"  A  valuable  work  writ- 
ten T  few  years  smee  on  the  Culture  of  the  Cranberry,  by  the  Bev. 
Mr  Eastwood  of  North  Dennis,  iias  doubtless  done  much  to  awaken 
and  increase  an  interest  on  this  subject 


vGooglc 


664  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

la  1855,  Henry  J.  Gakdneb  was  elected  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  and  remained  in  office  three  years.  — 
The  Bank  of  Cape  Cod,  at  Harwich,  was  incorporated, 
May  21,  capital  |100,000;  the  Equitable  Marine  Insur- 
ance Company  of  Provincetown ;  the  Cape  Cod  Savings 
Bank  at  Harwich ;  the  Great  Pond  Canal  Company  of 
Eastham  ;  the  Nantucket  and  Cape  Cod  Steamboat 
Company  —  for  the  purpose  of  running  steamers  and 
sailing-vessels,  for  the  convenience  of  the  public  travel 
and  the  transportation  of  merchandise  between  Hyan- 
nia  and  Nantucket,  &c. ;  and  the  Cape  Cod  Telegraph 
Company  —  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  and  main- 
taining a  line  of  telegraph  from  Boston  to  Province- 
town  with  branch  lines  to  Holmes'  Hole,  Nantucket, 
Fall  River,  and  New  Bedford.  In  competition  with 
this  was  incorporated  tlie  following  year  the  Boston 
and  Cape  Cod  Marine  Telegraph  Company  —  for  main- 
taining a  line  of  magnetic  telegraph  from  Boston  along 
the  line  of  the  Old  Colony,  Fall  River,  and  Cape  Cod 
Railroads,  and  thence  to  Chatham  and  Provincetown, 
&c.  —  Land  was  also  ceded  to  the  United  States  for  a 
custom  house  at  Barnstable. 

In  1856,  commissioners  were  appointed  under  the  act 
of  legislature  May  16,  "  to  ascertain  and  report  on  the 
artificial  propagation  of  fish,"  —  with  a  view  to  the 
ascertaining  of  facts  to  guide  future  legislation  on 
the  subject.  Capt.  N.  B.  Atwood  of  Provincetown,  who 
through  life  had  been  a  practical  fisherman,  and  had 
also  become  learned  as  an  ichthyologist,  was,  by  his 
association  on  the  commission,  intrusted  by  hia  asso- 
ciates especially  with  the  duty  of  making  observations 
and  experiments.  The  result  was  the  conclusion  that 
the  artificial  propagation  of  fish  is  not  only  practicable, 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTAELE   COUNTY.  665 

but  that  pisciculture  may  be  very  profitable,  and  fresh- 
water streams  and  ponds  innumerable  may  be  made  to 
produce  a  "vastly  increased  amount  of  food  —  especially 
by  individual  enterprise  encouraged  by  suitable  legis- 
lative protection.  Important  suggestions  were  also 
made  touching  the  prohibition  of  the  taking  and  bring- 
ing to  market  certain  fish  —  particularly  the  salmon 
and  trout  —  during  their  spawning  season.  The  learned 
report  of  the  commissioners  suggests  that  the  fisheries 
have  been  inappropriately  called  "  the  agriculture  of 
the  waters,"  whereas  the  "  harvesting "  should  be  the 
term.'  The  report,  wo  trust,  may  be  but  the  inaugura- 
tion of  a  new  era  in  political  economy;  and  we  will 
venture  to  add,  for  the  honor  of  the  Cape,  that  it  may 
at  least  be  doubted  whether  as  a  pracUcal  ichthyologist 
Mr.  Atwood  has  his  superior  in  America.'' 

^  When  it  is  considered  that  a  single  pike  Las  been  found  to  pro- 
duce in  a  single  season  272,160  e^s;  the  mackerel  546,680;  the 
flounder  1,357,000;  the  sturgeon  7,635,200;  the  codfish  9,344,000; 
the  turhot  9,000,000  ;  the  mullet  13,000,000,  and  other  fishes  ia  large' 
proportion,  it  would  seem  that  the  supply  must  be  inexliaustible. 
There  are,  however,  numerous  causes  ia  operation  always  tending  to 
the  depopulation  of  our  fresh  watera  especially.  The  expediency  of 
taking  repressive  measures  against  the  destruction  of  spawn,  lias  been 
forcibly  demonstrated ;  as  also  the  losses  in  the  piscatory  department 
by  the  encroachments  of  man uiaetu ring  industry,  sf«amboata,  &o. 
Questions  hence  arise  of  great  importance  in  political  economy.  But 
more  than  this,  —  "  regular  sowing  or  planting  "  (we  use  the  signifi- 
cant terms  of  the  commission  above  referred  to)  may  make  waters 
hitherto  unproductive,  not  only  prolific  but  to  yield  choice  varieties 
of  flsh,  whilst  the  waters  shall  become  purer  and  healthier  by  their 
employment. 

^  We  venture  saying  thus  much,  though  it  becomes  history  to  be 
chary  in  speaking  of  the  living.  We  are  sure  that  Mr.  Atwood's 
attainments  deserve  higher  appreciation  by  the  public. 

VOL.  I.  84 


vGooglc 


6G6  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

Obed  Brooks  Esq.  of  Harwich,  died  this  year,  Aug. 
4.^  —  An  act  was  passed  for  the  preservation  of  fish  in 

'  Obed  Bkooks  Esq.  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Harwich,  and  of 
the  4th  generation  from  Beriah  Broadbrooks  who  was  early  in  Har- 
wich, and  who  m.  Abigail  dr.  of  Joseph  and  Martha  Severance  of 
Yarmouth,  8ept.ll,lG76.     [Mrs.  Severance  was  dr.of  PeterWai-dcn 
Jr.  the  son  of  Peter  who  came  with  his  family  from  Clayton,  Lan- 
caster Co.  Eng.]     Mr.  BEitiAH  Broaubrooks  had  Beriah  Jr. ;  Jo- 
seph who  removed  to  Danhury,  Ct  hefore  1650;  John;  "William  who 
removed  to  Ct. ;  Ebenr.  1717;    Martha;   and  Maria.  —  Ebenezkb 
who  d.  April  20,  1802,  m.  Lydia,  dr.  of  Jona.  and  Damans  Small. 
She  was  b.  Aug.  6,  1725,  and  d.  March  3,  1802.     Issue:  Lydia  who 
m.  Nathl.  Bobbins ;  Ebenezer  Dec.  19, 1750  ;  Hannah  who  m.  Daniel 
Chase ;  Eleanor  who  m.  Benj.  Hall ;  Nathan  who  m.  Mercy  Myrick ; 
and  Sylvia  who  ra.  Nehemiah  Nickerson.  —  Ebemezee  Esq.,  a  man 
of  more  than  ordinary  business  capacity  and  mueli  consulted  in  busi- 
ness affairs,  a  large  landholder,  just.  pac.  from  1784  to  1828,  some  time 
rep.,  postmaster  1803  to  1821  and  d.  Feb.  4, 1828,  m.  Tamazin  dr.  of 
Seth  Hall  Feb  ^  1  7o      She  was  b.  March  9,  1757,  and  d.  Jan.  1, 
1828.     Issue    Naon     J^n    19,  1777,  who  m.  Calvin  GifPord;  Ruth 
March  5,  17" J   who    n    Tohn  Hall;  Obed  Jan.  27,1781;  Eosana 
Nov.  28,  178^  who  n     Fbe     Weeks;  Asenath  Oct.  27,  1785,  who 
m.  Levi  Snow    Taniz      J  ne  1,  1789,  who  d.  is.  18;  Lucy  July  1, 
1791,  who  m.  Enoch  E.  Harding;  Ebenezer  May  26,  1793;  Seth 
Sept.  21,  1796,  who  d.  se.  27;  and  Sabi-a  Feb.  1,  1799.     The  name, 
for  brevity's  sake,  was  changed  by  legislative  enactment,  by  discon- 
tinuance of  the  first  syllable,  and  has  since  been  written  Brooks.  — 
Obed  Esq.,  b.  1781,  d.  Aug.  4,  1856,  was,  like  hia  father,  a  man  of 
much  business  talent,  holding  various  public  offices ;  selectman  14  yrs., 
town  clerk  and  treas.  26  yra.,  postmaster  35  yrs.,  just,  pac  36  yrs., 
county  commissioner  3  terms,  besides  being  some  time  capt.  of  militia, 
inspector  of  the  port  of  H.,  &c.     He  m.  Sally  6.,  dr.  of  Ebenr. 
Weekes  May  10, 1807.     She  was  b.  March  20, 1784,  and  d.  Dec.  21, 
1836.     Issue :  Sidney  who  d.  1809  ;  Obed  the  present  cashier  of  the 
Bk.  of  C.  Cod ;  Roxana  who  m.  Stephen  G.  Davis ;  Sidney ;  a  dr. 
who  A.  inf. ;  Harriet  N. ;  Tamazin  and  a  son,  gem.,  the  latter  of  whom 
a.  inf ;  Henry  C,  of  Boston ;  and  Sarah  G.  —  For  the  lithograph 
that  appears  herewith,  we  owe  grateful  acknowledgmeala  to  Major 
Henry  C  Brooks,  the  younger  son. 


vGooglc 


.JJ^L^, 


^^^1^ 


B.m,Jai,7  27^  1781.- H.iA^.  4.5I,  , 


-^  ^-c=!^^=^??iry 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BAESSTABLE   COUNTY.  667 

iay;  prohibiting  the  setting,  stretching,  or 
drawing  of  any  seine  or  net  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
any  fish  except  the  bhie-fishj  in  the  bays,  harbors, 
ponds,  rivers,  or  creeks  of  its  -waters  within  one  mile  of 
the  shore  between  the  towns  of  Sandwich  and  Ware- 
ham;  also  limiting  the  quantity  of  lobsters,  scuppaug, 
tautog,  bass,  &c.  taken  by  any  one  person  between  the 
commencement  of  the  month  of  April  and  the  close  of 
the  month  of  July  each  year.  Acts  were  also  passed 
to  protect  the  fisheries  on  the  south  shore  and  bays  of 
Barnstable  and  Mashpee  between  Siiccanesset  Point  and 
Point  Gammon,  between  the  first  of  April  and  the  fu-st 
of  November  each  year ;  and  to  protect  the  fishery  in 
Pleasant  Bay  in  Orleans. 

Further  acts  provided  for  the  construction  by  Truro 
and  Provincetown  of  a  bridge  over  East  Harbor;  the 
building  by  selectmen  of  Wellfleet  of  a  bridge  across 
the  north-east  arm  of  Duck  Creek ;  the  erection  of  a 
bridge  across  Boat  Meadow  River  in  Eastham ;  also  de- 
fined the  qualifications  for  voters  in  Mashpee ;  appro- 
priated |350,  in  addition  to  |500  granted  the  previous 
year,  for  repairing  the  meeting  house  of  the  Mashpees ; 
granted  |200  additional  for  school  houses ;  and,  from 
the  school  fund,  ^^60  annually  to  aid  in  support  of  the 
school  among  the  Herring  Pond  Indians.^ 

"  The  New  York  Cape  Cod  Association "  was  organ- 
ized April  21? 

'-  The  apportionment  and  aasessment  of  the  tax  on  (he  State  this 
year  was  $599,982 ;  the  proportion  for  Barnstable  County,  ®10,266, 
stood  as  follows :  — 
Barnstable,  $1692      Dennis,  $924      Truro,     $474     Eastlmm,  $228 

Sandwich,      1476     Yarmo.,    828      Wellfleet,  426  

Provinceto'n,H16     Harwich,  678      Orleans,    408  $10,266 

Falmouth,      1026      Chatham,  594      Brewster,  396 

*  The  object  of  the  association  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Boston  asso- 


yGoogle 


boo  Tim   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  1857,  James  Bbchasan  was  inaugurated  President 
of  the  United  States.  —  Since  the  foundation  of  the 
government,  political  parties  have  always  been  in  a 
transition  state  more  or  less  —  often  changing,  assuming 
new  phases,  proposing  new  issnes,  exhibiting  new  di- 
visions and  subdivisions.^ 

An  appropriation  of  $900  having  been  made  by  the 
legislature  to  aid  in  the  erection  of  a  meeting  house  for 
the  Herring  Pond  Indians,  the  building  was  completed 
and  dedicated  with  appropriate  services  in  September. 
—  Propositions  having  been  made  in  both  branches  of 
Congress  to  repeal  the  existing  law  granting  bounties 
to  crews  and  vessels  engaged  in  the  cod  fisheries,  an 
earnest  protest  w^  made  by  the  State  legislature 
"  against  disturbing  the  present  system  proved  by  so 
many  years  of  trial  to  be  fraught"  with  good  re- 
sults.^ —  Differences  of  opinion  which  have  come  to  be 
denominated  by  politicians  "  the  irrepressible  conflict," 

ciation,  and  is  concisely  expressed  in  its  constitution  aa  "  for  social  and 
charitable  purposes."  At  the  first  election  the  officers  chi^en  were : 
Presiilcnt,  Eben  B.  Crocker;  Vice-Presidents,  J.  Foster  Jenkins, 
James  W.  Nye,  II,  S.  Crocker,  Jacob  G.  Hallett,  Elisha  Crowell, 
Horatio  Underwood,  Seth  Crosby,  S.  W.  Lewis,  Amos  Howes,  E.  K. 
Collins,  Joshua  Atkins,  James  A,  Smith,  and  Jamea  M.  Holmes ;  Sec- 
retary, R.  Crocker  Bodfish ;  Treasurer,  Zenas  D.  Bassett  Jr.  —  See 
Appendix  K. 

^  Tiie  proportion  of  State  tax  this  year  to  be  assessed,  was  as  fol- 

Eamstable,  $2538     Dennis,  $1386     Truro,     $711     Easthara,  $342 

Sandwich,       2214     Tarmo.,    1242     Wellfleet,  639  

Provinceto'n,  1574     Harwich,  1017     Orleans,    612  $15,399 

Falmouth,      1539     Chatham,  891     Brewster,  594 

"  The  opinion  of  the  legislature,  as  expressed,  was  "  that  the  repeal 
would  injuriously  affect  the  best  interests  of  commerce,  and  greatly 
impair  the  national  strength  in  a  point  most  \ital  to  its  honor  and 
influence  among  the  mailtirae  nations." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS    OP   BAKKSTABLE   COUNTY.  669 

having  given  rise  to  a  question  in  which  citizens  of  this 
connty  "were  interestedj  an  appropriation  was  made  by 
the  legislature,  Feb.  5,  to  enable  a  complainant  belong- 
ing to  Yarmouth  to  test  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  the  constitutionality  of  an  act  of  the 
legislature  of  one  of  the  Southern  States.  —  An  act 
provided  for  ceding  jurisdiction  over  certain  lands 
on  Billingsgate  Island  for  lighthouse  purposes.  —  The 
Rev.  Henry  Lincoln,  for  a  long  time  minister  of  Fal- 
mouth, died  this  year,  to.  91.^ — By  the  bequest  of 
Joshua  Sears  in  February,  the  town  of  Yarmouth  be- 
came invested  with  $15,000  for  the  establishment  of  a 
nautical  school.  —  Capt.  John  Collins,^  whose  name  must 

•  The  Rev.  Henrt  Lincoln  was  bora  Nov.  3,  1765  ;  grad.  H.  C. 
1786  i  ord.  Feb.  3,  1790.  He  was  son  of  William  and  Maiy  (Otis) 
Liiieoln  of  Hingham,  and  m.  Susanna  dr.  of  Timothy  Ci'ocker  of  Fal- 
mouth, April  26,  1790.     She  died  July  29,  1817,  se.  51.     They  had 

4  sons  and  3  drs.     The  sons  were  Heniy,  John,  "William,  and 

who  d.  £6.  5  yrs.  7  mo. ;  the  drs.,  Susan  who  m,  Mitchell,  Mary  Ann 
who  m.  Fearing,  and .  Mr.  L.  died  at  Nantucket,  at  the  resi- 
dence of  his  son-in-law.  Dr.  EUaha  P.  Fearing,  May  28 ;  and  was  at 
the  time  of  hia  decease  the  eldest  clergyman  in  Maaaachusetts  with 
one  exception,  viz.  Rev.  Jacob  Norton  of  Billerioa.  He  was  a  popalar 
preacher  in  Lis  active  days,  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  of  fine  pei^ 
Bon,  remarkably  neat  in  his  attire,  affable,  social,  a  sincere  Christian. 

^  Capt.  JOHS  Collins  was  bom  in  Truro  1794.  In  early  life  he 
enjoyed  only  the  advantages  of  a  common-school  education  in  his 
native  town ;  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  entered  on  that  life  peculiar  to 
Cape  Cod  men  so  generally,  and  pregnant  with  so  much  of  both  use- 
fulness and  danger;  baffling  the  sea  first  before  the  mast  where,  it  is 
said,  "  the  finished  seaman  always  begins."  During  the  war  of  1812 
he  was  engaged  with  others  some  time  in  running  open  boats  from 
Truro,  Wellfieet  and  Provincetown  to  Boston  and  vicinity  for  the 
conveyance  of  merchandise  —  a  kiud  of  navigation  by  which  only 
the  British  cruisers  so  numerous  in  the  Bay  could  be  evaded.  These 
cruisers  used  untiring  efforts  to  break  up  these  communications  suc- 
cessfully made  by  the  enterprising  spirits  of  these  localities.     Seeking 


vGooglc 


b"\)  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

ever  be  intimately  associated  with  the  establishment  of 
regular  lines  of  steamers  between  this  country  and 
Europe,  and  in  whom  were  concentrated  those  striking 
characteristics  so  often  distinguishing  the  genuine  sons 
of  Cape  Cod,  died  at  New  York,  Nov.  21,  so.  G3. 

a  more  extended  and  elevated  field  of  action,  although  not  '!0  arduous, 
Mr.  Collins  and  other  young  men  soon  determined  to  try  Ihe  forlunes 
of  wax  OQ  board  of  privateers.     Putting  forth   witb   ardor  and  a 
resolve  to  signalize  their  new  vocation  by  captures,  after  good  success 
and  in  high  spirits  Mr.  Colhns  and  his  associates  gave  iha^e  to  what 
they  supposed  to  be  a  British  merchant  vessel,  wheH,  ranging  along- 
side, tbey  too  late  discovered  her  to  be  an  English  sloop-of-war,  and 
were  captured  after  a  running  fight  of  an  hour,  and  carried  to  Eng- 
land.    Returning  at  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  C.  entered  the  mer- 
chant service,  and  soon  became  commander  of  a  vessel  sailing  between 
Mew  York  and  the  repuhlic  of  Mexico      In  this  capacity  he  con- 
tinued many  years.     Succeeding  this,  he  engaged  in  the  trade  be- 
tween New  York  and  New  Orleans,  commanding  the  Shakspeare. 
"When  the  enterpme  of  eata,hlishing  the  "  Dramatic  Line  "  in  the  Liv- 
erpool trade  was  undertaken,  he  was  an  ataociate,  and  took  command 
of  the  Eoseius.     Memorials  exist  in  the  shape  of  silver  plate  and  gold 
medals,  of  bis  gallantry  and  skill  in  rescuing  from  danger  and  death 
wrecked  mariners,  presented  by  the  Liverpool  and  London  humane 
societies,  by  the  British  govei-nment,  and  by  his  own  counti-ymen. 
The  schooner  Garnet  of  Truro,  the  bark  Scotia  of  England,  and  the 
Erin  go  Bragh,  are  instances  of  his  humane  and  noble  daring  in  res- 
cuing from  a  watery  grave  his  fellow-men  in  the  hour  of  peril.     His 
coolness,  perseverance,  and  intrepidity  were  always  noted.     Nor  was 
it  in  his  toils  upon  the  sea  alone  that  he  was  distinguished  ;  some  of 
the  finest  paeket  ships  sailing  from  New  York  were  constructed  under 
his  supen'ision ;  and,  having  won  his  way  from  the  humblest  to  the 
highest  rank  in  the  mercantile  marine,  and  finally  relinquished  com- 
mand—  as  do  many  to  become  mprchant  princes  alike  honorable  and 
honored,  during  bis  commert  nl  pursuits  in  New  York,  his  experience, 
enei^,  and  influence  weie  felt  m  the  establishment  of  the  Collins 
line  of  steamers.     To  his  near  kmsman  also  of  Truro  origin,  Edward 
K.  Collins  Esq.,  great  ciedit  is  due ,  but  not  to  him  alone.     Capt. 
John  Collins'  zeal  and  efficiency  in  the  work  are  acknowledged  l>y 
all  conversant  with  the  affairs  of  an  enterprise  that  excited  the  nilini- 


vGooglc 


yGoogle 


yGoogle 


ANNAL9   OF   BARNSTABLE    COTTNTY. 


671 


The  Monnamoiet  Insurance  Co.  of  Chatham  was  in- 
corporated, and  the  capital  of  the  Cape  Cod  Bank  at 
Harwich  was  increased  by  fifty  thousand  dollars.^ 

In  1858,  Nathaniel  P.  Banks  was  Governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts.—  The  act  of  the  previous  year  apportioning 
representatives  to  the  several  counties,  and  dividing 
the  state  into  forty  districts  for  the  choice  of  senatora, 
has  introduced  a  new  era  in  the  exercise  of  the  elec- 
tive franchise.  A  town  may  no  longer  be  represented 
by  one  of  its  own  citizens ;  the  county  must  share  in 
part  the  privilege  of  representation  with  a  portion  of 
some  other  county  or  counties. 

In  1859,  a  revision  of  the  Laws  of  the  Common- 
wealth was  effected.  The  result  remains  to  he  seen. 
Abundant,  if  not  superabundant  legislation,  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  day ;  and  legislation  is,  to  say  the  least, 
sufficiently  changeful. — Another  large  establishment  at 
Sandwich  for  the  manufacture  of  glass  was  completed 


ration  of  the  world.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  fine  presence,  noble 
heart,  unbending  integrity,  and  in  every  relation  in  life  secured  esteem. 
Mr.  C.  was  a  member  of  the  C.  C.  Assoc,  of  N.  Y.,  and  from  the 
doings  of  that  body  on  occasion  of  his  death,  we  collate  this  biograph- 
ical notice.  To  his  son,  N.  B.  Collins  Esq.  of  W.  T.,  merchant,  and 
president  of  the  N.  Y.  C.  C,  A,,  we  are  indebted  for  the  fine  en- 
graving on  the  opposite  page. 

'  By  the  "  Bank  Report,"  as  condensed  and  submitted  to  the  le^s- 
lature  Feb.  27,  of  this  year,  the  following  exhibit  of  the  state  of  the 
banks  in  the  county  at  the  time  a 


■^^1. 


Bt  YarmDutb,     »SBO,«<M  (5*3,898  $1 
It  Falmouth,  100,000    ia7,8?fl 

tHarwteh,  160,0>»    289,195 

lk.,at  PrcFvin'n,    100,000    180,717 


yGoogk' 


672  THG   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

this  year,  and  went  into  successful  operation;  to  bo 
known  by  the  name  of  "The  Cape  Cod  Glass  Fac- 
tory." '- 

That,  at  the  opening  of  the  legislature  in  1860,  the 
project  of  a  ship  canal  uniting  the  waters  of  Barnstable 
Bay  with  Buzzard's  Bay  should  be  revived  by  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  Governor,  encourages  the  hope  that  a 
plan  so  feasible  and  important  may  yet  receive  more 
of  public  attention.  It  is  surprising  that  the  subject 
has  been  permitted  so  long  to  rest,  whilst  enterprkes 
less  useful,  more  expensive,  and  less  remunerative  than 
a  properly  constructed  canal  through  the  isthmus  of 
Cape  Cod  would  be,  have  engrossed  much  of  the  pub- 
lic mind,  and  called  for  expenditures  of  the  public 
funds  and  investments  of  capitalists.  In  time  of  war, 
the  advantage  of  such  communication  would  be  incal- 
culable ;  at  all  times  the  facilities  afforded  for  domestic 
trade  by  avoiding  the  perilous  navigation  around  the 
Cape,  would  surpass  in  value  any  advantages  to  be 
derived  &om  tunnelling  mountains.^ 


^  This  estaiilisliment  was  reared  by  Deming  Jarves  Esij,,  tlio  intol- 
ligent  and  enterpvising  projector  of  tlie  B.  &  8.  Glass  Co.,  and  its 
superintendent  until  the  last  year.  The  C,  C.  G.  Factory,  a  first 
claas  ten-pot  furnace,  with  modem  improvements  ;  the  cutting  works 
operated  by  a  caloric  engine ;  with  ample  accommodations  in  separate 
buildings  for  the  machine  work,  the  pot  and  clay  department,  storage, 
&C.,  stands  forth  a  worthy,  but  not  unfriendly,  rival  of  the  older 
establishment,  and  strengthens  the  clmm  of  Cape  Cod  for  distinction 
in  this  branch  of  manufacture. 

^  Gov.  Banks  shows  in  his  message  that  the  distance  alone  to  be 
saved  is  great:  "The  distance  from  Sauglikonnet  Point,  outside  of 
Tfantncket  Shoals  and  Cape  Cod  to  Boston  Light,  is  198  nautical 
miles ;  the  distance  across  the  Cape  at  Sandwich  to  the  river  mouth 
is  six  nautical  miles." 


vGooglc 


ASNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  673 

"VVe  have  thus  finished  our  view  of  Cape  Cod  in  its 
primitive  condition,  its  early  settlement  and  connection 
with  the  Old  Colony  towns,  its  existence  as  a  county, 
and  its  association  with  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  and  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts ;  follow- 
ing the  order  of  events  generally,  with  some  not  unim- 
portant exceptions,  which  must  he  noticed  in  suc- 
ceeding pages.  The  Indian  plantation  of  Mashpee  can 
hardly  with  propriety  be  numbered  among  the  towns ; 
but  it  is  an  interesting  feature  in  the  geography  of  the 
Cape,  and,  standing  as  it  does,  in  connection  with  the 
plantation  at  Herring  Pond,  the  only  home  for  the 
Indian  in  all  his  once  wide  domain  within  the  borders 
of  the  two  colonies  of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts 
Bay,  furnishes  an  important  part  of  Cape  Cod  history. 
We  shall,  therefore,  before  proceeding  further,  make 
the  District  of  Mashpee  the  subject  of  a  distinct 
chapter. 

VOL.  L  85 


/Google 


674  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


CHAPTER    SXVIII. 

Mislipee  iti  Siluition  and  Extent. —  Natural  Bivisiona.  — Missionary 
Giound  — Lands  ecuied  — Church  constituted.  —  Succession  of  Min- 
isters —  ^dajitation  foi  Plantation.  —  Character  of  the  People.  —  Laws 
extended  over  them  — Good  holdiers.  —  An.  amusing  Letter.  —  Dis- 
contents —  Efforts  to  secuie  Freedom.  —  Rights  of  S elf-Government, 
—  Improvement.  —  h.e\  ie« 

MAbHPEE  ^  Ilea  on  the  ocean,  twelve  miles  south-west 
from  the  court-hoi\se  in  Barnstable;^  and  is  bounded 
north  by  Sandwich,  east  and  south-east  by  Barnstable, 

^  The  above  name  sometime  in  use,  is  at  the  present  day  written 
t  with  what  propriety  wo  are  unable  to  discover.  In 
1  times  it  waa  move  generally  written  Massapee,  in  some  instances 
J,  and  once  at  least  Mahtepos.  That  Indian  names  should 
riously  spelled  in  the  early  records,  was  the  natural  consequence 
of  their  being  imperfectly  apprehended  by  the  ear,  such  was  their 
nasal  pronunciation  as  they  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  natives.  That 
Mashpee  should  supersede  the  euphony  of  Massapee,  which  Mr.  Alden 
pronounces  "an  intelligible  etymology,"  ov  even  Maahpoag,  were 
undesirable,  and  Marshpee  is  inexcusable.  "We  have  hitherto  pre- 
ferred the  terra  more  nearly  expressive  of  that  which  we  think  should 
have  been  continued  the  true  appellation  ;  and  we  have  done  so  not 
simply  because  we  have  no  sympathy  with  the  corruptions  of  names, 
but  because  Marshpee  conveys  historically  and  topographically  a  fahe 
impression  —  as  if  the  Indian  Plantation  were  a  moor  or  fen  —  low 
and  watery;  whereas  it  is  not  even  a  champaign  tract  of  country. 
"We  shall,  however,  in  our  next  volume,  succumb  to  the  dictum  of  a 
progressive  age,  and  use  the  term  as  the  ordinances  and  literature  of 
the  day  will  have  it. 

"  It  is  distant  fi-om  the  town  hall  in  Sandwich  11  m. ;  and  is  65  m. 
S.  E.  of  Boston. 


vGooglc 


ANNAIS  OP  BAES8TABLE  COTINTY.  675 

south  by  the  Vineyard  Sound,  and  west  by  Sandwich 
and  Falmouth.  Its  length,  north  and  south,  is  about 
eight  and  a  half  miles,  and  its  breadth,  east  and  west, 
about  four  miles.  It  contained  originally  13,500  acres; 
but,  having  been  at  different  times  shorn  of  its  former 
dimensions,  it  now  embraces  about  10,500  acres,  or 
sixteen  square  miles. 

Mashpee  is  south  of  a  chain  of  hills  extending  from 
east  to  weet,  along  the  north  of  the  county,  and  is  in 
general  good  land  for  the  Cape.  Much  of  it  is  covered 
with  valuable  wood.  This  woodland  uniting  with  sim- 
ilar tracts  in  Sandwich  and  Falmouth,  forms  an  exten- 
sive forest,  in  which  deer  and  other  game  abound. 
The  amount  of  cleared  land  in  1802,  was  about  twelve 
hundred  acres.  Changes,  however,  as  wo  have  sug- 
gested, have  lessened  the  original  territory :  a  large 
tract  on  Waquoit  Bay  was  alienated  from  the  Indians, 
about  the  year  1700,  and  now  belongs  to  Falmouth. 
Another  tract  west  of  Wakepee,  was  alienated  to 
Sandwich  ;  and  yet  another  tract,  at  Coatiiit,  to  Barn- 
stable. The  original  plantation  was  about  twenty-two 
square  miles. 

In  Mashpee,  are  two  harbors:  Popponesset  Bay, 
which  is  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  plantation ;  and 
Waquoit  Bay,  tlie  western  boundary.  These  have  bars 
at  their  entrance  which  are  variable,  often  shifting  their 
locality.  Upon  these  bars,  the  tide  rises  from  four  to 
six  feet. 

Coatuit  Eiver,  or  Brook,  divides  the  plantation  from 
Barnstable,  and  empties  into  Popponesset  Bay;  and 
rises  in  Sanctuit  Lake,  or  Pond,  which  is  one  and  three 
quarters  miles  long. 

Mashpee  Eiver  is  two  mdes  west  of  the  preceding, 
and  runs  into  the  same  bay,  a  distance  of  four  miles. 


vGooglc 


676  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

It  has  its  rise  in  Mashpee  Pond,  a  beautiful  lake  two 
and  a  half  miles  long,  and  divided  into  two  parts  by 
Canaumet  Neck.  The  northern  part  of  this  lake  is 
called  Wakepee. 

Quashnet  Eiver  runs  into  "Waquoit  Bay,  from  John's 
Pond.' 

In  Popponesset  Bay,  is  an  island  called  by  the  same 
name,  containing  forty  acres  of  excellent  land.  In 
Waquoit  Bay  are  two  islands.  Between  the  two  bays, 
is  Great  Neck,  a  favorite  resort  of  the  Indians.^ 

Besides  the  ponds  above  named,  is  Ashimuet,  on  the 
Falmouth  Hne;^  and  there  are  two  or  three  others 
that  are  of  inconsiderable  size.  Peter's  Pond,  on  the 
Sandwich  line,  is  north  of  Wakepee,  the  greater  part 
of  it  being  in  Sandwich. 

The  rivers  in  Mashpee  are  among  the  largest  in  the 
county,  as  are  also  the  lakes. 

The  best  lands  in  Mashpee  are  near  John's,  Mashpee, 
and  Sanctuit  Lakes.  Some  extent  of  salt  marsh  is 
found  near  the  bays. 

The  road  leading  from  Sandwich  to  Falmouth  is,  for 
about  four  miles,  the  boundary  west  of  Mashpee ;  that 
from  Barnstable  to  Falmouth  passes  through  Mashpee  ; 
and  that  from  Coatuit  to  Sandwich,  between  Mashpee 
and  Sanctuit  Lakes. 

^  This  river  is  at  certain  seasons  too  inconsiderable  to  render  any 
outlet  visible. 

°  WeesqwAi  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  the  Indian  name  for 
Great  Neck  and  parte  contiguous.  Tt  was  a  place  famous  for  eels; 
and  the  Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  Ashing  for  these  in  the  adjoining 
waters,  in  canoes,  by  torchlight.  This  they  called  wees-qtiashing. 
But  the  conjecture  is  doubtful.  Again,  it  has  been  supposed  that 
Weesguobs  was  the  original  name  corrupted  to  Wai:epee. 

^  The  tract  around  this  lake  is  now  called  Skumet. 


vGooglc 


AHNALS   OF   BAEMSTABLE   COUNTY.  677 

At  an  early  period,  Mr.  Richaed  Bourne  ^  of  Sand- 
wicli,  who  -was  among  the  English  emigrants  that  set- 
tled in  that  town,  turned  his  attention,  with  untiring 
effort,  to  the  ■work  of  evangelizing  the  Mashpee  In- 
dians. The  first  account  we  have  of  his  labors  in 
Mashpee  bears  date  1658,  when  he  was  present  and 
assisting  in  the  settlement  of  a  boundary  between  the 
Indians  and  proprietors  of  Barnstable.  It  is  said  to 
have  been  through  his  efforts,  and  at  considerable  ex- 
pense to  himself,  that  the  patent  for  the  South  Sea 
Indians,  as  they  are  styled  in  the  deeds  of  that  day, 
was  obtained.^ 

Mr.  Bourne  obtained  a  deed  of  the  territory,  from 
Quachatisset  and  others  of  these  South  Sea  Indiana, 
after  the  year  1660 ;  considering  it  vain  to  undertake 
the  propagation   of   Christianity    among   any   people 


'  Mr.  BoTONE,  who  was  in  Scit.  1630,  and  in  Sandwich  1G37,  was 
twice  m. ;  hia  lat  was  a  Hallett,  2d  Ruth  Wmelow,  who  d.  July  2, 
1677,  His  sons  were  Job,  Shearjaahub,  Elisha,  and  Ezra.  From 
the  first  three  descended  a  numerous  posterity ;  the  youngest,  Ezra,  b. 
May  12,  1648,  of  whom  we  can  ^ve  no  further  account,  prob.  d. 
young  without  issue,  but  the  name  has  been  perpetuated  in  successive 
generations. 

^  Mr.  Bourne  was  not  only  a  man  of  much  note  as  one  of  the  most 
useftil  and  active  of  the  citizens  of  Sandwich;  but  also,  subsequently, 
as  an  indefatigable  and  devoted  missionary.  Being  possessed  of  lai^ 
pi'operty,  brought  by  him  in  cash  from  England  at  his  first,  coming 
over,  he  waa  enabled  to  make  valuable  investments  in  lands  that 
secured  to  hia  children  a  rich  inheritance.  In  all  his  transactions,  he 
proved  himself  a  man  of  excellent  judgment,  and  was  so  regarded  by 
all  persons.  He  was  also  esteemed  a  sincere  Christian,  possessed  of 
a  more  than  ordinary  share  of  "  a  most  excellent  spirit."  It  is  said 
that  the  example  and  influence  of  Mr.  Eliot  were  suggestive  of  the 
work  in  which  he  finally  engaged  with  so  much  zeal.  Determined 
on  this  line  of  duty,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  task  of  acquii'ing  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  Indian  language, 


vGooglc 


678  THE   HISTOEY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

without  a  home  where  they  might  remain  upon  their 
own  soil;  a  view  of  the  case  which  time  and  experi- 
ence have  abundantly  justified.  Nor  was  he  content 
to  have  only  Indian  deeds  duly  authenticated ;  he 
aimed  at  greater  security,  which,  however,  was  not 
effected  until  after  his  decease.  The  laws,  from  1650, 
had  provided  that  no  Indian  should  sell,  or  white  man 
buy  of  an  Indian,  any  land  without  license  first  ob- 
tained from  the  General  Court,  or  Court  of  Assistants. 
In  1665,  this  provision  was  also  extended  to  grants  for 
a  term  of  years.  And  yet  the  General  Court  had 
ordered,  in  1650,  "  that  if  upon  good  experience  there 
shall  be  a  competent  number  of  Indians  brought  on  to 
civility,  so  as  to  be  capable  of  a  townsUp,  upon  their 
request  to  the  General  Court,  they  shall  have  grants 
of  lands  for  a  plantation  as  the  English  have." 

Mr.  Bourne  having  obtained  the  Indian  deeds  as 
above,  was  intent  on  his  benevolent  work ;  and,  Aug. 
17,  1670,  was  ordained  pastor  of  an  Indian  church, 
gathered  from  among  his  own  disciples  and  converts. 
The  ordination  services  were  performed  by  the  famous 
Mr.  Ehot  and  other  ministers  assisting,  one  of  whom 
was  Mr.  Cotton.^  The  organization  of  the  church  was 
confirmed  at  the  same  time.^ 

Mr.  Eliot  says  lie  "went  down  to  the  Indians  at  Maktepos, 
where  Mr,  Richard  Bourne,  a  godly  man,  was,  Aug.  17,  1670,  or- 
dained pastor  of  an  Indian  church  gathered  upon  that  same  day ;  and 
the  Indians  and  such  of  their  children  as  were  present,  were  bap- 

^  Mr.  Cotton,  the  Plymouth  pastor,  who  was  present  as  ahove, 
says,  "The  church  at  Mashpaug"  (so  undetermined  in  those  days  was 
the  orthography  of  names,)  "  was  gathered,  and  Mr.  Bourne  ordained, 
Hands  were  imposed  by  Mr.  Eliot,  myself,  also  by  a  messenger  from 
the  Natick  church,  and  one  of  the  Vineyard.  Maj.  Winslow,  now 
•  our  Gov'r,  Mr.  Southworth,  Mr.  Hincliley,  and  Mr.  Bacon,  roagis- 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE    COUNTY.  673 

Mr.  Shoarjasliub  Bourne,  son  of  Mr.  RIcliard  Bourne, 
procured,  after  Ma  father's  decease,^  a  ratification  by 
the  court  at  Plymouth,  of  the  deeds  obtained  by  this 
noble  missionary  from  the  Indians,  and  an  entailment 

trales,  were  present ;  also  Mr.  "Walley,  Mr.  Arnold,  Mr.  Shove,  Mi-. 
Thornton,  Mr.  Homes,  aad  Mr.  Newman,  with  brethren  from  all  our 
churches."  That  a  church  was  cot  constituted  at  an  earlier  period, 
was  doubtless  owing  lo  the  extreme  caution  necessary  in  those  days 
to  propitiate  the  powers  that  were.  We  are  informed  that  in  1666 
Mr.  Bourne's  labors  among  the  Indians  had  attracted  the  nolJce  of 
the  public  very  generally,  and,  in  July,  Gov.  Prince,  Mr.  Thomas 
Southffonh,  one  of  the  magistrates,  Mr.  John  Eliott  Sen'r,  Mr.  John 
Eliott  Jr.,  Mr.  Samuel  Arnold,  Mr.  John  Holmes,  Mr.  William 
Brimsmeiid,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Cushman,  went  to  Sandwich  for  the 
especial  purpose  of  an  interview  with  Mr.  Bourne,  "  who  had  been 
instracting  the  Indians  in  that  vicinity  in  the  Christian  fiiith ;  and  to 
make  inquiry  info  the  progress  they  had  made  in  knowledge  and 
virtue."  "  At  their  motion,  a  large  assembly  waa  convened  at  Maship- 
pau^,  (Mashpee,)  a  d       thi  ti       a        d  numb       f   h    I 

whom  Mr.  Bourne  hdbnn-u       g  amndTh        a 

such  an  account  of  kwd        ndbh  df  mp 

the  gospel  had  mad    o  ea  nd  ga        h  ir  h 

such  affection,  as  was  m    y  gra  h    p  d  Th 

and  mi  n  d  h 

in  wh       h  y     b         d  a  h 

strictness  of  those     h  d       d  b  h  h 

before  they  would  h      d         m  hi 

church-fellowship,        y  dhh  n  hudb 

written,  and  a  copy  eahhhnh  h  p 

tion,  and  approhatt  h  y  fi  h       f  h 

be  offered,  they  migh  a  bmbp         ted  uad 

to  enter  into  church       ow  h  p      Th  a 

very  agreeable  to    h  h  h  h        y  w        com  d 

Afterwards,  the  n  grsahh  b  p  ad 

giving  their  conse       h        Id        wefmdna  d 

chose  Mr.  Bourne  Pas 

1  Rev.  RiCHAG    B  85 

buried  on  his  own  h       w     h  h  h     d 

Dock  Lane,  in  Sandw        wh   h    ead  h       a  bo    n  ar         h 


vGooglc 


6oO  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

of  the  lands  to  these  South  Sea  Indians  and  their  chil- 
dren forever,  "  so  that  no  part  or  parcel  of  these  lands 
might  be  bought  by,  or  sold  to,  any  white  person  or 
persons,  without  the  consent  of  all  the  sadd  Indians,  not 
even  with  the  consent  of  the  General  Court."  ^ 

The  successor  to  Mr.  Richard  Bourne  was  Simon  Pop- 
MONET,  an  Indian,  He  died  after  a  ministry  of  forty 
years,  about  the  time  that  his  successor  was  ordained ; 

stcwd  the  liouie  of  John  Smith,"  ia.  the  vicinity  of  ihe  prepent  glasg 
manufacturing  eslablishment.  In  breaking  the  gi-ound  for  erecting 
buildings  for  the  accommodalion  of  the  operatives  of  the  Glass  Fac- 
tory at  its  commencement,  the  cellar  of  Mr.  Bourne's  house  was  dia- 
covered  in  good  preservation,  being  made  of  stone  and  English  brick 
firmly  cemented,  and  was  used  aa  the  cellar  for  a  new  building 
erected  over  it.  It  i^  also  said  that  bones  were  exhumed  near  this 
spot ;  but  these  reminiscences  in  regard  to  Mr.  Bouroe's  residence 
and  place  of  burial  were  thea  unknown  to  any  of  the  inhabit- 
ants. The  probability  is  that  others  were  buried  here  besides  Mr. 
Bourne. 

^  The  Indians  of  Mashpee  and  parts  contiguous  have  been  pre- 
sented by  some  writers  under  the  name  of  '■  the  Saukatwketts  ; "  and 
these,  with  "  the  Naiisiles  of  Eastham,  the  Matlachees  of  Barnstable 
and  Yarmouth,  the  Monomoys  of  Chatham,  and  the  Nobsquussells  of 
Yarmouth,"  or  North  Dennis,  are  said  to  have  been  "all  subordinate 
to  Massaboit,"  and  as  such  owing  feaby  to  King  Philip,  alias  Meta- 
comet,  at  the  time  of  his  war  of  1675-6.  Ent  there  was  no  disposi- 
tion evinced  by  them  to  respond  to  the  great  Sachem's  call  by  any 
overt  a«t8  of  hostility  towards  the  English  settlers.  Indeed,  great 
r  imbeiB  of  tl  ose  Indians  in  other  parts  of  the  Old  Colony,  who  had 
sul  mitted  to  the  English,  were  sent  by  the  Commissioners,  much  to 
the  innoy  ince  of  the  settlers  in  the  towns  joining  upon  Mashpee,  to 
this  plantition  for  safe  keeping.  Thus  brought  in  contact  with  these 
exiled  ones  and  compelled  to  listen  to  their  complaints,  it  was  much 
apprehended  that  difficulties  would  arise  on  the  part  of  the  Cape  Cod 
Inditn'i  whose  sympathies  with  their  suffering  race  could  not  be  oth- 
erwise than  deeply  moved.  Nothing,  however,  of  a  disastrous  nature 
occurred.  Much  vigilance  was  deemed  necessary  lest  there  should 
be  an  outbreak,  and  not  a  little  anxiety  was  felt. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  681 

and  left  several  children,  all  of  whom  lived  to  a  great 
age,  and  were  reapeetable.^ 

Next  succeeded  the  Rev.  Joseph  Boubke,  who  was 
ordained  Nov.  26,  1729.  He  "was  a  good  man,"  and 
■well  educated ;  the  soa  of  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  the  county;  the  grandson 
of  Shearjashub  Bourne  Esq.,  who  had  been  so  disposed 
to  promote  the  designs  of  his  father,  watching  over  the 
interests  of  the  Indians;^  and  the  great  grandson  of 

'  The  last  of  Simon's  cliildren  died  in  1770. 

*  Sheakjashub  Booene  Esq.  carried  on  a  lucrative  trade  with 
the  Indians;  but  in  all  transactions  was  noted  for  integrity.  He  had 
great  intiuence  with  the  Mashpees,  and  was  highly  respected  in  every 
community.  He  d.  in  Sandwich,  Mar.  7, 1719,  se.  75.  Mr.  B.  was  a 
Eep.  in  Gen.  Ct.  from  the  town  of  S.,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to 
another  portion  of  our  History.  He  was  b.  in  S.  1644,  s.  of  Mr. 
Eichard;  m.  Bathshefaa,  [dr.  of  Gov.  Hinckley— so  we  understand 
it,  although  some  have  it  dr.  of  Mr.  James  Skiff.  Perhaps  both  tra- 
ditions are  correct,  as  in  the  issue  names  favor  the  supposition,]  and 
had  Melatiah  Jan.  12,  1673;  Ezra  Aug.  6,  1676;  Mary  Oct.  21, 
1678,  who  m.  Allen;  Sarah  Feb.  6,  1680,  not  mentioned  in  her 
father's  will ;  Bemember,  Feb.  6,  1680,  who  was  2d  w.  of  Rev.  Ex- 
perience Mayhew  Dec.  4,  1711,  whose  1st  w.  was  a  dr.  of  Gov.  H. ; 

and  Patience  Ap.  20,  1686,  who  m.  Allen. The  eldest  son  of  the 

above,  Col.  Melatiah  of  S.  b.  1673,  m.  1st  Desire  Chipman, 
Feb.  23,  1693,  who  d.  Mar.  28,  1705,  and  2d  wid.  Abigail  Smith, 
who  d.  Nov.  24,  1742.  He  had  by  1st  m.,  Sylyanus,  Ap.  10,  1694; 
Eichard,  Aug.  13,  1695,  who  served  as  eapt.  in  the  army  in  Canada, 
and  d.  1738,  without  issue ;  Samuel  and  Sarah,  gemini,  Feb.  7, 
1697,  both  of  whom  A.  early;  John,  Mar.  10,  1698;  Shearjashub, 
Dec  21, 1699 ;  Silas,  Dec.  10, 3701 ;  and  Bathsheba,  Nov.  4,  1703, 
who  m.  1st  Newcomb,  2d  Rubles.  Col.  B.  d.  Nov.  24,  1742,  as.  69. 
The  other  s.  of  Shearj.  Esq.,  Hon.  Ezra,  b.  1676,  m.  Martha,  dr.  of 
Mr.  Samuel  Prince,  Dec.  27,  1698,  who  d.  Dee.  27,1752.  "He 
succeeded  his  father  in  the  superintendence  of  the  Mashpee  Indians," 
was  ap.  Judge  of  the  C.  P.  and  subsequently  Chf.  Just,  and  d.  Sept. 
1764,  ffi.  88,  in  M.  where  his  w.  d.  Dec.  27,  1762.  They  had  Sarah. 
Jan.  7,  1700,  who  d.  July  11  j  Joseph,  May  10, 1701,  who  grad.  H.  C. 
VOL.  I.  86 


vGooglc 


682  THE   fllSTOilY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

the  first  pastor.  Although  Mr.  Bourne  was  led  to 
resign  his  mission  in  1742,  "  complaining  much  of  the 
ill-treatment  which  the  Indians  received,  and  of  the 
neglect  of  the  commissioners  with  regard  to  his  sup- 
port," he  still  took  an  interest  in  the  Indian's  cauKe,  and 
much  encouraged  and  assisted  the  nest  white  mission- 
ary, Eev.  Mr.  Hawley.^ 

On  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Bourne,  Solomon  Brumt, 
an  Indian,  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  Mashpee  church ; 
and,  although  much  opposition  was  made  to  his  settle- 
ment, by  gentlemen  in  the  county,  he  continued  his 
ministry  among  his  red  brethren  until  the  year  1758.^ 

1722,  the  missionary,  who  d.  1767,  leaving  a  wid.  Hannah,  but  no 
issue ;  Mary,  who  m.  Eev.  John  Angier  Nov,  23,  1732 ;  Samuel ; 
Ezra ;  Shearjashub ;  and  MartVia,  who  m.  Eenj.  Le  Homedian  June  4, 
1731.  This  family  furnished  many  of  note  and  influence.  —  Passing 
by,  for  the  present,  other  branches  of  the  descendants  of  Mr.  Richard 
Bourne,  we  may  note  that  Hon.  Silas,  b.  1701,  s.  of  Col.  Melatiah 
of  S.  m.  Mary  Allen,  Feb.  8,  1730,  and  had  James,  Feb.  21,  1731 ; 
Melatiah  Nov.  11,  1734;  Silas,  Feb.  20,  1737  ;  and  Mary,  1739.— 
James,  b.  1731,  m.  Mary  Nye,  Feb.  13,  1753,  and  had  Benj.  Mar.  2, 
1753  ;  Hannah,  1755,  who  m.  Thaeher ;  Allen,  Aug.  24, 1759 ;  Mary, 
1762;  James  Jr.  Aug.  15,  1765;  Temperance,  1769;  and  Sarah, 
1771.  —  Melatiah,  Esq.  b.  1734,  m.  Mary  Howes,  and  had  Hannah, 
Aug.  1,  1767,  who  m.  Zenas  Crocker  Esq.  of  Be,  Sept.  23,  1790; 
Eunice,  1770;  Mary,  1772;  and  Melatiah  Jr.  Jan.  14,  1778,  the 
highly  respectable  representative  of  his  distinguished  line  of  ancestry, 
surviving  in  Sandwich. — Silas  Esq.b.  1737,  was  a  prominent  citizca 
of  S.  and  m.  1st  Abigail  Bourne  June  23,  1763,  2d  Fear  dr.  of  Capt. 
Joseph  Parker,  and  had  Abigail,  Feb.  22,  1763  ;  Silas,  Nov.  9,  1773, 
who  d.  early;  Silas,  May  31,  1777,  who  A.  in  Boston  Ap.  28,  1803, 
«.  26;  and  Ezra  Allen,  Aug.  31,  1779,  now  occupying  a  position  of 
high  respectability  as  a  eitiaen  of  Boston. 

'  Eev.  Joseph  Boceme,  d.  1767,  te.  66,  greatly  lamented.  His 
will  mentions  his  wife  Hannali  and  nephew  Joseph  of  Falmouth. 

"  His  settlement  is  said,  by  Eev.  Mr.  Hawley,  to  have  been  "  effect- 
ed by  a  factional  influence  "  from  abroad,  designed  to  defeat  the  settle- 


vGooglc 


ANHALS    OF   BAKSSTABLE   COUNTY.  b83 

He  is  represented  as  a  sensible  man,  a  good  preacher, 
preaching  always  in  the  Indian  dialect ;  but  it  has  also 
been  said  of  him,  that  he  was  "  not  sufficiently  prudent 
in  the  admission  of  members  "  to  the  church,  and  that 
he  was  "  rather  deficient  in  economy."  His  dismission 
was  fina,Uy  occasioned  by  some  dissatisfaction  on  the 
pai't  of  the  Indians.  It  seems  that  his  labors  were  not 
entirely  interrupted,  for  his  successor  wrote  concerning 
him  in  1760,  "  He  grows  better  as  he  grows  older;  he 
is  nearly  66  years  of  age,  has  been  a  preacher  more 
than  40  years,  and  continues  in  his  usefulness  to  this 
day."  ^ 

The  Eev.  Gideon  Hawlet  succeeded  Mr.  Bryant,  AprU 
10, 1758,  and  was  installed  as  missionary  and  pastor. 
Mr.  Hawley  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  gradu- 
ated at  Yale,  in  1749.  He  had  commenced  his  mis- 
sionary labors,  in  1752,  at  Stockbridge.  The  September 
following  he  had  made  an  excursion  to  Schoharie  in 
the  country  of  the  Mohawks,  In  Stockbridge,  he  was 
an  instructor  under  the  patronage  of  Eev.  Jonathan 
Edwards,  having  charge  of  a  large  number  of  children 
of  the  Mohawk,  Oneida,  and  Tuscarora  Indians,  and 
preaching  to  them  on  Sundays.  It  being  determined 
to  establish  a  mission  among  the  Iroquois,  or  Indians  of 
the  Six  Nations,  Mr.  Hawley  was  selected  for  that  im- 
portant mission,  and  at  once  commenced  his  journey 

ment  of  a  worthy  and  educated  ger.tleman  from  Barnstable,  whose 
family  conoections  were  not  acceptable  to  certain  other  persons  of  in- 
fluence. The  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  of  Yarmouth  was  also  nominated  by 
the  ministers  of  the  county ;  but  "  he  also  was  a  native  of  Barnstable, 
and  therefore  unacceptable," 

^  Mr.  Bkiant  died,  May  8,  1775,  £e.  80.  There  was  also  a  Joseph 
Briant,  or  Bryant,  minister  at  Mashpee,  or  m  the  neighborhood,  who 
died  April  25, 1759  ;  and,  m  1698,  a  John  Bryant  had  been  an  Indian 
teacher  at  Acushnet  several  ycm^. 


vGooglc 


684  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE    COD. 

towards  the  wilderness.  In  company  with  Mr.  Timothy 
"Woodbridge,  he  visited,  on  his  way,  Sir  William  John- 
son, and,  having  secured  his  patronage,  proceeded  to- 
wards the  head  of  the  Susquehanna.  Beaching  the 
place  of  destination,  June  4,  which  was  Oimihaghimge, 
he,  with  Mr.  Woodbridge,  held  a  conference  with  the 
Indians  and  met  with  a  good  reception.  In  1754,  July 
31,  he  received  ordination,  at  Boston  ;  and  then  return- 
ing to  the  missionary  station,  continued  his  labors  until 
May,  1756,  when  the  French  "War  compelled  him  to 
retire.  Returning  to  Boston,  he  became  a  chaplain  in 
the  regiment  of  Col.  Gridley,  and  joined  the  army  at 
Albany,  destined  against  Crown  Point.  After  the  cam- 
paign, being  still  prevented  from  returning  to  his  mis- 
sion, by  dangers  threatened,  he  was  persuaded,  in  1757, 
by  commissioners  of  the  Society  for  Propagating  the 
Gospel  among  the  Indians  in  North  America,  to  visit 
Mashpee^ 

Mr.  Hawley,  in  giving  his  early  impressions  respectr 
ing  his  new  location  at  Mashpee,  has  said,  "  The  country 
did  not  strike  me  agreeably  at  first ;  the  Indians  ap- 
peared abject,  and  widely  different  from  the  Iroquois. 
The  Mashpee  Indians  were  clad  according  to  the  Eng- 
lish mode :  but  a  half-naked  savage  was  less  disagreea- 
ble than  Indians  who  had  lost  their  independence." 
Still,  Mr.  Hawley  was  constrained  to  confess, "  There  is 

^  Mr.  Haw5ey  was  invited  back  to  his  mission  among  the  Iroquois, 
by  a  letter  from  Sir  Wm.  Johnson,  written  at  the  request  of  the  Ito- 
quoia  Indians ;  but  being  urgently  advised  by  Abraham  Deptiyster 
Esq.,  a  wealthy  merchant  in  New  York,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 
minister  of  the  Dutch  church  at  Alhany,  to  relinquish  all  thought  of 
resuming  the  mission,  as  the  small-pox  was  every  where  in  the  way, 
and  as  he  would  therefore  be  in  constant  danger  both  from  the  enemy 
and  infection,  he  concluded  to  accept  of  the  charge  at  Blashpee. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUHTY.  b85 

no  place  I  ever  saw,  so  adapted  to  an  Indian  town  as 
this.  It  Ls  situated  on  the  Sound,  in  sight  of  Martha's 
Vineyard ;  is  cut  into  necks  of  land,  and  has  two  inlets 
by  the  sea ;  being  well  watered  by  three  fresh  rivers, 
and  three  large  fresh  ponds  lying  in  the  centre  of  the 
plantation.  In  the  two  salt  water  bays  are  a  great 
plenty  of  fish  of  every  description ;  and  in  the  rivers  are 
trout,  herring,  &c.  In  the  woods,  until  lately,  has  been 
a  great  variety  of  wild  game,  consisting  of  deer,  &c. ; 
and  adjacent  to  the  rivers  and  ponds,  otters,  minks,  and 
other  amphibious  animals  whose  skins  have  been  sought 
for,  and  made  a  valuable  remittance  to  Eiirope  ever 
since  my  knowledge  of  these  Indians,"  ^ 

^  This  view  of  the  adaptation  of  the  plantation  to  its  purposes,  is 
conflrmed  by  a  report  made  to  the  State  Senate  ia  1834  by  Hon. 
Josiah  J.  Fiske,  appointed  by  the  governor  to  visit  the  tribe  and  make 
inquisition  into  the  state  of  affmrs.  The  commissioner  says,  "  It  is 
hardly  possible  to  iind  a  place  more  favorable  for  gaining  a  subsist- 
ence without  labor  than  the  territory  of  Mashpee.  It  is  situated  on  a 
sound,  cut  into  necks  of  land  with  inlets  from  the  sea,  being  well 
watered  with  beautiful  ponds  and  fresh  water  streams  running  from 
the  central  parts  of  the  plantation.  On  the  sea  shores  are  sea-fowl, 
shell  fish,  and  lobsters  in  abundance.  The  salt  water  bays  abound  in 
fish  of  a  larger  kind,  and  the  fresh  water  streams  and  ponds  in  trout 
and  herring  and  small  fish  of  every  variety.  Great  Neck,  which  has 
aometunes  been  called  the  metropolis  of  Mashpee,  is  famous  for  eels 
which  have  been  easily  taken  in  large  quantities  by  torch  light.  In 
the  woods,  till  lately,  will  game  has  been  plenty ;  and  in  places  adja- 
cent to  the  streams  and  ponds,  amphibious  animals  have  been  easily 
taken  when  furs  were  valuable.  The  natives  are  dexterous  whale- 
men. In  latter  yeai-s,  the  business  of  pursuing  whales  has  been  open 
to  all  the  able-bodied  Indians  who  have  been  disposed  to  embark  in 
the  numerous  whale  ships  which  sail  from  the  various  seaports  in  the 
vicinity  of  Mashpee.  This  delightful  territory,  thus  situated,  has  been 
preserved  to  the  Indians  through  the  guardian  care  of  the  govern- 
ment, until  the  standing  wood  thereon,  with  a  ready  market  upon  its 
borders,  has  become  so  valuable  as  to  be  worth  from  50  to  $100,000, 


vGooglc 


(dcd  the  history  op  cape  cod. 

In  1674,  Mr.  Kichard  Bourne,  in  a  letter  to  Capt. 
Daniel  Gookin,  had  estimated  "  the  number  of  praying 
Indians  that  do  frequently  meet  together  to  worship 
God,  in  Satuit,'  Pawpoesit,^  Coatuit,^  Mashpee,*  and 
Wakoquett," "  (all  within  or  near  the  liiiiits  of  Mash- 
pee,^) as  being  "  95,  of  whom  24  (could)  read  and  10 
(could)  write.  Two  only  of  the  whole  number  (could) 
read  English."  He  lamented  "  the  irreligion  of  many ; " 
Baying,  they "  are  very  loose  in  their  coiirse,  to  my 
heart-breaking  sorrow."  He  stated  further,  "  The  tract 
of  land  reserved  for  the  Indians  and  their.?  forever, 
where  I  am  laboring,  is  nearly  10  miles  in  length  and 
5  in  breadth.  The  like  is  done  at  Comassakumkanit, 
near  Sandwich.'" 

in  addition  to  all  the  grants  which  hi%c  been  made  fiom  tim  t  j  time 
to  the  inhahitants  for  purposes  of  education  lad  rphgiou-.  improve- 
ment. .  .  .  All  were  comfortably  and  dectntly  cUd,  miny  ot  thera 
occupying  frame  houses,  and  a  few  of  them  dweUmg  in  wigwimf  ' 
The  tommiasioner  represented  them  as,  in  many  inatanceb,  being  in 
possession  of  cows  and  swine ;  tilling  the  land  for  the  raising  of  com, 
rye,  &c.;  some  owning  oxen,  and  some  horses ;  the  fodder  for  cattle 
derived  from  the  marshes  and  pastures.  "The  plantation  consists  of 
about  10,500  acres,  three  fourths  of  which  are  covered  with  wood." 

'  Sarictuit,  now  generaliy  written, 

'  Supposed  to  be  Papponesit. 

'  S.  W.  part  of  Barnstable. 

*  "We  suppose  he  means,  Mashpee  proper :  the  metropolis. 

*  That  is,  Waqmit 

*>By  reference  to  other  parts  of  the  present  volume,  it  will  be 
seen  that  Mr.  Bourne  gives  a  larger  view,  embracing  all  the  Indians 
on  the  Cape  Probibly  some  of  these,  especially  in  Mattakees, 
Weequaket,  Codtaumut,  Ashimuit,  "Weesquobs,  Pispogutt,  Sokones, 
&c ,  became  ultimately  identified  with  the  Mashpees,  and  interested 
in  the  benefits  of  the  plantation. 

'  There  cin  be  very  little  doubt  that  the  Indian  settlement  em- 
linoing  the  Hniing  Pond  tribe,  whose  Indian  name  is  so  often  stalod 
as  lost,  was  Oomassahimkanet.     The  reservation  indicates  it. 


vGooglc 


ASNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY  687 

In  1685,  Mr.  Hinckley,  Governor  of  the  Plymouth  Col- 
ony, reported  to  the  corporation  in  England,  "  141  'pray- 
hig  Indians  at  Mashpee;  at  Monamet,  110,  besides  boys 
and  girls  under  12  years  of  age ;  at  Scauton,  51 ;  at 
Suckanesset,  72 ;  at  Mattakiest,  70."  In  the  whole 
Plymouth  Colony,  were  1439  praying  Indians,  besides 
youths  under  12  years  of  age  supposed  to  be  three 
times  that  number. 

In  1693,  the  Indians  were,  by  the  State,  subjected  to 
guardianship ;  the  guardians  being  subordinate  to  over- 
seers appointed  by  the  Colonial  Government;'  and  this 
state  of  things  continued  to  1763,®  when  Mashpee  was 
constituted  a  district  with  power  to  elect  its  own  offi- 
cers.' At  this  time  there  were  "  in  Mashpee  and  places 
adjacent,  214  adult  Indians,  besides  stragglers,  all  then 
under  the  care  of  Mr.  Rowland  Cotton  of  Sandwich, 
besides  180  Indians  to  whom  Mr.  Thomas  Tupper 
preached,  and  500  under  the  care  of  Mr.  John  Cotton 
of  Plymouth.  In  Eastham,  were  505  adult  Indians  to 
whom  Mr.  Treat  preached. 

In  1718,  the  civil  capacity  to  make  contracts,  was 
taken  from  the  Indians;  but,  in  1725,  the  right  of  the 
Indians  to  employ  persons  to  build  houses  on  the  reser- 
vation, was  recognized  by  law.  The  Indians'  land  was 
yet  in  commons. 

When,  in  1763,  Mashpee  was  incorporated  as  a  dis- 

^  These  guardian    w         tjl  d       otnmissioners." 

^  In    1760,  the  y  f  th         ronation  of  George   III.,  Reuben 

Cognehew,  a  Mashp  \         k     mission  to  England,  and  in  person 

presented  to  the  ki  lit    ai^iust  the  measures  of  the  colonial 

govemmeat  toward    th    I    1  He  returned  with  orders  from  the 

king  to  give  the  Ind        a  b  tte    g  vemment. 

°  This  was  not  done  without  much  opposition  from  the  overseers 
and  others,  and,  as  the  preamble  says,  upon  "  the  repeated  and  impor- 
tunate desire  of  the  Indians  and  mulattoes,  proprietors  in  Mashpee." 


yGoogle 


boo  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

triet,  the  proprietors  were  empowered  to  assemble  "  in 
the  public  meeting  house,  to  elect  a  moderator ;  five 
overseers,  two  of  whom  must  be  Englishmen ;  a  district 
clerk,  and  treasurer,  -which  two  last  named  of&cers  must 
be  English;  two  wardens;  and  one  or  more  consta- 
bles." The  act  by  which  this  power  was  granted,  giving 
them  the  management  generally  of  their  own  affairs  in 
town  meeting,  was  to  continue  in  force  three  years.  It 
does  not  appear  that  it  was  renewed.^  The  governor 
and  council,  "  pursuant  to  an  act  empowering  them  to 
appoint  certain  persons  to  have  inspection  of  the  In- 
dian plantation  in  Mashpee,"  commissioned  for  this 
trust  Thomas  Smith,  Isaac  Hinckley,  and  Gideon  Haw- 
ley.  At  this  time,  there  remained  in  the  Old  Colony 
only  905  of  every  age;  viz.:  223  in  the  County  of 
Plymouth;  167  in  the  County  of  Bristol;  and  515  in 
the  County  of  Barnstable.  "In  1767,  there  were,  in 
Maahpee,  21  shingled  houses,  and  52  wigwams;  112 
married  persons,  36  widows,  123  minors  and  unmarried, 
and  in  all  291  souls."  Besides  these,  at  Scauton,  were 
9  wigwams. 

In  1777,  Jan.  25,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  legisla- 
ture, in  answer  to  "  a  petition  of  the  Indian  proprietors 

'  From  a  very  early  period,  magistrates  for  the  Indians  in  the 
county,  some  with  more  limited  jurisdiction,  were  appointed  hy  the 
government.  —  Commissions  were  issued  in  1715,  to  John  Gorham, 
Wm.  Bassett,  Joseph  Doaae,  and  Peter  Thacher,  as  "Jus.  Pae.  for 
the  Indiana  in  the  county  at  large ; "  in  1716,  to  John  Otis;  the  same 
year  to  Shearjashub  Bourne  for  the  Indians  in  and  around  Sand- 
wich; in  1719,  to  John  Thomas  and  Joshua  Ralph,  Indians  of  East- 
ham,  to  be  justices  for  the  Indians  in  the  county ;  in  1721,  to  Joseph 
Crocker;  1722,  Melatiah  Bourne;  1723,  Ezra  Bourne;  1724,  Nath'l 
Freeman  ;  1729,  Shubael  Baxter;  173i,  Stephen  Skiff;  1744,  Sam- 
uel Tupper  ;  1753,  Benj.  Crocker,  all  for  the  Indiana  of  the  county  j 
and  1765,  Thomas  Freeman  "  for  the  Potanuraacut  Indians." 


yGoogle 


ANHALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  t)89 

of  Mashpee,"  granting  leave  to  sell  certain  lands,  the 
moneys  arising  from  the  sales  "  to  be  paid  to  the  Over- 
seers of  the  District,  and  by  them  put  at  interest  for 
the  purpose  of  relieving  the  poor  of  said  district." 
Nathaniel  Shiverick  Esq.  of  Falmouth,  and  Mr.  Micah 
Blackwell  of  Sandwich,  were  appointed  under  said  act, 
to  sell  the  land  described,  and  execute  good  and  lawful 
conveyances  of  the  same.  This  is  said  to  have  con- 
sisted of  a  large  and  valuable  tract  formerly  designed 
as  a  parsonage  ;  and  wa«  covered  with  a  large  growth 
of  wood  and  timber.  It  sold  for  about  eight  thousand 
dollars. 

In  1778,  the  missionary.  Rev.  Mr.  Hawley,  had 
donated  to  him  by  the  Indians  two  hundred  acres  of 
land,  which  must  have  been  with  the  approbation  of 
Government,  as  the  land  was  ever  after  held  by  the 
family  in  valid  title.^ 

After  the  revolutionary  war,  June  13,  1788,  all  for- 
mer laws  were  repealed,  and  a  Board  of  Overseers  was 
provided;''  "the  Indian,  mulatto  and  negro  proprietors 

^  By  reference  to  the  recoi'd  of  the  General  Court,  June  2fi,  1779, 
we  find  that  by  special  act  of  the  same,  certain  proprietors  were,  upon 
the  petition  of  Mr.  Hawley  and  others,  authorized  to  unite  with  the 
overseers  in  giving  a  deed  of  this  lanij  to  Mr,  llawley  "for  hia  future 
encouragement  to  continue  his  labors  in  the  ministry  "  in  Mashpee. 
The  proprietors  named  were  Joseph  Sichards,  Timotl^  Wright,  and 
John  Pognet ;  and  the  conveyance  was  to  "  be  considered  good  and 
lawful."  It  may  here  be  remarked  that  it  is  evident  that  generally 
all  the  early  grants  made  by  the  Government  of  Indian  lands,  wher- 
ever situated,  were  considered  as  preemptive  merely,  and  as  little 
more  than  authority  to  purchase  of  the  natives. 

"  "Walter  Spooner  of  New  Bedford,  Matthias  Mayhew  of  Dukes 
Co.,  and  Rev.  Gideon  Hawley  of  Be.  were  app.  Feb.  3, 1789,  David 
Thacher  of  Y.,  and  John  Davis  of  Plym.  were  app.  Jan.  30, 1795,  and 
Eph.  Spooner  of  Plym.  June  22,  1795.  Joshua  Thomas  of  Plym., 
Kilborn  Whitman  of  Pembroke,  Gideon  Hawley,  Nymphas  Marston, 
VOL.  I.  87 


vGooglc 


690  TI!E   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

and  inhabitants  of  Mashpee "  were  deprived  of  their 
civil  rights,  and  left  entirely  under  the  control  of  men 
in  whose  selection  they  had  no  choice ;  and  Jan,  30, 
1789,  other  provisions  of  a  very  stringent  character 
were  enacted  by  the  legislature.  The  overseers  were 
authorized  to  appoint  guardians  for  the  Indians,  and 
these  officers  were  invested  with  large  powers.  The 
complaints  of  the  Indians,  often  heard,  were  now  more 
frequent,  and  louder  than  ever,^  until,  in  1795,  in  con- 
sequence of  these  reiterated  complaints,  a  committee 
was  appointed  by  the  legislature  to  proceed  to  Mash- 
pee,  and  investigate  the  causes  of  disaffection.  The 
result  was,  that,  February,  1796,  still  other  laws  were 
passed  that  were  regarded  by  the  Mashpees  as  addi- 
tionally oppressive,  although  ostensibly  designed  to 
secure  to  the  natives  their  woodland  and  other  pos- 
sessions against  the  possibility  of  alienation.  Thus 
they  were  doomed  to  a  continuance  for  at  least  half  a 
century  of  their  civil  disabilities  before  they  should 
find  any  relief. 

The  plantation  had  from  the  beginning  been  an  ex- 
pensive establishment  as  managed  by  law.  Touching 
the  question,  what  of  benefit  inured  to  the  Indians  by 
the  outlay,  there  will  probably  be,  as  there  ever  have 
been,  two  directly  adverse  opinions.  It  is  not  our 
purpose  to  enter  at  all  upon  this  question.  Still,  we 
are  forcibly  reminded  by  the  hitherto  existing  state  of 
things,  as  also  by  the  remark  of  Rev.  Mr.  Hawley,  (in 

Chs.  Marston,  Jolm  PerpAval,  Reuben  Fisk,  and  perhaps  others  were 
Buhsequently  either  oyer?eers  or  guardians. 

'  They  uniformly  remonstvated.  In  1788,  they  said  in  pelilion, 
"  Tour  honors  for  want  of  information  have  put  us  under  a  disagree- 
able constitution  ; "  and  urged  "  the  morlificalion  "  to  which  they  were 
subjected,  "  of  being  put  iinder  guardianship  and  considtJred  as  minors." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  691 

the  comparison  he  instituted  between  the  Mashpeea 
and  the  Iroquois,)  of  the  anecdote  related  by  Dr.  Bou- 
dinot  in  regard  to  the  interview  of  General  Knox,  in 
New  York,  with  a  large  number  of  Indian  chiefs, 
sachems,  and  warriors,  in  1789.  This  distinguished 
American  general,  being  at  the  time  Secretary  of  War, 
gave  an  entertainment  to  these  delegations  of  In- 
dians. From  the  balcony  of  the  building  where  they 
were  assembled,  they  had  a  fine  view  of  the  entire  city 
and  harbor.  They  glanced  abroad  in  mute  astonish- 
ment, but  seemed  dejected ;  the  General  inquired  the 
cause ;  the  principal  Chief  replied,  "  Brother,  I  will  teU 
you.  This  fine  country  and  these  great  waters  were 
once  ours.  Here  our  fathers  lived,  and  enjoyed  in 
peace  the  land  as  their  own,  and  as  the  gift  of  the 
Great  Spirit.  At  last,  the  wUte  people  came  in  a  great 
canoe,  and  asked  us  only  to  let  them  fasten  their  canoe 
to  the  bank,  or  to  a  tree,  that  the  tide  might  not  carry 
it  away.  They  then  said,  that  some  of  their  people 
were  sick ;  and  they,  therefore,  wished  permission  to 
land  them,  and  place  them  under  the  shade  of  the 
trees.  Then,  soon,  the  ice  came,  and  they  said  they 
could  not  get  away.  They  begged,  therefore,  a  piece 
of  ground  to  build  wigwams  to  protect  them  from  the 
winter's  cold.  By  and  by,  they  asked  for  some  corn, 
to  keep  them  from  starving.  And,  at  last,  when  we 
reiQinded  them  of  their  promise  to  depart  when  the 
ice  was  gone,  they  pointed  their  big  guns  at  us.  More 
people  had  come;  they  had  brought  intoxicating 
liquors  with  them,  and  persuaded  our  people  to  sell 
land.  They  destroyed  our  game,  and  drove  us  back 
into  the  wilderness.  Our  people  wasted  away.  They 
became  miserable  and  wretched.  The  white  people 
enjoy  our  fine  country." 


vGooglc 


692  THE   HISTOEY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

Similar  is  the  testimony  of  Heckewelder,  in  regard 
to  declarations  of  the  early  settlers  of  Virginia  :  "  We 
took  the  white  man  by  the  hand,  and  bade  him  wel- 
come to  sit  by  our  side  and  live  with  us  as  a  hroiher. 
We  gave  him  oM  that  he  iweded ;  he  soon  tvm^ed  all  that 
we  had,  and  we  were  driven  out ! " 

During  the  revolutionary  war,  the  Mashpee  Indians 
were  ready  soldiers,  and  did  much  good  service.  It 
was  stated,  in  1783,  by  Eev.  Mr.  Hawley,  that  most  of 
the  women  in  Mashpee  had  lost  their  husbands,  in  the 
war.  At  that  time,  there  were  no  less  than  seventy 
widows  on  the  plantation.^  A  return  of  men  enlisted 
in  the  Continental  army  for  three  years,  or  during  the 
war,  shows  in  a  single  regiment,  raised  in  1777,  the 
names  of  twenty-six  Mashpees:  Francis  Webquish, 
Samuel  Moses,  Demps  Squibs,  Mark  Negro,  Tom  Cjesar, 
Joseph  Ashcr,  James  Keeter,  Joseph  Keeter,  Jacob 
Keeter,  Daniel  Pocknet,  Job  Eimraon,  George  Shawn, 
Castel  Barnet,  Joshua  Pognet,  James  Eiramon,  David 
Hatch,  James  Nocake,  Abel  Hoswitt,  Elisha  Keeter, 
John  Pearce,  John  Mapix,  Amos  Bahcock,  Hosea  Pog- 
net, Church  Asher,  Gideon  Tumpum. 

The  Eev.  Mr.  Hawley,  who  seems  to  have  been 
regarded  on  all  hands  as  peculiarly  fitted  for  his  work, 
was  here  occupied  nearly  half  a  century  in  benevolent 
exertion.*    He  died  Oct.  3,  1807,  se.  80.    In  his  last 

^  The  war  of  the  re^foliition  made  sad  inroads  upon  their  com- 
munity. Of  twenty-two  of  their  most  actiTe  men  enlisted  in  thejtrst 
Continental  regiment  of  four  hundred  men  raised  in  the  county,  all 
perished,  except  one,  in  the  service.  Such  hereavements  tended 
greatly  to  encourage  intermarriages  with  the  blacks. 

*  lie  is  said  to  have  "  possessed  great  dignity  of  manDer  and  au- 
thority of  voice,  which  had  much  influence  with  the  Indians,"  He  is 
imderstood  to  have  been  descended  from  Mr.  Samuel  Hawley  who 
came  from  Derhyshire,  Eng.,  first  to  Koxbnry,  Mass.,  thence  remov- 


vGooglc 


ANNAIS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  693 

sickiiess  lie  said,  "I  have  hope  of  acceptance  with  Godj 
but  it  is  founded  wholly  on  free  and  sovereign  grace, 
and  not  at  all  on  my  works.  It  is  true,  my  labors  have 
been  many ;  but  they  have  been  so  very  imperfect, 
attended  with  so  great  a  want  of  charity  and  humilityj 
that  I  have  no  hope  in  them  as  a  ground  of  ac- 
ceptance." An  extensive  correspondence  was  a  source 
of  much  satisfaction  to  him,  especially  in  his  declining 
years. 

A  characteristic  letter,  written  a  short  time  before 
the  decease  of  this  venerable  man,  happens  to  be  in 
our  possession ;  and,  as  it  relates  to  the  times  of  its 
date,  and  shows  the  vigor  of  old  age,  it  is  worthy  to  be 
here  transcribed :  — 

"  June  24,  1795. 
"  Honored  Sir  :  Retired  as  I  am,  and  at  my  time  of  life,  I 
need  amusement.  I  read  ;  but  my  eyes  soon  become  weary. 
I  converse ;  but  it  is  with  those  who  have  heard  my  stale  ob- 
servations and  my  thi'eadbare  stories  till  they  have  them  by 
rote.  In  such  a  case,  what  can  I  do?  I  wailc ;  but  soon  be- 
ing in  1639"  to  Stratford,  Ct, ;  and  among  whose  issue  were  Joseph  of 
Stratford;  Thos.  of  Northampton,  Mass.;  and  Eliz.  of  Stratford. 
The  eldest  of  ttese,  Joseph,  had  Sam'l,  1647,  who  d.  Aug.  24, 1734 ; 
Joseph,  Jan.  9,  1649,  d.  young;  EhKabetb,  1651 ;  Eben'r,  Sept.  17, 
1654,  who  d.  about  1690;  Hannah,  1657;  Ephraim,  Aug.  7,  1659, 
d.  Ap.  18, 1690  ;  John,  June  14,  1661,  d.  July  27,  1729  ;  and  Mary, 
1663.  The  children  of  EfnRAiM,  the  6th  of  these  last,  of  Newtown, 
were  Daniel  of  Trumbuh,  Ct.,  Sept.  20,  1684,  d.  July  28,  1750; 
Gideon,  Jan.  30,  1687,  d.  1730  ;  and  Abiah,  1690.  The  children  of 
Gideon,  the  2d  of  these  last,  were  James,  of  Bridgeport,  Jan.  29, 
1713,  d.  Oct.  7,  1746;  Zacbariah,  Sept.  2,  1717;  Sai-ah,  1721; 
Ahiah,  1723;  Anne,  1724;  and  Gideon,  the  missionary  to  the 
Mashpeeg,  b.  in  1726,  grad.  Yale  1749,  m.  Lucy,  dr.  of  Eev.  Benj. 
Fessenden  of  Sandwich,  June  14,  1759,  and  d.,  as  we  have  said, 
Oct.  8,  1807.  His  son  James,  grad.  H.  C.  1792,  tutor  1797-8,  ord. 
May,  1798,  minister  of  Pembroke,  and  d.  Oct.  8,  1800,  ?e.  27,  was  a 
man  of  rare  promise  and  greatly  beloved.  Gideon  Esq.,  another 
son,  was  highly  respectable. 


vGooglc 


694  THE   mSTOBY   OF  CAPE   COD. 

come  -weary.  I  cannot  doze  away  my  time  upon  the  bed  of 
sloth,  nor  nod  in  my  elbow  cliair.  I,  therefore,  sometimes  sit 
at  the  window  and  view  my  poultry,  after  my  rural  ramble, 
and  relax  my  mind  after  studioua  application. 

"  These  fowls  are  not  very  profitable  ;  for  they  make  depre- 
dations on  all  sides,  waste  the  fruits  of  my  fields,  and  spoil  my 
garden :  but  I  hear  their  voice  hailing  the  early  dawn ;  and 
this  admonishes  me  of  my  duty  ;  —  as  Inspiration  teaches, '  Ask 
now  the  fowls,  for  they  will  tell  thee ; '  and,  in  another  place, 
'  Consider  the  fowls.' 

"  A  very  common  occurrence  attracted  my  attention  the  other 
day  :  I  saw  how  great  an  unflerling  one  of  the  cocks  was  made 
by  the  Cockron  and  others  of  the  flock.  lie  was  even  de- 
prived of  the  rights  of  hens.  He  dare  not  sound  his  clarion, 
nor  associate  with  the  females  of  the  flock !  I  pitied  his  fate, 
and  concluded  to  take  an  active  part  in  his  favor.  I  fed  him 
from  my  own  hand,  and  drove  away  his  tyrants,  pelting  them 
with  stones.  This  little  fellow  gathered  courage  with  his 
strength,  sung  his  notes,  and  enjoyed  his  amours  in  consequence 
of  my  favor.  But,  alas  1  to  the  terror  and  amazement  of  the 
whole  company,  he,  in  his  turn,  became  an  intolerable  tyrant ! 
He  attacked  his  sire,  and  beat  the  Archon,  and  wounded  one  of 
his  fellows  of  the  same  brood  in  such  a  manner  that  his  life  was 
despaired  of ;  and,  out  of  compassion,  I  wrong  the  neek  of  the 
wounded,  and  lost  his  carcass.  In  short,  this  little  cock  raised 
hia  crest  and  reigned  with  a  vengeance.  I,  therefore,  laid  him 
under  arrest,  and  kept  him  in  confinement  until  his  passions 
were  cooled.  However,  it  mortified  me  to  consider  how  in- 
considerately I  had  acted ;  for  it  was  by  my  means  that  this 
sanguinary  affair  had  been  brought  about.  I  did  it  without 
any  ili  design  ;  bnt  it  was  injudicious.  I  destroyed  the  balance 
of  power,  and  every  thing  ran  into  confusion  in  my  republic  of 
hens.  The  Archon  had  better  understanding,  and  was  wiser 
in  this  affair  than  I  was.  He  saw  latent  tyranny  in  the  nature 
of  this  little  fellow  ;  that  it  would  not  do  to  indulge  him,  for 
he  needed  a  master.  However,  I  have  now  liberated  him  from 
his  confinement,  and  he  seems  properly  humbled,  and  keeps  his 
rank  in  life.  But  I  have  determined  not  to  meddle  in  the 
governnient  of  hens  in  future,  nor  overturn  establishments. 
Cocks  will  be  cocks.  As  the  sage  Indian  said,  'Tucks  will  be 
tucks,  though  old  hen  he  hatch  'em.' 

"  Milton,  full  of  his  notions,  supposes  that  a  change  in  con- 
sequence of  Adam's  fall,  passed  upon  the  other  animals ;  and  I 
cannot  contradict  him.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  their  natures 
remain  much  as  they  were  when  the  raee  of  European  animals 
were   imported   into   America,   notwitiistanding    the   changes 


vGooglc 


ANKAI^   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  695 

which  have  passed  over  their  masters.  Bulls  are  yet  bulls,  and 
of  the  same  nature  that  they  had  before  the  revolution  in  thia 
conntry,  and  that  important  one  now  regenerating  the  Old 
World,  as  it  is  called ;  and  under  every  form  of  government 
and  dispensation,  men  will  be  men,— the  same  wicked,  vicious 
race  by  nature  that  they  always  were,  —  there  being  no  form  of 
government  or  meana  of  grace,  but  what  have  been  tried  upon 
them  over  and  over  again  in  every  possible  circumstance. 
Please  read  Romans,  chap.  1 ;  and  Edwards  on  Human  De- 
pravity or  Original  Sin.  Man  is  a  mere  'wild  a^'s  colt.' 
Vide  Soame  Jenyns'  Works,  and  Fable  of  Bees.  Cliriatianity 
greatly  meliorated  the  world  ;  but  like  all  other  good  things 
in  the  hands  of  man,  it  soon  became  corrupted.  A  good  insti- 
tution of  civil  government  soon  deteriorates  and  grows  worse 
and  worse  by  its  administration,  be  it  a  commonwealth  or  a 
monarchy. 

"  I  have  room  only  to  add, 

"  Sir,  your  very  humble  servant, 

"  Gideon  Hawley. 
"Hon.  Dr.  Freeman." 

The  reader  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  times  at 
the  date  of  this  letter,  will  form  his  own  couclusions  in 
regard  to  the  moral  which  the  letter  inculcates.  Other 
specimens  of  his  correspondence,  showing  how  sincere, 
judicious,  and  sympathizing  a  friend  he  was  at  all  times, 
especially  in  the  hour  of  affliction,  might  be  given ; 
but  aa  our  design  is  not  to  write  a  memoir  of  Mr. 
Hawley,  we  forbear. 

Mr.  Hawley,  as  had  been  his  predecessors,  was  sus- 
tained in  his  missionary  career  by  the  funds  of  the 
Society  in  England  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  among 
the  Indians  in  North  America;  under  the  agency  of 
commissioners  in  Boston.  In  1792,  the  only  Indian 
church  in  existence  was  in  Mashpee ;  none  in  Plymouth 
or  Bristol  Counties.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  Indians  left  in  Dartmouth  and  Freetown  in  1763, 
but  thirty  remained.  In  all  other  towns  in  Bristol 
Co.  they  were  extinct.  In  Plymouth  Co.,  there  re- 
mained in  Middleboro'  four  or  five  families;  two  or 


vGooglc 


696  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

three  in  Pembroke,  and  five  or  six  persons  in  Bridge- 
water.  In  Barnstable  Co.,  a  few  remained  at  Pota- 
numaquut,  and  in  Barnstable  and  at  Herring  Pond. 
The  great  body  resided  in  and  about  Mashpee  ;  eighty 
families,  a  mixed  raccj  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty 
Indians  of  pure  blood. 

Next  succeeding,  was  Eev.  Phineas  Fish  of  Sandwich, 
a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1811 ;  who  began  Ha 
ministry  in  Mashpee  by  appointment  of  the  authorities 
of  the  college,  in  conjunction  with  the  overseers  of 
Mashpee,  and  was  ordained,  Sept.  18, 1812.  The  nom- 
ination rested  with  the  corporation  of  Harvard  College 
as  trustees  of  "  the  Williams  Fund." 

It  is  proper  here  to  state  that,  in  1711,  Eev.  Daniel 
Williams,  a  pious  man  and  eminent  clergyman  of  Lon- 
don, died,  having  in  his  will  becLueathed  a  legacy  con- 
stituting this  fund.  The  bequest  was  as  follows;  "I 
give  the  remainder  of  my  estate,  to  be  paid  yearly  to 
the  College  of  Cambridge  in  New  England,  or  to  such 
as  are  usually  employed  to  manage  the  blessed  work  of 
converting  the  poor  Indians  there,  to  promote  which  I 
design  this  part  of  my  gift."  From  this  fund.  Rev.  Mr. 
Hawley  had  received  $100  per  annum ;  and  the  Eev. 
Mr,  Fish,  during  his  pastorate,  received  from  $390  to 
f  433  per  annum,  for  the  increase  of  their  regular  sti- 
pends. Two  thirds  of  the  income  of  the  Williams  fund 
has  continued  to  be  allowed  by  the  trustees  to  the  se- 
lectmen of  Mashpee  towards  the  support  of  such  mis- 
sionary as  shall  be  chosen  by  the  proprietors  of  the 
district,  since  the  time  when  Mashpee  was  established 


It  is  but  an  act  of  sheer  justice  to  the  Indians,  here 
to  state  that,  in  setting  forth  their  grievances  at  a  later 
period,  they  aver  that  during  the  fifty  years'  service  of 


vGooglc 


ANNAL8   OF   BAENSTAELE   COUHTY.  697 

the  predecessor  of  Mr.  T'ish,  "  not  an  Indian  was  taught 
to  read,  nor  a  single  Indian  converted  "  !  Indeed,  Eev. 
Cotton  Mather  Smith's  confession,  "  The  arrangements 
for  managing  Indian  schools,  were  never  thoroughly 
made,  admirable  as  was  the  plan,  and  much  as  it  prom- 
ised," is  sustained  by  the  representations  made  by  the 
Mashpees,  whilst  it  was  in  a  wider  sense  applicable  to 
the  Indians  in  other  parts.  The  fact,  unhappily,  cannot 
be  controverted  that  "  vast  siims  of  money  expended 
by  the  Propagation  Society,  intended  for  the  benefit  of 
the  aboriginal  natives,  were  shamefnlly  thrown  away  in 
New  England  without  being  faithfully  and  energeti- 
cally applied  to  the  end  intended  by  the  donors." 

Some  opposition  was  made  by  the  Mashpees  to  the 
settlement  of  Mr.  Hawley's  successor ;  but  the  decision 
of  Harvard  College  and  the  consent  of  the  overseers 
prevailed,  and  Mr.  Fish  who  was  a  truly  amiable  and 
estimable  man,  moved  on  in  comparative  quiet  for 
many  years,  di^ading  his  labors  between  Mashpee  and 
the  plantation  at  Commassekumkanet,  or  Herring  Pond 
lying  between  Sandwich  and  Plymouth.^     Mr.  Fish  was 

'  This  last  was  tlie  field  of  the  early  labors  of  Mr.  Thomas  Tup- 
per  Sr.,  whom  we  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  mention  in  the 
prosecution  of  our  work ;  and  this  Indian  church  at  Herring  Pood 
was  many  years  nurtured  by  those  of  the  name.  Mr.  Thomas  Top- 
per was  b.  1578,  and  d.  Mar.  28,  1676,  a>.  98  yrs.  and  2  mo.  His 
widow  Anne  d.  June  4,  1676,  as.  about  90.  Their  son  Thomas  Jr. 
b.  Jan.  16,  1638,  m.  Martha,  dr.  of  Thos,  Mayhew  of  JIartha's  Tine- 
yard,  Oct.  22,  1661,  who  d.  a  widow,  Nov.  15,  1717.  [Her  father 
who  was  Gov.  of  M.  Vineyard  and  the  neigliboring  islands,  obtained 
a  grant  from  Lord  Stirling  in  16il,  and  conveyed  to  his  daughter, 
by  deed  of  gift,  1666,  much  valuable  estate  including  among  other 
lands  an  "  estate  at  Chapaquidick ; "  half  of  "  the  island  Nunnemiaset 
bought  of  Isaac,  sachem  of  Manomet;"  and  also  a  share  "of  Ciittay- 
hunck  which  was  ^ven  by  the  said  sachem."  Gov.  Mayhew,  after 
the  death  of  his  son,  — Eev.  Thomas  Mayhew  Jr.,  the  first  minister, 
VOL.  I.  88 


vGooglc 


THE   HrSTORT   OF   CAPE    COD. 

I  of  more  than  ordinary  talents,  was  a  good 
scholar,  with  a  trusty  and  affectionate  heart,  and  one  of 
the  best  ethical  writers  of  the  day. 
At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Fish,  there 

of  the  Vineyard,  oommendng  Ha  labors  ttere  in  1642, —  "  gave  him- 
self to  the  work  of  the  ministry  among  the  natives  when  at  the  age  of 
70,"  and,  "  notwithstanding  his  advanced  years  and  hia  office  of  Gov'r, 
often  travelled  on  foot  20  miles  through  the  woods  to  impart  i-eligious 
Instruction  to  the  Indians."     From  Iiim  were  descended,  besides  Rev. 
Thos.  lost  at  sea  on  returning  from  England,  Matthew  who  succeeded 
his  grandfather  in  the  governmenic  of  the .  islands  in   1681  and  also 
preached  to  the  Indians ;  Thomas  a  judge,  and  John  a  minister  at  the 
Vineyard  —  sons  of  Eev.  Thomas.     From  ihem   were   Experience, 
another  minister  on  the  island;  Zechariah,  a  miss'y  at  Gay  Head; 
Jonathan,  D.  D.  minister  in  Boston ;  and  many  others  distinguished, 
among  whom  by  maternal  descent  was  the  Kt.  Rev.  Jonathan  May- 
hew  Wainwright,  the  late  lamented  provisional  bishop  of  the  diocese 
of  New  York.     The  longevity  of  the  Mayhews  for  successive  gener- 
ations was  remai-kahle  —  numbers  of  them  living  to  be  vei-y  aged. 
The  several  generations  embraced  charactei-s  of  great  piety,  learning, 
active  benevolence,  and  influence.]     Thos.  Tupper  Jr.,  by  his  wife 
Martha,  had  Jlartha,  1662 ;  Thomas,  Aug.  11,  1664,  who  m.  Mary 
and  had  Jane,  1688,  and  Thomas  July  25,  1693 ;  Israel,  Sept.  22, 
1666;  Elisha,  March  17,1668;  Jane  who  d.  1673;  Ichabod,  Aug. 
11,. 1673;  Eldad,  May  31,  1674;  Medad,  Sept.  22,  1677;  Anne, 
1679,  who  m.  Eenj.   Gibbs  ;  Eliakim,  Dec.  29,  1681;  and  BetMa, 
1685,  — Of  this  large  family  of  the  3d  generation,  Israel  b.  1666, 
had  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  Samuel,  May  4,  1692,  first  named  Elisha 
which  name  was  changed;  Thankful,  1696,  who  m.  Josiah  Clark  of 
Plymouth,  Oct.  30,  1718  ;  Mcrihah,  1699 ;  Eliza'h,  1701,  d.  inf. ;  Is- 
rael, June  18,1705,  d.  inf.;  Sarah,  Aug.  6,  1707 ;  Israel,  April  28, 
1710;  Nathaniel,  Dec.  7,  1714;   and  Rowland,  Feb.  15,  1717.— 
Ichabod  h.  1673,  had  by  his  wife  Mary,  Anne,  Mar.  6, 1713 ;  Thos., 
Dec.  20,  1714;  Mary,  1717;  Martha,  1719;  Mehitable,  1721 ;  and 
Jedediah,  1725.— Eldad  h.  1674,  m.  Martha  Wheaton,  Dec.  30, 
1701,  and  had  Mehitable,  Nov.  9,  1702,  who  m.  Ichabod  Smith,  Dec. 
6,1723;  Jemima,  1704;   Elisha,  July  17,   1707;  Isaiah,  Dec  11, 
1709;  Eldad,  Mar.  4,  1714;  Prince,  July  24,  1718;  Mayhew,  July 
13, 1719  ;  Benj.,  Oct.  4,  1721 ;  Thos.,  1722  ;  and  Martha,  1725,  who 


vGooglc 


ANNAIB   OF   BAEH8TABLE    COONTY.  699 

were  very  few  Indians  remaining  of  unmixed  blood, 
and  very  few  who  could  speak  their  native  dialect. 
Some  few,  however,  still  existed,  aged,  and  destined 
aoon  to  give  way  to  a  race  of  half-breeds,  negroes,  mu- 

m.  Narti'l  Morton  Jr.  of  Plymouth,  1746.~Medad  b.  1677,  had  by 
Ms  wife  Hannah,  Joanna,  Sept.  29, 1704  ;  Mary,  1706  ;  Nathan,  June 
28,  1709,  who  ra.  Exp'e  Gibbs,  Jan.  16,  1735 ;  Martha,  1711 ;  Han- 
nah, 1714;  and  Medad,  Apr.  2,  1718,  who  m.  Joanna  Gibbs,  Nov.  11, 
1742.  —  EnAKiM  b.  1681,  had  by  his  wife  Joanna,  Ruth,  June  30, 
1708,  who  m.  Jaboz  Dunkin,  June  29,  1732;  Anne,  1710;  Eliakim, 
June  20,  1711,  who  m.  Mary  Bassett,  Mar.  28, 1734,  and  had  Wil- 
liam, July  6,  1735  ;  Abia,1713;  Elias,  Get.  12,  1715  ;  Abigail,1717; 
Thos,,  Nov.  21,  1719  ;  Hannah,  1721 ;  Jane,  1723,  d.  inf.;  Joanna, 
1724,  who  m.  Koland  Ellis,  1749 ;  Nath'l,  Apr.  24,  1726 ;  Deborah, 
1728;  Charles,  Dee.  28,  1729;  and  Solomon,  Oct.  17,  1731. —  It 
would  make  this  note  of  inconvenient  length,  to  follow  at  tlie  present 
the  genealogy  of  the  entire  branches  of  the  4th  gen. ;  we,  therefore, 
only  note  further  that  of  the  issue  from  Eldad  son  of  Thos.  Jr.,  em- 
bradng  as  it  does  that  of  his  son  Rev.  Elisha,,  the  missionary  at  Her- 
ring Pond,  and  afterwards  minister  at  Poeasset.  Kev.  Elisha  b.  1707, 
d.  1787,  ».  80,  had  by  Mary  his  wife,  Jane,  Nov.  4,  1741 ;  Thankful, 
1743 ;  Mehitable,  1745 ;  and  Abigail,  1748,  who  m.  John  Perry  Jr^ 
Oct.  26, 1769-  Dying  without  male  issue,  the  name  in  his  branch  be- 
came extinct.  —  Eldad,  bro.  of  Elisha,  b.  1714,  m.  Remember  Ellis, 
May  23, 1751.  —  Prince  b.  1718,  another  bro,,  m.  Jane  Ellis,  Nov.  18, 
1750,  and  had  Deborah  who  m.  Joseph  Gifford;  Jane  who  m.  James 
Faunce,  Lis  2d  w.,  June  12,  1796;  Jemima  whom.  Jona.  Nye  of  Fair- 
field, Me.,  Sept.  19,  1799 ;  Prince  who  m.  Grace  dr.  of  Malachi  ElHs, 
Mar.  9,  1794,  and  d.  without  issue  ;  Ellia  who  m.  Eunice  Ellis  of  Nan- 
tucket, 1793,  and  afterwards  resided  in  Maine,  having  several  chil- 
dren, of  whom  a  son  now  resides  in  Sandwich  ;  and  Eldad  who  went 
to  Danvers.  —  Dr.  Benjamin  b.  1721,  another  bro.,  m,  Eliza.  Ellis, 

Sept.  5,  1745,  and  m.  2d ,  settled  at  Nantucket  in  the  practice  of 

medicine,  and  d.  1793.  He  had  4  ch.  by  the  1st  m.,  and  1  by  the  2d. 
Those  by  the  first,  were  Benj.,  who  d.  on  a  whaling  voyage,  in  the  ice 
of  the  Greenland  seas,  leaving  a  son  Benj.  who  became  a  merchant  in 
Boston,  —  then  went  to  France  as  agent  for  the  sale  of  oil,  and  to  ne- 
gotiate with  the  first  consul  for  carrying  on  the  whale  fisherj-  there, 
hut  d.  on  his  passage  back,  l|and  was  succeeded  by  Benj.  Rotch  of  S. 


yGoogle 


700  THS  HISTORY  OF  CAPE  COO. 

lattoes,  and  Hessians.  The  last  of  the  race,  of  purely 
Indian  blood,  was  Isaac  Simon,  who  survived  until  about 
the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  present  half 
century.^  In  1800,  there  were,  in  Mashpee,  380  souls, 
and  about  80  Indian  houses.    "Wigwams  had    almost 

Bedford  who  arranged  with  Bonaparte  then  emperor  an  establish- 
ment at  Dunkirk  for  the  whale  fishery  and  importation  of  his  property 
in  oil  free  of  duty  —  a  sure  stepping-stone  to  fortune  (]  Abigail  who 
m,  Joseph  Jackson  of  Litehfield,  Me. ;  James,  Apr.  1764  ;  and  Mar- 
tha, who  m.  Obadiah  Wood  of  Nantucket.  —  Dr.  James  b.  1754,  on 
Nantucket,  was  educated  in  Sandwich,  and  removed  to  Pownalboro', 
Me,  By  his  m.  with  Deborah,  dr.  of  Jona.  Allen  Esq.  of  Chilmark, 
he  had  James,  Feb.  21,  1736,  mho  d.  Dec  26,  1829 ;  Jooa.  A.,  Aug. 
SI,  1787,  who  located  on  Staten  Island  where  he  d.  1819,  leaving  issue, 
one  son  being  Allen,  now  of  Iowa ;  Tristram,  Oct.  15,  1789,  who  set- 
tled in  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  Cordelia,  June  23, 1792,  who  m.  Barzillai 
Whit« ;  Homes,  June  23,  1794,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Henry,  Nov.  10, 
1796,  who  set'd  in  N.  Orleans ;  Deborah,  Apr.  19, 1799  ;  EUza.,  1801  ( 
Mary,  1803,  who  m.  Eev.  Thos.  M.  Lord  of  Auburn,  Me. ;  and  Fred- 
eric Allen,  1807,  who  settled  in  Savannah,  Ga.  -—  The  issue  of  Tms- 
TEAM  b.  1789  :  Samuel  Y.,  pres't  of  Fireman's  Ins.  Co.,  Charleston ; 
James,  master  in  equity;  Ann  Eliza  wife  of  Simeon  Hyde,  merch't; 
R  Furman  who  served  as  It.  of  Gen.  Persifer  Smith's  La.  Volun- 
teers in  the  Mexican  war ;  Henry  Allen,  clergyman  of  the  Baptist 
cli.  in  Washington,  Ga. ;  Tristi-am  Jr.,  merchant,  Charleston ;  Kate 
Harral,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  a  copy  of  the  record  of  her 
branch  of  the  family  for  three  generations ;  Frederick,  merch't ;  Geo., 
merch't!  Cordelia;  and  Richard  P. 

^  The  Eev.  Dr.  Alden  says,  "  The  last  was  Samuel  Eichards  who 
d.  about  1804-5,  £6.  91,  the  oldest  Indian  in  the  tribe  —  of  remarka- 
bly upright  gait,  tall,  well-proportioned,  of  dignified  aspect-  He  had 
been  early  taught  to  read  his  vernacular  tongue,  and  owned  Eliot's 
Bible.  He  had  been  a  religious  man  many  years,  and  was  regarded 
by  Eev.  Mr.  Hawley  as  steady,  honest,  well-minded.  He  and  his 
squaw  whose  name  was  Hannah  Popmonnet,  used  to  converse  in  their 
native  tongue;  but  there  is  scarcely  an  individual  left  who  knows 
much  about  the  ori^nal  language  of  Massapee."  He  adds,  "It  is 
worthy  of  remark  that  some  of  the  best  seamen,  particularly  for 
whaling,  have  proceeded  from  Massapee." 


yGoogle 


AKNALS   OF   BAKSSTABLE   COUSTY.  701 

entirely  disappeared.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Fish's  ordina- 
tion, the  number  of  the  Mashpees  was  357.  Many  of 
them  were  active  and  expert  whalemen ;  a  business  in 
which  they  have  excelled,  and  have  been  much  em- 
ployed by  their  white  neighbors.  But  many  of  the 
Indians,  especially  the  women  and  the  old  men,  were 
content  to  manufacture  brooms,  baskets,  &c.,  and  to 
peddle  these,  together  with  berries,  fish,  &c.,  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  surrounding  towns.  Very  little  at- 
tention was  given  upon  the  plantation  to  agriculture. 
Under  the  direction  of  the  guardians,  numbers  of  the 
youth  of  both  sexes  had  been,  from  time  to  time, 
indentured  to  families  in  surrounding  towns ;  and  these, 
for  a  while,  made  valuable  servants,  and  were  greatly 
convenient  on  farms,  and  as  domestics.  Fondness  for 
an  idle  and  wandering  life,  and  withal  for  strong  drink, 
seemed  soon,  however,  to  characterize  a  large  portion 
of  those  who  had  entered  on  their  majority.  Some 
honorable  exceptions  there  have  ever  been ;  but  so  few 
comparatively  that  the  evidence  of  an  inciibus  resting 
upon  the  Indians'  ambition  to  excel,  and  betokening 
their  final  extinction,  has  been  sadly  apparent.  The 
Indian  language,  and  the  pure  Indian  blood,  extinct,  a 
promiscuous  race  of  colored  people,  in  diminished  num- 
bers, now  constitute  the  population  of  Mashpee. 

In  1817,  an  appropriation  of  $500  was  made  by  the 
State  legislature  to  repair  the  Indian  meeting  house.^ 
The  legislature,  in  1831,  also  appropriated  $400  for  the 
erecting  of  two  school  houses.  Up  to  this  time,  and 
not  until  the  expiration  of  two  or  three  years  more, 

^  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  Indians  had  ceased  to  complain  of 
their  condition.  They  felt  the  degradation  to  which  they  were  sub- 
jected. In  1818,  they  petitioned  the  le^slature  without  success,  "  to 
grant  us  the  unspeakable  privilege  of  choosing  our  own  overseers." 


yGoogle 


702  THE   HI8T0ET   OP   CAPE   COD. 

had  any  thing  been  done  for  the  Indians  by  the  State,  as 
respects  their  education,  but  the  building  of  the  two 
school  houses.  In  1834,  an  appropriation  for  schools 
was  made,  of  $100  from  the  State  school  fund.  In 
1838,  an  appropriation  of  |800  was  made  for  the  re- 
pairs of  the  meeting  house ;  and  since  then  |900  has 
been  ordered  for  similar  purposes. 

It  has  been  said  by  the  Mashpees  themselves,  during 
the  troubles  of  this  period,  that  "  in  all  times  past,  the 
natives  had  been  regarded  only  as  savages.     If  their 
children  were  taken  by  the  authorities  and  put  out  to 
work,  it  was  with  an  understanding  that  they  need 
not  be  schooled,  and  that    they  had  generally  been 
badly  fed,  badly  lodged,  badly  clad.     That,  though  thus 
deprived  of  all  mental  culture ;  ^  robbed,  as  has  been 
alleged,  of  their  rights ;  they  were  constantly  subject 
to  the  unfeeling  accusation  of  being  degraded.     Yet, 
that  notwithstanding  all  this,  some  of  them,  by  living 
abroad,  had  learned  to  read  and  write,  and  gained  some 
knowledge  of  arithmetic,  and  become  teachers  of  othere. 
That,  whilst  taxed  $400  per  annum  for  the  support  of 
white  overseers  and  other  of&cers,  and  the  Indians'  pos- 
sessions were  employed  for  the  support  of  a  white  man  as 
pastor  forced  upon  them,  $56,000  had,  in  140  years,  been 
paid  out  of  Indian  funds,  to  the  white  people,  for  which 
nothing  had  actually  been  received,  save  |900  to  re- 
pair the  meeting  house,  and  $100  for  schools  within 
the  last  few  years ;  whilst  the  Mashpees  were  all  this 
time  regarded  as  State  paupers"     It  is  no   part  of  our 
present  duty  to  pronounce  on  the  justice  or  injustice  of 
these  allegations.     We  may  only  say,  if  these  things 
are  so,  there  is  some  piquancy  in  the  remark  made  by 

•  There  were  certsunly  honorable  exceptions  to  this  state  of  things. 


vGooglc 


ANKALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  703 

one  of  them,  "Verily,  it  is  a  fine  tiling  to  be  an 
Indian ! " 

Early  in  1833,  tlie  dissatisfaction  of  the  Mashpees 
with  the  existing  condition  of  affairs  assumed  a  deter- 
mined aspect.  To  Daniel  B.  Amos,  is  conceded,  by  his 
tribe,  the  honor  of  conceiving  a  plan  to  free  his  people 
from  what  they  regarded  as  abject  slavery. 

William  Apes,  a  regularly  ordained  preacher  of  the 
Pequot  tribe,  came  to  Mashpee,  "was  adopted  by  the 
tribe,  and  invited  to  preach  to  them  and  assist  them  in 
gaining  their  liberty."  Mr.  Apes'  description  of  the 
place,  and  his  first  impressions  on  visiting  the  Mash- 
pees, is  graphic ;  and  we  give  it,  in  substance,  as  fol- 
lows:—  "The  sacred  edifice  stood  in  the  midst  of  a 
noble  forest,  and  seemed  to  be  about  one  hundred 
years  old.^  Hard  by,  was  an  Indian  burying  ground 
overgrown  with  pines.^  The  graves  were  all  ranged 
north  and  south.    A  delightful  brook,  fed  by  some  of 

'  The  meeting  house  was  built,  before  the  year  1757,  by  funds  of 
the  Englisli  Propagation  Society.  The  original  meeting  house  was 
built  in  1G84,  by  the  same  society,  which  contributed  to  support  a 
miaaionary  until  after  the  revolution. 

"  Among  these,  graves  may  be  found  whose  monuments  bear  the 
following  inscriptions :  — 

"  In  meraory  of  Dea,  Zacheifs  Pophtjnnet,  died  Oct.  22,  1770, 
86.  51  yrs.     '  Tlie  righteous  is  more  excellent  than  bis  neighbor.' " 

"In  meraory  of  Flora  Hawlby,  ob't  Jan.  31,  1785,  se.  40  yra. 
'  A  faithful  servant' " 

Tbeae  instances  do  not  exhibit  a  remarkable  longevity  ;  but  Old- 
MixON,  1708,  says,  "  The  Indians  lived  commonly  to  150  years." 
There  were  certainly  at  an  early  period  notable  instances  of  extreme 
old  age.  The  statements  of  Oldmixon,  however,  are  to  be  taken 
with  some  abatement;  for  he  also  says,  "Plymouth  Bay  is  larger 
than  Cape  Cod,  and  has  two  fine  islands ;  Rhode  Island  and  Elizabeih 
Island."  He  tells  us  also  that  New  England  is  bounded  west  by 
Pennsylvania.     We  ciinnot  take  him  for  authority. 


vGooglc 


704  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

the  sweetest  springs  in  Massachusetts,  murmured  by 
its  side.  After  pleasing  my  eyes  with  this  charming 
landseapq,  I  turned  to  meet  my  Indian  brethren,  and 
give  them  the  hand  of  friendship ;  bvit  look  in  whaf> 
ever  direction,  those  coming  to  the  house  of  God  on 
this  my  first  Sabbath  in  the  place,  were  pale-faces.  I 
entered  the  house  with  the  missionary,  Eev.  Mr.  Pish, 
who  had  invited  me  to  preach.  It  had  the  appearance 
of  some  ancient  monument  upon  a  hill-top,  set  up  as  a 
land  mark  to  generations  yet  unborn.  Could  Solomon's 
temple  have  been  placed  beside  it,  I  think  no  one 
would  have  drawn  an  architectural  comparison,  When 
I  arose  to  give  out  the  psalm  to  be  sung,  I  cast  my 
eyes  towards  the  gallery,  to  see  how  the  songsters,  who 
were  already  tuning  their  harps,  appeared.^     With  one 

'  We  are  forcibly  reminded  here  of  a  practice  that  had  escaped 
onr  remembrance,  —  that  of  the  choir  tuning  their  voices — often 
with  tke  aid  of  the  bass  viol  and  sometimes  violin,  during  the  reading 
of  the  psalm.  This  practice  long  prevailed,  aud  we  think  it  probable 
it  may  still  prevail  in  some  churches.  That  practice,  together  with 
another — the  slamming  down  of  the  seals  of  pews  (the  seats  being 
adjusted  with  hinges  for  the  convenience  of  the  congregation,  who 
made  it  a  religious  duty  to  sUm,d  in  the  time  of  prayer)  which  came 
upon  our  youthful  ears  like  an  irregular  discharge  of  infantry  at  the 
utterance  of  the  closing '  Amen '  of  prayer,  left  a  vivid  impression 
upon  our  mind  of  the  irreverence  that  in  those  days,  without  design, 
attended  solemn  acts  of  devotion.  Nor  can  we  to  this  day  forget  the 
like  irreverence  so  general  of  the  males  walking  into  the  house  of 
God  with  covered  heads,  even  to  their  pews,  and  issuing  in  like  man- 
ner —  (an  act  that  would  at  the  present  day,  and  indeed  in  eveiy  age, 
be  considered  boorish  if  practised  in  the  house  of  any  gentleman ;) 
nor  yet  another  custom  —  that  of  early  preparation  for  a  dctei-rained 
stampede  from  the  meeting  house  the  moment  that  the  benediction 
was  pronounced.  Coats  were  buttoned,  canes  and  hats  were  taken  in 
hand,  pew-doors  were  unbuttoned,  and  diligent  and  full  preparation 
was  made  for  a  general  rush  to  ensue  as  soon  as  the  closing  '  Amen' 
should  begin  to  be  articulated  by  the  minister.     And  such  a  babel  of 


vGooglc 


ANNAIS  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.  705 

solitary  exception,  paleness  was  on  all  their  faces.  I 
must,  however,  do  tliese  Indians  the  justice  to  say  that 
they  performed  their  parts  very  ■well.  Looking  below, 
something  new  caught  my  attention :  reserved  on  the 
sides  of  the  temple,  were  seats  for  the  privileged  white 
people.  After  preaching,  I  attended,  between  the 
morning  and  afternoon  service,  the  Sabbath  school,  in 
which  a  solitary  red  child  might  here  and  there  be 
seen.  I  inquired  where  the  Indiam  were ;  and  was 
then  informed  that  a  person  called  Blind  Joe  tfied  to 
preach  to  them,  and  that  this  was  the  cause  of  their 
absence.  It  was  concluded,  by  the  consent  of  the 
missionary,  to  have  a  service  the  next  day  among  the 
Indians.  When,  on  that  occasion,  addressing  the 
Throne  of  Grace,  I  besought  the  Lord  to  '  have  com- 
passion on  the  poor  Indians,  and  relieve  them  from  all 
oppressions.'  I  was,  after  this,  cautioned  against 
alluding  to  oppression,  lest  the  Indians  should  become 
more  discmderded.  I  now  appointed  to  meet  my  red 
brethren  on  the  Wednesday  evening  following,  when  I 
expected  to  bid  them  farewell  forever.  But  what  en- 
sued led  to  a  different  determination." 

So  much   for  Mr.  Apes'    introduction  to    Mashpee. 
The  sequel  is  at  hand :     Ebenezer  Attaquin,  Ezra  Attar 

tongues  and  noisy  scattering  of  devout  worshippers  as  followed,  was 
memorable.  The  reader  will  understand  that  this  was  not  peculiar  to 
Indian  congregatioria  —  it  was  the  Congregational  practice !  J)eane's 
history  of  Scituate  informs  us  that  tradition  tells  "how  smokers 
would  sometimes  disturb  public  worship  by  the  klicking  of  flints  and 
steel  to  tight  their  pipes ;  and  that  even  clouds  of  smoke  were  to  be 
seen  in  church."  We  have  no  evidence  of  such  a  practice  ever  pre- 
Taihng  in  this  county;  but  we  do  find  that,  at  a  certain  time,  "Jed- 
ediah  aud  Benj.  Lombard,  with  Ed.  Berry,  were  fined  for  smoking 
tobacco  at  the  end  of  the  meeting  house  in  Yarmouath  on  the 
Lord's   day." 

VOL.  L  89 


vGooglc 


706  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

quin,  and  others,  were  decided  "  to  seek  once  more  for 
that  redress  of  grievances  often  sought  before,  but 
never  obtained."  The  Mashpees  a^embled  in  Council 
May  21, 1833,  and 

"Besdved,  1.  Tliat  we,  a3  a  tribe,  ■will  rule  ourselves,  and 
have  the  right  to  do  so  ;  for  all  meu  are  born  free  and  equal, 
as  says  the  Constitution  of  onr  country. 

"  Resolved,  2.  That  we  will  not  permit  any  white  man  to  come 
upon  our  Plantation,  to  cut,  or  to  carry  off,  wood,  or  hay,  or 
any  otlier  article,  without  our  permission,  after  the  1st  of  July 
next," 

Those  resolutions  and  others  were  followed  by  an  address  to 
the  Trustees  of  the  Williams  Fund,  and  was  signed  by  about 
one  hundred  Indians  ;  also  attested  "  at  the  Council  House  at 
Mash  pee. 

"Ebenezbk  Attaquin,  President. 

"  Israel  Amos,  Secretary." 

And  the  address  waa  committed  to  a  delegation  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Governor  and  Council. 

June  25,  1833,  this  people  concerted  "  a  Form  of 
Government,"  after  the  pattern  of  their  white  breth- 
ren; and  gave  notice,  by  Proclamation,  to  all  con- 
cerned, of  their  future  intentions.  These  revolutionary 
proceedings  did  not  fail  to  arouse  the  vigilance  of  out>- 
fiiders ;  and,  July  1,  for  puttmg  in  force  the  resolutions 
they  had  adopted,  certain  of  the  leaders  were  arrested, 
tried,  convicted,  and  finally  imprisoned.  They  were 
prosecuted  for  a  constructive  riot,  in  unloading  and 
retaining  wood  which  a  white  man  attempted  to  re- 
move from  the  plantation. 

It  was  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  that  the 
Mashpees  secured  the  services  of  the  Hon.  B.  F.  Ilallett 
as  their  counsel.  Mr.  Hallett  was  "born  and  brought 
up  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Indian  district ;  and,  in 
a  memorandum,  Oct.  2,  1834,  says  he  "had  always 
regarded  these  Indians  as  a  people   grievously   op- 


vGooglc 


ANHALS   OF   BAESSTABtE   CODNTY.  707 

pressed  by  the  wliite  people,  and  borne  down  by  laws 
which  made  them  poor,  and  enriched  other  men  upon 
their  property."  Mr.  Hallett  thought  "  the  persons 
concerned  in  the  riot,  as  it  was  called,  were  as  justifi- 
able in  what  they  had  done,  as  were  our  fathers  in 
throwing  the  British  teas  into  the  Boston  dock ;  and 
that  the  imprisonment '  of  these  Indians  was  no  dis- 
grace to  them,  more  than  was  the  confinement  of 
patriots  of  the  revolution,  in  the  Jersey  prison-ship." 
So  this  distinguished  gentleman,  who,  with  his  well- 
known  ability,  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Mashpees, 
is  represented.  And  it  is  but  just  to  say  that  the 
Indians,  in  expressing  their  gratitude  to  Mr.  Hallett  for 
his  services,  declare,  "He  gave  us  the  aid  of  his  ex- 
tensive learning  and  undeniable  talent,  with  no  other 
end  in  view  than  the  good  of  the  Commonwealth  and 
of  the  Mashpee  tribe,  and  a  strong  desire  to  wipe  from 
the  character  of  his  native  State  tlie  foul  blot  of  our 
continued  wrongs.  He  never  asked  where  his  pay  was 
to  come  from."  ^ 

In  the  plea  of  Mr.  Hallett  upon  the  petition  ind 
remonstrances  before  the  legi'tlituie,  he  i-i  lepiesented 
as  saying,  in  answer  to  the  allu'^ions  made  agam&t  the 

^  It  would  be  wrong  for  us  fo  perpetuate  a  bi'ftonc'il  error  by  tlie 
impression  that  Mr.  Hallett  receiied  no  remuneration  for  hia  services. 
We  have  no  disposition  to  indorse  tJie  sugge'^tioa  made  that  '  with 
him,  it  was,  at  bottom,  a  contest  fo  place  the  Bapti'ft  denomination 
uppermost,"  his  sympathies  from  education  and  early  as-ociations 
being  with  that  denomination  i  but  that  accustomed  '  Jees  were  after- 
wards paid  with  interest,"  we  are  assured  by  those  competent  to  know, 
as  corroborated  by  the  treasury  accounts  Thu<!  much  m  due  (o  the 
honor  of  the  Indians ;  and  it  is  ceitiinlj  creditable  to  their  counsel 
that  his  final  remuneration  ■was  the  reward  of  -.er^ices  rendered 
without  the  promise,  and  perhaps  ^Mthout  the  expectition  o!"  a 
requital. 


vGooglc 


708  THE  HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

petitioners,  "  I  only  ask  you  to  look  at  the  historical 
evidence  of  discontent  ivith  the  laws  ever  since  1693. 
And  let  mc  remind  you  of  the  fable  of  the  huntsman 
and  the  lion :  when  the  former  boasted,  of  the  superi- 
ority of  man,  and,  as  proof,  pointed  to  the  statue  of 
one  of  the  old  heroes  standing  upon  a  prostrate  lion, 
the  reply  of  the  noble  beast  was, '  There  are  no  sculp- 
tors among  lions  ;  if  there  were,  for  one  man  standing 
upon  a  lion's  carcass,  you  would  have  twenty  men  torn 
in  pieces  by  lions.'  Gentlemen,  by  depressing  the  In- 
dians, our  laws  have  taken  care  that  they  should  have 
no  SGulpiors.  The  white  people  have  done  all  the  carv- 
ing for  them,  and  have  always  placed  them  undermost" 

The  various  proceedings  had  by  the  Mashpees,  and 
the  manifestoes  put  forth  by  them,  were  energetic,  and 
all  their  writings  were  couched  in  forcible  terras,  writ- 
ten, as  we  are  assured,  by  themselves.  Their  claims 
being  carried  by  their  counsel  before  the  legislature, 
they  finally  prevailed. 

Their  memorial  to  the  legislature,  which  their 
counsel  preferred  should  be  drawn  up  by  themselves, 
was  signed  by  males  and  females,  one  hundred  and  two 
in  number, "  residing  on  the  plantation."  ^  They  prayed 
for  the  privilege  of  managing  their  own  property ;  for 
the  abolition  of  overaeership ;  and  for  incorporation  as 
a  town,  with  the  right  of  making  municipal  regula- 
tions ;  and  Deacon  Isaac  Coombs,  Daniel  Amos,^  and 

^  Prominent  among  the  petitioners  were  Daniel  B.  Amos,  James 
Hush,  Ezra  Attai^uin,  Christopher  liinson,  Aaron  Keeter,  Joseph 
Poeknet,  Nicholas  Poctnet,  David  Wilbur,  Wra.  Jones,  Isaac  Simon, 
Oakes  A.  Coombs,  Isaac  Coombs,  James  Lowes,  Richard  Simon, 
Daniel  Poeknet,  Peter  Squib,  Joseph  Squib,  Jacob  Poeknet,  Israel 
Amos,  &c 

°  The  name  of  this  Indian  has  generally  appeared  in  the  printed 


vGooglc 


AHNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  709 

William  Apes,  well-infonned  Indians,  were  appointed 
by  the  petitioners  to  appear  in  their  behalf  before  the 
legislature.  —  A  remonstrance  subsequently  appeared 
in  connection  with  a  petition  from  the  missionary, 
and  was  signed  by  Nathan  Pocknet  and  thirty-five 
other  Indians  adverse  to  the  action  of  the  revolution- 
ists ;  and  yet  again  another  petition  signed  by  the  same 
and  fifty-one  others  favorable  to  a  continuance  of  the 
hitherto  existing  order  of  things.  This  called  forth 
from  the  liberty  party  further  action  j  they  charged 
Pocknet  and  his  associates  with  being  "  under  foreign 
influence,  and  being  used  by  designing  men  to  keep 
the  tribe  in  bondage ; "  and  a  memorial  followed,  en- 
titled "  A  Voice  from  the  Mashpee  Indians,"  embracing 
at  great  length  "  A  Bill  of  Complaints."  A  petition 
"  signed  by  seventy-eight  males  and  ninety-two  females 
residing  on  the  plantation,  and  also  in  behalf  of  seventy- 
nine  males  and  thirty-seven  females  who  are  absent 
and  will  not  return  to  live  under  the  present  laws  —  in 
all  287,"  prayed  "for  a  grant  of  the  liberties  of  the 
Constitution  —  to  form  a  municipal  code  of  laws 
amongst  ourselves,  that  we  may  have  a  government 
that  will  be  useful  to  us  as  a  people ;  for  we  are  sure 
we  have  never  had  any  since  our  original  sachem- 
fathers  fell  asleep."  Of  these  petitioners,  "sixty-two 
men,"  it  was  claimed,  "  were  proved  to  be  legal  propri- 


reports  of  proceedings,  aa  here  given ;  it  is  suggested,  however,  that 
the  Dame  sliould  be  written  Daniel  B.  Amos.  Having  no  means  at 
hand  for  certifying  the  fact  that  as  often  as  the  two  names  occur  they 
should  be  considered  as  identically  the  same,  we  are  satisfied  Ihat  it  is 
so.  We  attach  some  importance  to  this  fact  as  an  act  of  justice  to 
Mr.  Amos ;  for  he  is  said  to  have  been  "the  Sam.  Adams  of  the 
tribe  in  securing  tlieir  independence ; "  whilst  Mr.  Apes  has  been 
eulogized  as  "  the  eloquent  vindicator  of  Indians'  rights." 


yGoogle 


710  THE   HISTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

etors,  and  forty-four  of  these  proprietors  wrote  their 
own  names."  "  These,"  it  was  further  claimed, "  are  the 
true  Indians ; "  and,  it  has  been  alleged,  "  were  very 
respectable  men  —  the  eldest  among  them  grave, 
decent,  patriarchal,  and  revered."  ^ 

By  the  act  of  1834,  Mashpee  was  incorporated  as  a 
District,  —  the  people  being  authorized  to  choose  their 
own  officers  and  to  manage  their  own  affairs,  assisted 
by  a  Commissioner  appointed  by  the  State ;  the  sal- 
utary provision  still  remaining  that  the  lands  may  not 
be  sold  without  the  consent  of  all  the  inhabitants. 
Hon.  Charles  Marston  of  Barnstable,  resident  at  Mars- 
ton's  Mills  near  the  plantation,  was  appointed  Commis- 
sioner, to  the  satisfaction  of  all,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  about  one  year,  has  continued  in  the  position, 
or  as  treasurer,  to  the  time  of  this  present  writing. 

Under  the  new  order  of  affairs,  agreeably  to  the 
"Act  restoring  the  Eights  of  Self-government,  in  part, 
to  the  Marshpee  Indians,"  the  first  selectmen  and 
school  committee  chosen,  were  Ezra  Attaqxiin,  Isaac 
Coombs,  and  Israel  Amos.  From  this  time  the  Indians 
date  their  emancipation  from  civil  bondage.^ 

'■  The  memorial,  too  long  to  be  inserted  here,  and  in  truth  too  caus- 
tic to  euit  our  purpose,  was  written  by  Mr.  Amoa.  He  is  remembered 
as  a  man  of  extraordinary  power  —  self-possessed,  energetic,  and  of 
much  weight  of  character.     He  waa  "  engaged  in  the  coasting  busi- 

^  They  had  to  this  time  been  under  the  control  of  overseers  em- 
powered "to  manage  all  the  affairs,  interests  and  concerns  of  the 
Indians  and  inhabitants  "  —  to  let  out  their  lands  and  tenements  ;  con- 
trol and  regidate  absolutely  their  bargains,  contracts  and  wages  ;  bind 
out  their  children  without  consent  of  parents,  and  bind  out  to  sei-vice 
for  three  years  at  a  time  any  adult  proprietor  or  member  who  in  the 
judgment  of  the  overseers  was  a  drunlsard  or  idler,  and  appropriate 
the  earnings  as  they  saw  fit  —  there  being  no  appeal.     We  do  not 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  711 

Some  years  after  the  incorporation  of  tlie  District, 
Rev.  Mr.  Fish  retired  from  his  charge.  "  Controversies  " 
were  some  time  in  progress  about  parsonage  lands, 
involving  many  suits.  These  were  at  length  amicably 
settled.  The  congregation  to  which  **  Blind  Jo  "  min- 
istered embraced  a  goodly  number  of  attendants ;  as 
did  also  a  distinct  congregation  imder  the  ministry  of 
William  Apes.  The  former  was  a  native  of  Mashpee, 
blind  from  his  birth,  twenty-eight  years  of  age  at  the 
time,  having  been  born  in  1806.  Educated  wholly  by 
ear  and  memory,  he  was  recognized  by  the  Baptist 
denomination  with  whom  he  fellowshipped,  as  a  reg- 
ularly ordained  minister.  The  church  of  which  ho  was 
pastor  was  organized  in  1830.  It  has  been  said  that 
"  there  was  much  to  admire  in  his  simple  piety  and 
sound  teaching,  and  that  he  found  a  way  to  the  hearts 
of  his  hearers,  unexplored  by  many  learned  divines." 
Mr.  Apes  was  pastor  of  a  church  known  by  the  appel- 
lation of  "  The  Free  and  United  Church."  In  these 
two  churches,  were  some  fitly  members  in  good  stand- 
ing ;  the  result  of  three  years.  —  After  the  act  estab- 
Hshing  religious  liberty  in  Mashpee,  making  the  district 
a  parish,  with  all  the  rights  of  parishes  and  religious 
societies,  the  Indians  took  possession  of  their  meeting 
house  and  parsonage  lands,  and  for  the  first  time  chose 
their  own  minister.^ 

know  that  this  power  was  everabnsed;  but  the  restrictions  wei-e,  of 
course,  exceedingly  irksome,  and  had  ever  been  regarded  as  oppres- 
sive.—  We  may  here  add  that  in  the  proceedings  had  before  the 
l^iskture,  numbers  of  the  petitioners  were  examined  before  com- 
mittees to  teat  their  capacity.  Their  delegation  had  also  the  use  of 
the  Hall  of  Representatives,  to  make  public  statements  of  their  ait- 
uation  and  wants,  and  were  respectfully  and  attentively  listened  to  by 
a  crowded  audience. 

'  Eev.  Mr.  Fish,  in  1840,  became  the  pastor  of  a  Con  gre  gat  ion  ill 


vGooglc 


712  THE   HISTOET   OF   CAPE   COD. 

In  April,  1835,  an  appropriation  was  again  made  of 
one  hundred  dollars,  to  be  paid  annually  from  the 
State  school  fund,  for  public  schools  in  Mashpee/  The 
affairs  of  the  District  have  been  for  some  time  satisfac- 
tory for  the  most  part  to  all  concerned,^  and  the  condition 
of  the  people  has  much  improved.  By  the  census  of 
1850,  their  number  was  only  two  hundred  and  two ; 
still  they  are  the  largest  remnant  of  any  Indian  tribe 
in  New  England,  if  we   except  the  Indians  on  the 


It  falls  not  within  our  province  to  go  farther  into 

the  affairs  to  which  we  have  alluded,  leading  to  the 
new  organization  of  the  Mashpee  tribe.  The  whole  is 
of  too  recent  occurrence.  Less  we  could  not  record  in 
faithfulness;  more  need  not  be  written.  A  volmne 
published  by  William  Apes,  in  1835,  is  before  the  pub- 

Church  at  Coatuit,  hia  ministry  being  among  those  who  had  formerly 
attended  the  Indian  meetings  at  Mashpee.  He  was  son  of  Jonathan 
of  Sandwicli ;  was  b.  Jan.  30,  1785 ;  grad.  H.  C.  1807  ;  ovd.  Sept. 
18,  1812;  and  d.  June  16,  1854,  ».  69. 

^  We  are  reminded  by  those  conversant  with  the  afTairs  of  the  Dis- 
trict, that  "  there  have  been  other  appropriations  for  schools,"  and  that 
now,  1859,  the  Indians  "receive  $165  from  the  school  fund,  and  also 
interest  on  some  portion  of  the  public  revenue." — In  1855,  there 
were  105  children  in  the  District  of  suitable  age  to  attend  school,  in 
the  two  scbool  districts.  The  appropriation  for  schools  was  on  the 
condition  that  the  inhahitanls  shall  annually  raise  $75  to  be  appropri- 
ated in  the  same  manner. 

"  The  only  exception  is  that  in  1853,  the  Indians  petitioned  the 
legislature  to  be  relieved  from  the  supervision  of  a  Commissioner. 
That  office  was  abolished,  and  a  Treasurer,  who  keeps  and  pays  out 
their  money  on  orders  of  the  selectmen,  and  has  no  other  power,  is 
the  only  officer  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council,  and  not  cho- 
sen by  themseU-cs,  They  petitioned  at  that  time  to  have  permission 
to  recommend  the  person  they  should  choose  for  Treasurer,  subject  to 
approval  or  rejection  by  the  Governor  and  Council ;  but  this  provis- 
ti  the  original  bill,  did  not  pass. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  713 

lie;  which,  with  the  legislative  proceedings,  and  the 
news-journals  of  the  day  in  which  these  matters  were 
rife,  may  enable  the  reader  to  possess  himself  at  least 
with  the  gist  of  the  whole  controversy.  The  relation 
of  the  Commonwealth  to  the  Mashpees,  which  began 
with  our  colonial  history,  is  one  of  interest  to  the 
legislator  and  the  philanthropist. 

The  legislature  have  continued  to  exercise  a  parental 
care  over  the  Indians  since  1834,  and  have  enlarged 
the  rights  of  the  people  of  the  District  as  far  and  as 
fast  as  they  have  desired.  By  the  act  of  1842,  their 
lands  which  before  were  held  in  common,  were  to  be 
partitioned  among  the  proprietors,  in  lots  of  sixty  acres 
to  each  male  or  female  proprietor  —  each  owner  having 
his  or  her  deed  duly  recorded.  The  act  embraces  every 
original  Indian  and  mulatto  proprietor  and  their  de- 
scendants, together  with  ah  who  have  married  a  pro- 
prietor, and  every  person  of  Indian  descent  whose 
parents  or  ancestors,  or  himself,  had  been  residents  for 
twenty  years  on  the  plantation.  This  partition  was 
made  and  adjusted  in  open  meeting,  with  the  concur- 
rence of  the  people  of  the  District,  embraced  all  the 
inhabitants,  and  conveyed  all  rights  of  fee  and  of  sale 
and  conveyance  except  to  persons  not  inhabitants  —  a 
limitation  always  desired  by  themselves.  Tlie  proprie- 
tors now  own  their  several  property,  and  have  all  the 
civil  and  political  rights  of  citizens  of  the  Common- 
wealth, except  that,  at  their  own  desire,  they  are  ex- 
empted by  law  from  the  payment  of  state  and  county 
taxes  and  their  lands  are  not  liable  to  be  taken  in 
execution. 

That  the  Mashpees  have  continued  so  long  in  occu- 
pancy of  a  portion  of  their  hereditary  domain,  shows 
at  least  that  there  has  been  a  deposition  on  the  part  of 
VOL.  L  90 


vGooglc 


714  THE  HISTORY  OF  CAPE  COD. 

their  white  neighbors  to  extend  to  them  a  larger  de- 
gree of  the  indulgence  due  to  humanity,  than  has  been 
meted  out  to  moat  tribes ;  for  the  course  taken  by  the 
white  man  has  generally,  in  other  parts  of  our  country, 
been  summary  and  exterminating. 

Gloomy  and  disheartening  was  the  situation  of  the 
first  settlers  in  Plymouth ;  but  "  Welcome,  English- 
man ! "  -was  the  cordial  greeting  of  the  native.  No  ad- 
vantage was  taken  of  the  paucity  of  the  numbers  of 
the  first  comers,  or  of  their  weakness.  The  hospitality 
of  the  Indians  was  generous  and  free.  Especially  was 
this  true  of  the  Cape  Cod  Indians.  No  serious  trouble 
was  ever  occasioned  by  them.^     They  were  gentle^  they 

^  The  nearest  approximation  to  it  that  we  find  recorded  14,  June  11, 
1696,  when.  Gov.  Stoughton  issued  a  proclamation  commanding  "Jo- 
seph Daniel  and  two  other  Indians  convicted  of  tli\era  enonnitiea  and 
trespasses,"  and  who  "  lie  hid,  and  skulking  about,  living  upon  rapine 
and  spoil,  threatening  the  lives  of  any  that  shall  be  sent  to  apprehend 
them,"  to  surrender  themselves  "  to  some  justice  within  15  days,  or  be 
treated  as  enemies  and  proceeded  agsunst  as  such,"  Tte  said  Daniel 
was  seized  by  Sheriff  Bassett  the  following  Feb'y  —  for  which  the 
sheriff  was  allowed  £5,  and  the  Indian  was  condemned  "  to  be  ti'ans- 
ported  beyond  the  sea  as  a  dangerous  person,  and  sold  ' —  One  other 
instanc«  occurs,  Sept.  6,  1717;  certain  "Indians  in  Barnstable  and 
Plymouth  Couiities  having  taken  themselves  to  the  woods  and  there 
living  by  theft,  Joseph  Lotbrop  and  Isaac  Lothiop,  sheiiffa  of  the 
Counties  Barnstable  and  Plymouth,  are  ordered  to  tdte  a  posse  and 
seize  them  ;  but  in  all  emergencies  to  advise  first  with  the  chief" — - 
It  is  remarkable  that  not  a  single  act  of  hostility  ever  took  place  with- 
in the  limits  of  tlie  county,  between  the  planters  and  the  natn  ea ,  and 
that  the  Cape  Cod  Indians  were  so  generally,  at  all  times,  on  teims  of 
cordiality  and  friendship  with  the  English  settlers.  Nor  is  it  loss  re- 
markable that  BO  few  instances  of  crime  on  the  part  of  the  Indians 
have  demanded  the  action  of  the  courts.  No  execution  of  an  Indian 
ever  occurred  in  this  county.  The  only  instance  that  we  find  of  an 
Indian  born  on  the  Cape  suffering  the  penalty  of  death,  was  the  exe- 
cution of  Moses  Paul,  at  New  Haven,  Sept  2,  1772.    The  Pauls  were 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OP   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  715 

were  faithful,  they  were  kind.  If,  in  any  respect,  at 
any  time,  they  became  corrupted  from  their  pristine 
simplicity,  the  change  should  be  attributed  to  the  right 
cause. 

That  in  his  simple  condition  as  he  existed  previous 
to  the  contaminating  contiguity  of  the  white  man,  the 
Indian  was  as  naturally  formed  for  the  wilderness  as 
the  Arab  for  the  desert,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  He 
was  unsophisticated,  stern,  and  enduring,  prepared  to 
grapple  with  difficulties,  or  to  endure  privations.  The 
wildness  of  the  scenery  around  him,  was  in  keeping 
with  all  his  tastes ;  and  come  what  might,  if  he  was 
free  he  was  happy.  The  character  of  the  Indian,  we 
may  be  pardoned  if  we  remark,  has  not  often  been  suf- 
ficiently considered  in  estimating  our  duty  towards  him. 
There  has  too  generally  seemed  to  those  unacquainted 
with  his  inner  man,  but  little  soil  in  the  heart  for  the 
kindly  virtues.  Yet  they  who  have  taken  the  pains  to 
penetrate  that  stoicism  and  taciturnity  which  were  the 
prominent  characteristics  at  first  noticeable,  and  which 
locked  up,  as  it  were,  from  the  superficial  observer,  his 

among  the  Indians  of  Truro ;  but  this  Moses  seems  to  have  been 
"  born  in  Barnstable  in  1742."  From  "  a  sermon  preached  at  the  ex- 
ecution of  Moses  Paul  for  the  murder  of  Moses  Cook  late  of  "Water- 
bury,  Dec.  7,  1771,  by  Samson  Occum,  Indian  minister  of  the  gospel 
and  missionary  to  the  Indians,"  we  learn  that  "  Paul's  father  died  at 
the  siege  of  Louisburg,  174S,  and  that  Paul's  mother  was  a  constant 
attendant  on  meeting  at  Barnstable."  When  5  years  old,  he  was 
apprenticed  to  John  Manning  of  Windham,  Ct.,  and  was  with  him  14 
or  15  years  and  learned  to  read  and  write.  He  then  enlisted  in  Col. 
Putnam's  regiment ;  ailer  the  campaign  went  to  sea  several  years  both 
in  the  merchant  service  and  in  ships  of  war;  then  roved  from  place 
to  place  until  at  last  under  the  influence  of  liquor  he  quarrelled  in  a 
tavern  and  struck  a  stranger  who  liad  stopped  there,  inflicting  the  in- 
jury of  which  he  died. 


yGoogk' 


716  THE  HISTORY   OF    C^IPE   COD. 

full  character,  have  not  failed  to  find  the  Indian  linked 
with  his  fellow-man  of  civilized  life  by  such  sympathies 
and  affections  as  are  rarely  ascribed  to  him,' 

*  Great  injustice  lias  been  done  lo  the  Indians  in  the  general  esti- 
mate and  popular  impression  of  succeeding  ages  concerning  them. 
The  Indian  lias  Lad  no  advantage  of  faithful  records  of  his  own  times, 
or  of  a  native  literature  to  portray  the  early  virtues  of  his  race. 

"  O'er  him  no  filial  spirit  weeps : 
By  foes  ttlone  liis  death-song  must  be  emig  ; 
No  chionicles  but  theirs  to  tell 
His  mouTuful  doom,  to  future  tim^," 

But  if  we  go  baek  to  a  period  when  the  influence  of  the  white  man 
had  not  already  imiiguiated  a  tearful  and  rapid  deterioration  of  the 
race,  the  invincibihtj  of  prejudice  can  h^rdly  fail  to  be  somewhat 
shsiken  by  the  incidental  testimonj  even  of  his  oppressors,  Bancroft, 
(Hist.  U.  S.,)  in  speaking  of  the  Roanokes,  says,  upon  tlie  authority 
of  such  testimony  given  in  1654, '  The  gentleness  of  the  tawny  in- 
habitants appeared  in  harmony  with  the  loveliness  of  the  scene ;  the 
desire  of  traffic  overcame  the  timidity  of  the  natives ;  the  English  re- 
ceived a  friendly  welcome,  and  were  entertained  with  the  refinements 
of  Arcadian  hospitality;"  —  and  further,  upon  the  authority  of  Sir 
Walter  Rakigh,  "  The  people  were  most  gentle,  loving  and  faithful, 
void  of  all  guile  and  treason,  and  such  as  lived  after  the  manner  of 
the  golden  age."  —  The  traits  thus  prominent,  it  is  not  presuming  too 
much  to  suppose,  corroborated  as  the  presumption  is  by  collateral  tes- 
timony, were  very  much  the  character  of  the  New  England  natives. 
Wood,  who  was  in  Lynn  in  1629  and,  after  a  residence  of  four  years 
in  New  England  published  in  London  tlie  results  of  observations 
made  too  late  to  see  the  natives  in  their  best  estate,  (for  the  influence 
of  the  white  man  had  penetrated  among  the  tribes  from  the  farthest 
nortli  to  the  shores  of  Cape  Cod,  long  before  the  settlements  of  New 
England  were  begun,)  speaks  of  those  he  saw,  on  this  wise :  "  They 
are  black-haired,  out-nosed,  broad-shouldered,  brawny-armed,  long 
and  slender-handed,  ouNbreasted,  small-waisted,  lank-bellied,  well- 
thighed,  flat-kneed,  with  handsome  grown  legs  and  small  feet."  He 
speaks  also  of  their  "  unparalleled  beauty ; "  nor  is  he  content  with  this, 
but  adds,  "  more  amiable  to  behold,  though  only  in  Adam's  livery, 
than  many  a  compounded  fantastic  in  the  newest  fashion."  —  Lechford, 
wlio  was  in  Boston  in  1688,  says  in  his  work  pub.  1642  in  London, 


vGooglc 


AHHALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUMTY.  "717 

The  proud  independence  which  formed  the  main  pil- 
lar of  savage  virtue  once  fallen,  is  it  strange  if  the 
whole  moral  fabric  should  be  laid  in  ruins !  The  spirit 
debased  and  humiliated  by  a  sense  of  inferiority ;  its 
native  valor  cowed  by  superior  knowledge  and  power ; 
it  were  a  miracle  if  the  native  strength  did  not  become 
enervated,  and  the  indulgences  and  low  vices  of  arti- 
ficial life  did  not  follow.  "  Though,  as  the  smoke  of  the 
settlements  thickens  around  him,  and  the  sound  of  the 
axe  is  heard  clearing  up  his  native  forests,  he  may  lin- 
ger around  the  graves  of  his  fathers,  he  soon  becomes 
the  mere  wreck  of  what  he  once  was ;  and  instead  of 
powerful  tribes  treading  the  forests  and  fishing  in  all 
waters,  his  race  become  vagabonds.     As  their  wants 

"The  dress  of  the  men  in  snmmPr  consists  of  deer-skin,  or  seal, 
around  Itc  wai^t;  and,  in  winter,  robes  of  bear  or  wolf-skia,  with 
moccasins  of  moose-skin.  The  dress  of  tbe  women,  robes  of  beaver 
with  sleeves  of  deer-skin  drest  and  ornaraentod ;  buskins  fringed  with 
feathers ;  and  a  fillet  round  the  head  adorned  with  plumes."  He  adds, 
"The  Indesses  that  are  young,  are  some  j  mly  Th  a. 
will  be  perceived,  more  than  a  centuij  b  f        tb  k     f  Mi 

Hawley  to  which  we  have  alluded,  p.  6S4  tl      11 

who  had  lost  their  independence." — J      /^      1  N  F 

1663,  says  in  his  W.  Eng.  Rarities  pub  16  2  L  d  Tl  w  n 
have  very  good  features,  seldom  without     com    to-  tl  n 

tenance,  all  black-eyed,  teeth  very  white  liai  bl  k  tl  k  dig 
broad-breasted,  handsome  straight  bodi  d     1  n  1      1  nb     1    nly 

straight,  generally  as  plump  as  a  partrid       and  d  th  n 

of  a  modest  deportment."  —  Numerous        t,  f  tl        h    p  t  1  ty 

their  kindness,  their  noble  bearing,  migl  t  b       t  d  ft]       a 

sociates  had  been  shot,  burned,  hanged,  beheaded,  sold  into  foreign 
parts  as  slaves,"  or  the  miserable  few  that  were  suffered  to  survive 
these  catastrophes  bad  become  outcasts  from  the  pale  of  humanity  to 
go  down  to  their  graves  in  degradation,  were  there  wanting  instances 
lo  prove  their  noble  origin.  "  Their  kindness  and  generosity  to  tbeir 
friends  know  no  limits,"  has  been  the  testimony  of  every  impartial 
observer. 


vGooglc 


718  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

multiply,  the  subsistence  becomes  precarious,  A  few 
bawbles  have  secured  to  another  people  their  choicest 
possessions.  The  tempter,  in  the  shape  of  '  fire-water,' 
finds  easy  access  to  soothe  his  griefs  by  exhilarating 
his  spirits ;  but  stiU  a  canker  is  corroding  his  soul,  and 
at  last  the  free  and  noble  nature  he  inherited  is  shat- 
tered down.  His  race  become  the  shadows  only  of 
what  they  once  were.  As  yagrants  around  the  dwell- 
ings of  their  invaders,  they  are  etung  by  the  thought 
of  their  fallen  condition.  The  table  of  plenty  is  spread 
before  their  eyes;  but  the  crumbs  only  are  their  por- 
tion. Fields  wave  with  rich  abundance  ;  they  starve. 
The  wilderness  blossoms ;  they  are  no  longer  its  lords, 
but  regarded  as  reptiles  or  wild  beasts  that  infest  it. 
So  changed  is  their  state !  Once  they  were  free  and 
happy !  They  would  then  share  their  last  meal  with 
the  stranger,  though  they  themselves  should  hunger. 
They  were  '  like  plants  that  flourish  in  the  shadow  of 
the  forests,  but  shrink  from  the  hand  of  cultivation,  and 
die  beneath  a  buraing  sun.' " 

But  why,  it  may  be  asked,  has  Christianity  not  done 
more  for  them  ?  Why  have  they  been  so  slow  to  ex- 
hibit its  ameliorating  influences  ?  Perhaps  a  solution 
of  these  questions  may  not  be  most  honorable  to  the 
Christian  world.  See  the  native  once  moving  rigidly 
by  rules  peculiarly  his  own ;  his  conduct  regulated  by 
general  maxims ;  his  moral  laws  few,  but  sure.  He  is 
at  last  brought  in  contact  with  those  whose  precepts  of 
religion,  morals,  and  manners,  are  superior.  He  ac- 
knowledges their  professed  principles  of  action  appear 
to  be  good.  But,  alas !  does  he  find  those  who  pro- 
fess these  high  principles  conform  to  them  ?  Is  he 
a  keen  discerner  of  the  difference  between  profes- 
sion   and    practice?      Does  he   find    a    race  of   men 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARKSTABLE   COUNTY.  719 

called  civilized  and  Christian,  wlio  are  cold,  distrustful, 
grasping,  insulting,  oppressive,  exhibiting  nothing  of 
the  confidence  and  frankness  that  are  indispensable  to 
real  friendship  1  "Why  should  he  not  stand  in  doubt  of 
their  principles?^ 

But,  alas !  the  day  is  passed  when,  in  New  England, 
a  great  object  which  the  applieante  for  a  charter  pro- 
fessed to  have  at  heart — "the  conversion  of  the  poor 
heathen  Indians"  —  can  be  reached.  They  are  almost 
extinct.  If  any  good  for  them  has  been  effected,  we 
rejoice.  K  any  drop  of  their  blood  still  lingers  in  the 
veins  of  any,  let  them  be  kindly  dealt  with,  at  least ; 
and  let  not  the  tribe  which  is  yet  though  faintly  repre- 
sented on  Cape  Cod,  be  lefb  either  to  expire  through 
neglect,  or  be  driven  from  earth  by  man's  oppression. 

'  Hennepin,  ia  1643,  represents  the  "  Thpee-rirer  Indians  of  Can- 
ada," as  saying,  "Wliile  we  had  beaver  and  furs,  tlie  missionajy 
prayed  with  us ;  but  when  our  merchandise  failed,  they  thought  they 
could  do  us  no  further  good:"  a  stin^ng  sarcasm  that  may  have 
many  appliances. 


vGooglc 


THE  HISTOBY  OP  CAPE  COD. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 


Sfatisfics.  —  Government.  —  Representatives  to  Congress.  —  State  Senate. 
—  Massachusetts  House  of  Hepresentativea.  —  Courts  of  Justice. — 
ftualiflcation  of  Civil  Otfic.ers.  —  Probate.  —  Deeds.  —  Treasurer.  — 
Clerks — County  Attorney.  —  High  Sheriff.  —  Coronovs.  —  Military. 

Befoke  concluding  our  general  view  of  the  Cape,  and 
entering  upon  the  annals  of  the  several  towns  par- 
ticularly, we  must  advert  to  some  general  features  of 
its  history,  and  gather  up  some  statistical  facts  of 
political  importance,  that  we  are  sure  will  not  be 
deemed  irrelevant  or  uninteresting. 

An  integral  part  of  the  Old  Colony  of  Plymoutli 
from  1637,  when  the  first  settlement  of  permanency 
on  the  Cape  commenced,  these  towns  and  their  inhab- 
itants were,  of  course,  for  a  long  time  under  the  gov- 
ernment and  jurisdiction  of  the  Plymouth  Court. 
This  state  of  things  continued  until  1692,  except  dur- 
ing the  interruption  by  Andros,  which  occurred  in  the 
time    of    Governor    Hinckley's    administration.^     We 

^  The  Governors  were:  — 

John  Carver,  1620  to  his  death  in  1621. 

William  Bradford,  1621  to  1632,  1635,  1637,  1639  to  1643,  1645 

to  1657,  and  d. 
Edvi'avd  Winslow,  1633,  1636,  1644. 
Thomas  Prince,  1634,  1638,  1657  to  1672,  and  d. 
Josiah  Winslow,  1673  to  1680,  and  d. 
Thomas  Hinckley,  1680  to  1693. 
The  Assistants,  irom  the  Cape,  have  been  mentioned  with  snfiicient 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  721 

think  it  may  be  conceded  that  the  Cupe  bore  its  full 
share  of  administrative  labor  and  responsibility ;  and 
the  manner  in  which  those  duties  were  discharged, 
compares  favorably  with  the  parts  that  were  assigned 
to  other  portions  of  the  colony. 

When  included  in  the  Massachusetts  charter,  a  new 
order  of  affairs  commenced ;  and,  the  appointments 
being  in  the  right  of  the  Crown,  the  appointees  were 
selected  as  regal  favor  dictated/  When,  in  1776,  Bos- 
ton was  evacuated,  public  affairs  were  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  Council  during  the  recess  of  the  General 
Court,  until  Oct.  25, 1780,  when  the  new  Constitution 
went  into  operation,  and  the  Government  was  elected 

partiPuKnty  in  preceding  pages.  That  only  6  held  the  office  of  Gov- 
eiBoi  dming  a  period  of  71  years,  has  been  regarded  as,  of  itself, 
legitimile -— certainly  the  fact  ia  presumptive — evidence  "that  they 
pitched  upon  men  of  virtue  and  weil-qualiflcJ  to  sustain  the  office." 
The  same  luay  be  inferred  in  regard  to  the  Assistants,  from  the  terms 
of  their  continuance  in  office. 

^  The  Gkivernment  was  thenceforward,  until  the  revolution  waa 
fairly  commenced,  as  follows:  — 

Gavemors.  Lt.  Gooernors. 

1692.  Sir  William  Phips.  1692.  William  Stoughtoti. 

1699.  The  Earl  of  BeUamont.  1702.  Thomas  Povey. 

1702.  Joseph  Dudley.  1711.  William  Tailer. 

1716.  Samuel  Shute.  1716.  William  Dummer. 

1728.  William  Burnet.  1730.  William  Tailer. 

1730.  Jonathan  Belcher.  1732.  Spencer  Phips. 

1740.  William  Shirley.  1758.  Thomas  Hutchinson. 

1757.  Thomas  Pownal.  1770.  Andrew  Oliver. 

1760.  Francis  Bernard.  1774.  Thoma.?  Oliver. 
1770.  Thomas  Hutchinson, 
1774.  Thomas  Gage. 

Gage  having  left  in   1775,  the  Lt.  Gov.  and  Mandamus  Council 
presided  until  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  March  17,  1776. 
VOL.  I.  91 


vGooglc 


V22 


THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 


by  the  people.'  Under  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  providing  a  National  Government,  vesting  all 
delegated  legislative  powers  in  a  Congress,  the  ex- 
ecutive power  in  a  President,  all  powers  not  delegated 
reserved  to  the  States  respectively  or  to  the  people,  we 
began  to  participate  in  perpetuating  the  present  form 
of  general  government  designed  as  a  bond  of  union 
and  a  conservator  of  the  immunities  of  each  and  every 


^  The  election  and  succession  of  Govs,    and  Lt.   Govs,  under  a 
itate  Constitution  has  been :  — 
Governors. 
1780.  John  Hancock. 
1785.  James  Bowdoia. 
1787.  John  Haacock 
1794.  Samuel  Adams. 
1797.  Increase  Sumner. 
'1800.  Caleb  Strong. 
1807.  James  Sullivan. 

1809.  Christopher  Gore. 

1810.  Elbridge  Gerry. 
1812.  Caleb  Strong. 
1816.  John  Brooks. 
1823.  William  Eustis. 
1825.  Levi  Lincoln. 
1834.  John  Davis. 
1836.  Edward  Everett 

1840.  Marcus  Morton. 

1841.  John  Davis. 

1843.  Mareus  Morton. 

1844.  George  N.  Bri^. 
1851.  George8.EoutweIL 

1853.  John  H.  Clifford. 

1854.  Emory  Washburn. 

1855.  Henry  J.  Gardner. 

1858.  Nathaniel  P.  Banks. 

Those  Lieutenant  Governors  whose  names  are  in  Italics  were  Gov- 
ernors pro  tempore  — acting  as  such,  ex  officio,  in  consequence  of  ihe 
resignation  or  decease  of  the  incumbent  duly  elected  to  that  office. 


Lt.  Governors 
780   Thomas  Gushing. 
788.  Benjamin  Lincoln. 
Samuel  Adams. 
Moses  Gill. 
Samuel  Phillips. 
802.  Edw-ard  H.  Rohbins. 
.807.  I,evi  Lincoln. 
David  Cobb. 
.810.  William  Gray 
812.  William  Phillips. 
823.  Levi  Lincoln. 
.824.  Marcus  Morion. 
,  Thos.  L.  Winthrop. 
1.  Sam!l  T.  Armsirong. 
>.  George  Hull. 

843.  Henry  H.  Childs. 

844.  John  Reed. 

,851.  Hemy  W.  Cushman. 

853.  Elisha  Huntington. 

854.  William  C.  Plunkett. 
Simon  Brown. 

.856.  Henry  W.  Benciiley. 
!.  Eliphalet  Trask. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  U-J 

sovereign  State  in  particular ;  and  which  form  of  gov- 
ernment has  been  generally  pronounced  "  the  best  that 
the  world  ever  knew."  ^ 

Owing  to  the  system  that  has  prevailed  of  districting 
the  Commonwealth  for  electoral  purposes,  it  could  not 
in  equity,  of  course,  fall  to  the  Cape  to  furnish  from  its 
own  limits,  at  all  times,  the  Kepeesentative  to  Congress. 
Those  from  this  county  who  have  filled  the  office  since 


■  The  American  Presidents  have  been:- 

GEorgc  Waehmslon,         Va.         Fob.     ^,  17^       17» 


July  4, 1^6. 

lunf  98,1836. 

July  4, 1S31. 

F«b.  S3, 1848, 


AlthougK  it  may  seem  at  first  view,  as  it  must  be  confessed  it  is,  in 
one  sense,  foreign  to  the  subject  we  have  in  hand,  yet  it  may  not  be 
entirely  uninteresting  to  contemplate  in  close  proximity  the  "parent 
government"  during  all  the  period  from  the  days  of  Gosnold  and  the 
sabsequeiit  beginning  of  settlements  here,  to  the  time  of  the  emand- 
pation  of  these  colonies  from  the  dictation  of  a  foreign  power :  — 


'*^f" 

Ainll     3,1743. 
Much    5,1751. 

April     a,  1759, 

Masr. 

July     11, 1787. 

MavcU  15. 1767. 

Itec.       5, 1783. 

Va. 

Feb.       9, 1773. 

MarcliSS,  1790. 

N.O. 

Nov.      9, 1795. 

Not     34,1784. 

N.H. 

April    la,  1791. 

James  I.  began 


reign  Man 


S»,  mtrs,    toigned  ^  0 


Charles  IL         "  Jan.   30,  1649, 

(Maiyll.  "  Feb.  13,1689, 

1  William  lU.      "  " 

Tlma  ftr,  the  union  of  Ihe  t 

George  I.  ■'  Aug.    1,1714, 


vGooglc 


7Z4  THE  niSTORY   OP   CAPE   COD. 

the    introduction    of  tlie   Federal  Constitution,  1789, 

have  heen  as  follows;  — 

Sliearj.  Eoonie,  elected  first,  1791,  served  2d  and  3d  Congresses. 

Nalhaniel  Frecmiiii,  Jr.,  "     1795,      "      4tb  and  6th         " 

Isaiah  L.  Green,  "     1805,      "      9th  to  12th  inch 

John  Reed,  "     1813,      "      13th,  14th,  17th  to  26th  inch 

Zeno  Seudder,  "     1851,      "      32d  and  33d.J 

Those  who,  since  the  adoption  of  the  State  Consti- 
tution, have  represented  the  county  in  the  Senate  of 
the  Commonwealth,  were  :  — 

0.  Solomon  Freeman,   H.  19  yrs.  1842.  Solomon  13 aTis,  T.   4  yis. 

8,  Thomas  Smith,          S.      1  •'  1843.  John  B.  Dillingham,  S.    2  " 

8.  David  Thacher,          Y.      1  "  184G.  Zeno  Seudder,*  Be,  8  " 

1801.  John  Dillingham,     II.     6  "  1848.  Barnabas  Freeman,  E.    2  " 

L804.  Eichai'd  Sears,           C,      1  "  1818.  George  Copeland,  Br.  2  " 

6.  James  Freeman,        S.     2  "  1B49,  John  Jtmkins,  F.     2  " 

8.  Joseph  Dmuniolc,      F.     3  "  1850.  Stephen  Hilliaid,  P.    2  " 

.811.  Timothy  PMnney,     Be.   1  "  1851.  Zeiias  D.  Bassett,  Be.  2  " 

1813.  Wendell  Davis,          S.     2  "  1852.  Cyrus  Weeks,  H.   2  " 

.8!5.  Solomon  Freeman,    Br.   6  "  18S3.  James  B.  Crocker,  Be.  2  " 

.821.  Elijah  Cobb,              Br.   2  "  1854.  Robert  Y,  Paine,  "W.  1  " 

:3.  Braddoolt  Dimmielc,  F.     3  "  1865.  Sylvester  Baxter,  Y.   2  " 

;e.  Nympbas  Marston,   Be.   2  "  1855.  Lewis  L,  Sell«m,  P.    1  " 

18.  Elishft  Pope,               S. '  4  "  1856.  Alfred  Keiiiick,  O.   1  " 

ll.'JohnDoaue,               0.    3  "  1867.  John  W.  Atwood,  C.    2  " 

,834.  Charles  Marston,       Be.  7  "  1857.  Charles  F.  Swift,  Y.    2  " 

1841.  SethCrowell,'           D.    2  " 

By  the  act  of  1857,  dividing  the  State  into  f9rty 
districts  for  the  choice  of  senators,  the  integrity  of  the 
county  as  a  senatorial  district,  was  destroyed. 

Delegates  to  the  General  Court  at  Plymouth,  and 
Kcpresentatives  tO'  tlie  popular  branch  of  the  State 

^  Thus,  the  Cape  furnished  one  of  its  own  citizens  for  22  of  the 
first  33  Congresses. 

^  The  change  of  the  political  year  from  May  to  January  causes  the 
acomaly  of  different  persons  filling  the  office  the  same  year. 

"  At  this  time  commenced  the  sending  of  two  senators  from  the 
county. 

*  Presided  in  1848. 


vGooglc 


ANNAM    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  725 

Legislature,^  preceding  the  institution  of  a  Senate 
more  than  a  century  and  a  half,  were,  for  a  long  course 
of  years,  evidently  chosen  with  great  regard  for  their 
sound  judgment  and  exemplary  character.  These  con- 
siderations -were  paramount^ 

An  important  part  of  the  history  of  this  county,  is 
the  constitution  of  its  Courts  op  Justice.  On  this  sub- 
ject, we  wish  it  were  in  our  power  to  speak  with  that 
perfect  fulness  which  its  importance  demands.^  The 
account  we  may  give  may  be  relied  on  for  accuracy,  as 
far  as  it  shall  be  presented  ;  and  for  fulness  with  possi- 
bly some  very  few  omissions  that  it  is  impossible  at 
this  day  to  supply.* 

The/ifffeWas  well  as  the  legislative  and  executive 
business  of  the  Plymouth  Colony,  was,  at  first,  for  sev- 
eral years,  performed  by  the  whole  body  of  freemen  in 

'  A  list  of  the  "  Delegates  "  and  "  Eeprescntativea"  of  each  town, 
will  appear  in  connection  with  the  annals  of  towns, 

'  We  make  this  remark  as  a  historical  fact  wovthy  of  record  and 
palpable  to  every  candid  examiner,  uDinfiuenced  by  the  sometiioes 
expressed  opinion  that  as  the  country,  advances  in  importance  and 
strength  less  regard  is  had  for  qualifications  of  high  order  than  ia  the 
good  old  days  of  the  Commou  wealth,  whether  in  the  selection  of  can- 
didates for  the  national  or  state  legislatures  or  other  offices.  It  may 
not,  however,  be  overstepping  the  Umits  of  duty  to  say  that,  in  our  hum- 
ble opinion,  the  manner,  now  perhaps  universal  in  the  States,  of  nom- 
inating by  conventions  composed  of  delegates  chosen  by  preliminary 
caucuses  aa  generally  constituted,  ia  not  most  favorable  to  claims  of 
the  very  hlgliest  order,  moral,  intellectual,  or  patriotic. 

'  We  have  taken  unwearied  pains  to  bring  to  the  light  all  that  can 
directly  or  indirectly  aid  in  the  investigation. 

*  After  the  attempts  of  a  learned  jurist  to  elucidate  thia  subject, 
and  the  imperfect  result  bs  respects  the  "courts  in  Barnstable 
County,"  we  were  almost  deterred  from  further  investigation;  but, 
acknowledging  our  obligations  to  him  for  the  interesting  data  he  col- 
lected, we  became  satisfied  that  the  learned  gentleman  had  yielded  rlie 
oa~e  too  soon.  See  "  History  of  the  Judiciary  of  Mass.,  by  Emory 
Washburn." 


vGooglc 


726  THE   mSTOKY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

assembly.     In  1634,  the  Governor  and  Assistants  were 
constituted  a  judicial  court,  and  soon  became  the  su- 
preme judicature.     The  selectmen  of  towns  were  then 
authorized  to  try  petty  offences,  there  being  the  right 
of  appeal  to  the  Court  of  Assistants.     The  House  of 
Delegates,   on   coming   into    existence   in  1639,  as  a 
second  branch  of  the  chief  civil  power,  shared  with  the 
Governor  and  Assistants  the  judicial  authority.     Then, 
began  subordinate  jurisdictioue  exercised  by  individual 
magistrates  —  the  commissioners  of  towns  —  and  coun- 
ty courts.      The   legislative,  executive,    and  judiciary 
functions  were  for  a  long  time  singularly  combined  or 
intermingled,  and  the  powers  of  each  were  vague  and 
indefinite.     The  records  furnish  but  very  meagre  data 
for  a  perfect  view  of  these  transactions.     Beyond  a  few 
isolated  facts, —  such  as  that,  in  1640,  "Mr.  Edmund 
Freeman  of  Sandwich,  Mr.  Thomas  Dirnock  of  Barnsta- 
ble, and  Mr.  John  Crow  of  Yarmouth,  were  constituted 
a  court  to  try  all  eases  involving  not  more  than  twenty 
shillings,  in  these  three  towns ;  "  and  that  "  a  court  was 
held  at  Yarmouth  the  18th  day  of  Juno,  the  17th  year 
of  the  reign  of  our  sovereign  lord  Charles,  &c.,  i.  e. 
1642,  before  Edward  Wiuslow,  Myles  Standish,and  Ed- 
mund Freeman,  gent.,  three  of  the  Assistants;"  there 
is  little  or  nothing  to  be  found  except  the  establish- 
ment of  Select  Courts  in  each  town  or  jurisdiction,'  until 
the  order,  1686,  that  "where  there  is  not  a  suificient 
number  of  magistrates  ^  in  any  county,  associates  shall 

^  Established  in  1G79,  (see  page  299,)  lliose  commissioned  to  hold 
them,  being  in  Sandwich,  Edmund  Freeman,  John  Blackwell,  and 
Thos.  T»pper!  in  Yarmouth,  Edm'd  Howes,  Ensign  Thacher,  Edw'd 
Sturgis,  John  Miller,  and  Jeremiah  Howes ;  in  Barnstable,  Joseph 
Lothvop,  James  Lewis,  and  Barnabas  LotKrop;  and  ii 
athan  Sparrow,  Mark  Snow,  and  John  Duanc. 

^  Assistants. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  727 

be  chosen  annually,  who  shall  sit  in  the  county  courts 
■with  the  magistrates  and  have  the  power  of  magis- 
trates in  their  respective  counties;"  and,  in  1689,  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Sparrow  of  Eastham,  and 
Mr.  Stephen  Skiife  of  Sandwich  as  county  judges.^  The 
act  of  1687  establishing  courts,  and  that  under  the 
charter,  Nov.  25,  1692,  were  not  very  dissimilar.^  — 
Under  the  charter,  or,  what  is  the  same,  after  the  Union, 
appointments  began  to  be  made  to  the  Inferior  Court  of 

^  The  associate  courts  which  came  info  existence  in  1G85-G,  when 
counties  were  formed,  were  discontinued  under  Andros,  but  revived  in 
1689.  Androa'  plan,  as  appears  by  an  "  Act  for  establishing  Courts  of 
Judicature  and  Public  Justice,"  March  3,  1687, was;  First,  Just.  Pac. 
to  have  civil  jurisdiction  in  all  matters  of  debt,  trespass,  &c.  where 
the  claim  did  not  involve  the  title  to  lands,  nor  exceed  40  shillings  in 
amount.  Second,  The  nest  court  in  rank,  the  Quartei'Iy  Sessions, 
held  by  the  several  justices  in  their  respective  counties,  was  charged 
with  the  conservation  of  the  public  peace  and  tbe  punishment  of 
offenders.  Third,  An  Inferior  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  to  be  holden 
in  each  county  by  a  judge  assisted  by  two  or  more  justices  of  the 
county,  the  jurisdiction  to  extend  to  all  civil  causes  the  amount  in  con- 
troversy not  exceeding  £10  and  no  question  of  freehold  involved. 
Fourth,  A  Superior  Court  of  Judicature  having  jurisdiction  over  all 
dvil  and  criminal  matters  in  the  colony,  either  original  or  by  appeal ; 
but  no  action  to  be  commenced  in  this  court  for  the  recovery  of  less 
than  £10  unless  a  question  of  freehold  be  involved  in  the  suit.  Fifth, 
A  Court  of  Chancery,  as  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery  in  England. 
'  This  act  provided  for  Justices  of  the  Peace,  Quarter  and  General 
Sessions  of  the  Peace,  Inferior  Ct.  of  Com.  Pleas,  Superior  Ct,  to 
consist  of  a  chief  and  four  associates,  and  a  Court  of  Chancery.  This 
latter  court  was  abolished,  1699.  It  is  probable  that  until  1702,  the 
organization  of  the  courts  known  as  Associate  was  continued  —  aa 
established  in  Plymouth  and  Bristol  Counties  in  1685  ;  assuming  the 
name  of  Cts,  C.  P.  during  Andros'  administration.  —  It  may  here  be 
remarked,  as,  indeed,  we  have  before  hinted,  that  the  power  of  estab- 
lishing courts  of  justice  was  at  the  first  assumed  by  the  colonists  with- 
out any  grant  of  authority  in  their  chartei-.  The  necessity  of  such 
tribunals,  however,  is  obvious. 


vGooglc 


728  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

Comtnon  Pleas}  Some  vacillation  in  regard  to  these 
courts  seems  at  first  to  have  marked  the  public  mind  ; 
for,  July  15, 1696,  it  was  "  ordered  in  General  Court  that 
justices  be  advised  of  the  repeal  of  the  act  establishing 
judicatories  and  courts  of  justice"  &c, ;  and  again,  Oct. 
8,  "  the  General  Assembly  having  revived  the  act,"  &c.,  it 
was  "  ordered  that  the  court  be  restored,"  &c.  —  lead- 
ing to  the  issuing  of  a  new  commission,  Oct.  16,  to  Bar- 
nabas Lothrop,  John  Thacher.  Stephen  Skiff,  and  Jonar 
than  Sparrow.  The  practice  also  of  appointing  Special 
Justices  was  early  introduced.  We  give  the  accession 
to  the  bench  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  from  time 
to  time  as  a  record  not  only  appropriate,  but  furnishing 
an  interesting  view  of  some  of  the  active  public  men 
of  succeeding  generations.    The  appointments  were  :  — 

Dec.  7,  1692.  John  Freeman,  E.'  July  20, 1711.  John  Gorham,  Be. 

"           "      Bar's  Lothrop,  Be.  July  5,  1713.  John  Doane,      B." 

"           "      John  Thacher,   T.  "           "      Dan'l  Parker,  Be.' 

"           "      Stephen  Skiff,     S.  "           "      Thos.  Payne,    E.« 

Mar.  6,  1695.  Jon'n  Sparrow,  E.=  John  Otis,        Be.' 

July  17,1699.  John  Sparrow,    E.  Sam.Annable.Be.' 

June  8,  1710.  Wm.  Bassett,     8.' 

■'  It  must  be  noted  that  most  of  these  appointments  were  renewed 
from  time  to  time — some,  often. 

*  Maj.  Freeman  had  heen  one  of  the  Assistants  of  the  Plymouth 
Government,  and  was  an  aged  man, 

*  This  appointment  was  on  this  wise ;  "  to  he  Justice  of  our  Inf. 
Ct,  of  Com.  Pleas,  &c.  in  place  of  John  Freeman  Esq.  who  through 
infirmities  of  age  is  rendered  incapable  further  to  attend  this  sei-vice." 

*  A  note  is  affixed  to  the  Coundl  record  to  thia  effect :  "  Recom- 
mended that  another  he  chosen  in  his  place  as  clerk  of  Inf.  Ct." 

'  Gov.  "Washburn  says  "  he  was  appointed  in  1736."  It  may  be  that 
he  was  then  reappointed ;  but  his  jirst  appointment  was  the  above  date. 

"  Mr.  Parker  who  was  again  commissioned,  April,  171.5,  as  were  also 
Mr.  Thos.  Payne  and  Mr.  John  Otis,  d.  in  ofiice,  Dec  23, 1728,  le.  69. 

'  It  does  not  clearly  appear  at  what  time  either  Mr.  Otis  or  Mr. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAENSTABLE   COUNTY.  1  A'J 

July  14, 1715.  Mela'h  Bourne,  S.'  June  23, 1736.  John  Davis,    Ee.= 

«           "       Sam'l  Sturgis,  Be.'  Dec.  21,  1739.  John  Russell,  Be." 

Dec.  10, 1715.  Nath.  Freeman,H.  Jan.  27,  1742.  Shub.Gorham.Be. 

Nov.  14, 1721.  Jos.  Lothtx)p,  Be.''  "            "      Day.  Crocker,  Be.' 

Mar.  16, 1722.  Jos.  Doane,       E.'  Aug.    9, 1746.  John  Otis,       Be.^ 

Dec.  26,  1727.  Eara  Bourne,    S.»  Sept.  13, 1753.  Thos.Winslow, H.' 

Apr.  10,  1729.  Peter  Thaoher.Y.'  June    2,  1758.  Sylv.Bourne,  Be.'=' 

«  "  Shub'l  Baxter,  Y.*  Aug.  3,  "  Thos.  Smith,  S." 
June  22, 1736.  John  Thacher,  Y.* 

Annable  wei-e  flrat  appointed;  but  as  the  next  named  appointees, 
Messrs.  Bourne  and  Sturgis,  were  commissioned  as  "Justices  of  the 
C.  P.  with  Daniel  Parker  and  Thos,  Payne  two  of  the  standing  jus- 
tices, for  the  trial  of  a  case  between  Thos.  Howes  and  Judah  Pad- 
dock vs.  John  Otis  and  Samuel  Annable  the  other  two  standing 
justices;"  and,  as  Mr.  Otis  was  again  commissioned,  April,  1716,  a 
,  presumption  arises  that  he  had  been  some  years  in  office ;  and  the  prob- 
ability is  that,  as  he  was  acting  as  Chief  Justice  in  1714,  and  from 
that  time  at  least  till  his  death,  1727,his  appointment  was  earlier  than 
the  order  of  succession  here  indicated.  Mr.  Annable's  name  does  not 
again  occur, 

'  Mr.  Bourne  was  again  com.,  March  16,  1721,  a  "special"  jus- 
tice "in  all  cases  where  the  school  lands  are  concerned;"  and  again, 
Dec.  5, 1724,  with  Messrs.  Sam'l  Sturgis  and  Nathl  Freeman  "  in  all 
cases  where  any  of  the  standing  justices  may  be  parties  or  on  other 
accounts  disabled."  The  inference  is  that  neither  was  one  of  the  reg- 
ular Associate  Justices. 

^  Mr.  Lothrop  was  appointed  "  in  the  room  of  Thos.  Payne  dec. ; " 
and  Mr.  Doane  was  appointed  "  Special  Justice." 

=  Mr.  Thacher  was  Chief  Justice  in  1731 ;  afterwards,  Mr.  Bourne. 

*  Mr.  Baxter  was  appointed  "  Special  Justice ; "  aad  Justice  1731. 

^  Mr.  Thacher  was  youngest  son  of  Judge  Peter;  also  Col.,  and 
Eeg.  Deeds. 

"  "  Special  Justice." 

'  "  Spec.  Just."  1742 ;  and  Just.  1748.     He  d.  1764. 

*  Son  of  Col.  John.     He  d,  1756. 

*  Continued  to  the  Ect. 

■"  Col.  Bourne  was  son  of  Melatiah  of  S.  He  was  also  Judg.  Prob., 
and  Chf.  Just.  C.  P.  at  the  time  of  his  decease. 

"  Dr.  Smith  was  app,  "  Spec.  Just.;"  and  "Just."  1764;  continued 
to  the  Rev.,  and  then  re-app. 

VOL.  I.  92 


/Google 


730  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

Dec.  19, 1738.  Row.Eobinson,  F.'  Feb.  1,  1764.  Edw.  Bacon,  Be* 
May  23, 1760.  Ny's  Marston,  Be.^  June  20, 1765.  John  Gorham,Be.'' 
Feb.  24, 1763.  Roland  Cotton,  S.^  May  9,  1770.  Is'c  Hinckley,  Be." 
Feb.    1,  1764.  Jamea  Otis,      Be.^ 

To  the  preceding,  doubtless,  should  be  added  — 
Melatiali  Bourne,  Solomon  Otis,  Daniel  Davis, 

Sliearjashub  Bourne,  Kenelm  Winslow,  Joseph  Otis,  and 

David  Gorham,  David  Thacher,  Eichard  Bourne, 

who  are  known  to  have  been  connected  with  the  court 
at  the  time  of  its  interruption  by  revolutionary  pro- 
ceedings in  1774.  Early  this  year  a  change  was  made 
in  the  mode  of  appointing  judges,  —  conferring  the 
power  on  the  Governor  alone ;  the  election  of  council- 
lors being  at  the  same  time  taken  from  the  legislature 
and  assumed  by  the  Crown,  the  appointment  being  by 
"  mandamus  "  —  which  gave  rise  to  the  highly  offensive 

term  that  conferred  no  enviable  notoriety  upon  those 

whom  the  king  undertook  thus  to  honor,  —  the   entire 

proceedings  were  regarded  with  disfavor. 

The  first  commissions  issued  in  the  name  of  "  the 

govemraent  and  people  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  were,  in 

Barnstable  County,  to  judges  of  the  Common  Pleas,  as 

follows ; 

Oct.  11,  1775.  James  Otis,      Be.«     Cot.  11,  1775.  Nafh.  Freeman,  8/ 
"  "      Daniel  Davis,  Be.'  "  "      Eich'd  Baxter,  T.' 

^  Mr.  Rowland  Robinson  and  Mr.  Nymplias  Marston  were  "  Spec. 
Justs."     The  latter  was  in  office  to  tiie  Eev. 

^  Col.  Cotton  was  app.  Spec.  Just,,  and  in  17G3,  Just. 

*  Col.  Otis  succeeded  Hon.  Sylvanus  Bourne  as  Chf.  Just.    He  was 
also  Judge  Prob.,  &c. 

'  Mr.  Bacon  was  app.  to  succeed  Judge  Thacher,  dec'd,  and  was 
continued  to  the  revolution. 

*  Messre.  Gorham  and  Hinckley  were  app.  "  Special  Just."     The 
latter  held  the  office  at  the  opening  of  the  revolution. 

*  Col,  Otis  was  app.  Chief,  as  before  the  existing  new  order  of  things. 
''  Mr.   Davis,  Col.  Fi-eemiw,  and  Mr.  Baxter,  Associates.     Col. 

Freeman  became  Chief  Justice,  March  27,  1781. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS    OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  7dl 

The  appointments  that  followed  were  :  — 

Oct.  13,  1775,  Josepli  Nye,  Jr.,  S,'  "Feb.   14,  1803,  Sam'l  WBteiman.  W,' 

Mar.  27,  1781,  Sol.  Freeman,      H.'  Feb.  20,  1804,  Thomas  Thauher,  Y.' 

Mar.  31,  1793,  Jobn  BaviB,         Be."  Feb.  22,  1809,  Is^ah  L.  Green,    Be.* 
Jane  23,  1790,  Ebenezer  Bacon,  Be,*  "  "     Timothy  Phinney,  Be.' 

Feb.  11,  1801,  David  Scudder,    Be.'  Aug.  22,  1809,  Wendell  Davis,      S.* 

After  the  establishment  of  the  Circmi  CouH  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,'  commissions  were  issued  June  10,  1814,  to 
Eichard  Sears  of  C. ;  and  Feb:  15,  1815,  to  Calvin  Til- 
den,  Tt  as  "  Session  Justices  for  the  County."  '^ 

The  early  establishment  of  courts  of  Quarterly  Ses- 
sions of  the  Peace,  called  in  the  act  of  1699,  General 
Sessions  of  the  Peace,  and  in  that  of  1782  Courts  of  Gen- 
eral Sessions,  we  may  not  notice  with  great  partic- 

'  Special  Justices. 

^  Dr.  Davia  was  Special  Justice ;  afterwards  Associate, 

'  Mr.  Bacon,  Mr,  Scodder,  and  Mr.  Waterman  weie  appointed 
Special  Justices,  but  became  Associates,  tbe  former  in  1801,  the  next 
in  1803,  and  the  last  1804. 

*  Special  Justices. 

'  Before  taking  our  leave  of  the  old  Court  of  C.  P,  let  us  note  an 
incident  characteristic  of  revolutionary  times,  tliat  was  recently 
brought  to  our  notice  by  an  eminent  jurist  of  the  present  day.  He 
relates  that  when  the  first  judges  appointed  by  "the  Government 
and  People  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  Oct.  11,  1775,  took  their  seats, 
a  relic  of  royalty  remained  conspicuous  iu  the  court  house  at 
Baruslable  —  his  majesty's  arms  —  which  the  English  Commission- 
ers, when  they  visited  New  England  in  1665,  had  required  should 
"  be  set  up  in  every  court  of  justice."  Before  proceeding  to  business, 
the  court,  at  the  suggestion  of  Col.  Freeman,  ordered  that  the  oifen- 
sive  emblem  bo  removed  from  the  court  Louse,  and  burned  by  the 
common  hangman.  This  was,  wo  believe,  the  only  instance  of  capital 
exectUion  ever  known  witliin  the  county. 

*  The  instances  of  the  appointment  of  special  justices  to  act,  as 
occasion  might  require,  in  the  place  of  the  established  ones,  were 
early  and  numerous ;  and  generally  the  same  persons  held  from  year 
to  year,  as  if  their  office  had  been  permanent.  Nor  was  the  practice 
coniiaed  to  the  Inferior  Courts.     Instances  are  found  more  than  a 


vGooglc 


732  THE  HISTORY  OF  CAPE  COD. 

xilarity.  The  destruction  by  fire  of  the  court  records 
in  1827,  leaves  us  without  data  for  the  purpose. 
Those  who,  in  the  last  half  century,  are  noted  as  con- 
nected with  this  court,  are  :  — 

Natt'l  Preeman,     S.  CM,  Just.  Richard  Sears,  C.  Just.  181(3. 

JohnDaTis,            Be.  "       "  1811.  Calvin  Tilden,  T.  " 

Joseph  Dimraick,  F.    Just.  1808.  Sara'l  P.  Crosswell,  P.  "     1819. 

James  Freeman,     S.       "  "  Elijah  Cobb,  Br.  "         " 

Samael  Freeman,  E.      "  1811.  EUaha  Doane,  Y.  '■         ■■ 

la^ah  L.  Green,    Be.     "  1812.  Naler  Ci'octer,  Be.  Sp.  Jus.  1822. 

Sorn  Freeman,      Br.     '•  "  Melatiah  Bourne,  S.  "         " 

The  Courts  of  Sessions  and  Commissioners  of  High- 
ways being  abolished,  a  Board  of  County  Commission- 
ers were  established,  the  first  appointments  being 
in   1829:  — 

Samuel  T.  Crosswcll,  Chairman,  Jolm  Freeman,  Special  Comm'r. 

Matthew  Cobb,  Commissioner.  Orren  Howes,         "  " 

Obed  Brooks,  " 

No  sessions  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Judicature  were 
held  in  this  county  until  after  the  year  1729.  (See 
p.  364.)  This  court  in  the  different  phases  it  has 
assumed  not  being  a  county  institution,  we  pass  by 
with  the  remark  only  that  descendants  of  the  Cape 
have  occupied  seats  upon  its  bench  with  distinguished 
honor  and  ability.^     The  diverse  practices  that  have 

ccQtury  back,  of  tl       PP  t        t      f    }        1  jud  f  the  Superior 

Court.     Hon.  Sjl  B  mm  ss       d       1  47  a  Just,  of 

the  Sup.  Ct. "  i       11  a.  1  t    g  t    th       I  1         ; "  and  at 

other  times  aet  d  hy   p  1      mi  ami        i  the  same 

•  To  speak  a  p    t  w    Id       1  f  Ih    i  t  Chief  Jus- 

tice of  the  Supr  mJllCt  Idtl  kpg  with  the 
restrictions  hy^hcheae      b^,  I         dtgtle  pages.  — 

Of  the  Hon.  Geoege  Thaohek,  deceased,  we  present  an  imperfect 
outline,  drawn  in  substance  from  various  sources,  hut  compiled  chiefly 
from  Mr.  Folsom's  History  of  Saco  and  Biddeford,  and  from  a  bi- 
ographical sketch  hy  Dr.  Thacher  in    the   N.  E.  Magazine,  1834. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTY.  733 

prevailed  in  regard  to  the  manner  of  appointing,  as 
■well  as  the  tenure  of  office,  to  the  judicatories  of  the 
State,  show  great  diversity  of  opinion  in  the  public 
mind.    The  practice  of  commissioning  judges  non  do- 

Judge  T.,  as  has  been  seen  p.  622,  was  a  descendant  of  the  4th  gen. 
from  Anthony  Thaeher,  who  was  one  of  the  grantees  at  Yarmouth 
1639.  The  youngest  but  one  of  eleven  children,  and  b.  Ap.  12, 1754; 
prepared  for  college  under  the  tuition  of  Eev.  Timothy  HiUiai-d  of 
Eamstabie,  he  gmd.  11.  C  1776,  and  was  in  his  collegiate  course 
contemporary  with  King,  Glore,  Seweli,  Dawes,  and  other  noted  men, 
who  through  life  retained  for  him  sentiments  of  attachment  and 
strong  affection.  Having  in  the  office  of  Shearj.  Bourne  Esq.  of 
Barnstable  prepared  himself  for  the  profession  of  the  law,  he,  after  a 
brief  residence  in  York,  Me.,  opened  an  office  in  Biddeford  about 
1782,  succeeding  Gov.  Sullivan  —  at  a  time  when  enterprising  men 
from  various  parts  of  New  England,  including  many  from  the  Cape, 
vfere  removing  to  Maine,  the  war  being  closed,  and  when  the  inte- 
rior of  a  few  miles  only  from  the  sea  had  remained  comparatively 
uncleared  and  wild,  notwithstanding  the  antiquity  of  the  maritime 
settlements,  the  proprietors  of  these  uncultivated  tracts  just  beginning 
to  look  up  ibeir  claims,  Ihe  titles  to  v^bich  in  many  instances  ran  back 
to  a  remote  period.  Often  these  titles  were  not  to  be  established 
without  difficulty,  and  under  the  circumstances  litigation  was  not  un- 
frequently  unavoidable.  Mr.  Thaeher  having  entered  the  profession 
after  a  careful  and  faithful  preparation,  almost  immediately  was  en- 
gaged in  an  extensive  practice,  and  became  for  many  years  a  popular 
and  successful  advocate  in  all  the  counties  in  "  the  District  of  Maine  " 
in  which  terms  of  the  Sop.  Jud.  Ct.  were  established.  A  conspic- 
uous contemporary  has  said  of  him, "  He  had  great  aeuteness  of  mind, 
much  law  learning,  and  was  able  to  bring  to  his  aid  in  argument  more 
general  knowledge  on  scientific  subjects  than  any  of  his  competitors." 
—  Chosen  by  the  Massachusetts  legislature  before  the  adoptioB  of  the 
Federal  Constitution  a  delegate  to  Congress,  he  was  also  after  that 
event  successively  elected  by  the  people  a  representative  to  Congress 
until  1801,  when  resigning  his  seat,  he  accepted  the  appointment  of 
Associate  Justice  of  the  Sup-  Jud.  Ct.  of  Mass.,  in  which  office  he 
remained  to  the  time  of  his  resignation  Jan.  1824.  On  the  separa- 
tion of  Maine  he  had  removed  to  Newburyport.  On  relinquishing 
his  office,  he  returned  to  Mmne  to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  days  in 


yGoogle 


734  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE    COD. 

rairde  hmeplaeito,  but  quamdiu  se  bene  gess&int,  has,  bow- 
ever,  met  the  approval  of  a  very  large  portion  of  the 
wisdom  of  every  age. 

In  1692,  provision  was  made  that  "all  members  of 

the  retirement  for  whicli  he  yearned;  hut  died  on  the  Sth  of  April 
following.  —  Whilst  in  Congress,  Judge  T.  was  by  no  means  an  un- 
distinguished member.  The  debates  of  that  period  will  show  that  he 
took  an  active  part  iu  all  the  important  concerns  of  the  time,  and  his 
speeches  will  be  found  to  contain  much  useful  information  and  sound 
argument,  with  somewhat  of  irony  and  keen  satire  interepersed.  His 
opponents  often  cowered  under  the  lashes  of  his  wit,  which  he  was 
quite  ready  to  bestow  whenever  he  thought  he  saw  the  hollow  pre- 
tence of  patiiofism ;  but  such  was  the  universal  opinion  of  the  good- 
ness of  his  heart  and  the  honesty  of  his  views,  that  no  one  indulged 
anger  or  resentment,  except  in  one  memorable  instance,  in  which  his 
independent  and  manly  condnct  did  much  to  bring  a  senseless  custom 
into  contempt — foi,  although  he  eouid  not  perceive  how  powder  and 
ball  can  refute  solid  argument  or  substantiate  the  opposite,  he  did  not 
eink  even  in  the  opnuon  of  fighlmg  men,  whilst  his  self-possessed  and 
humorous  treatment  ot  the  challenge  brought  the  laugh  upon  his 
antagonist.  His  leply  to  the  hostile  message  was  to  this  effect:  that 
in  matters  of  much  personal  giavity  he  made  it  a  duty  always  to  con- 
sult his  wife,  then  at  home  in  Maine,  and  that  he  should  feel  especially 
bound  to  do  so  in  the  present  instance ;  but  if,  in  the  mean  while,  the 
challenger  would  chalk  out  a  man  of  just  the  size  of  the  cliallenged, 
and  shooting  at  the  figure  according  to  the  exaet  code  duello,  should 
hit  it,  he  would  cheerfully  admit  the  probability  that  had  he  stood  in 
the  place  of  the  chalk-man  the  ball  would  have  hit  him. —  On  the 
bench  of  the  Sup.  Ct.  Judge  T.  was  an  upright  and  faithful  public 
servant.  His  mind  well  stored  with  legal  principles,  his  retentive 
memory  enabled  him  to  apply  them  to  the  question  in  hand  with  great 
facility.  His  associates,  it  is  said,  bore  testimony  that  in  consultations 
upon  cases  argued,  his  discriminating  power,  sound  technical  knowl- 
edge, and  recollection  of  old  cases  not  reported,  were  invaluable. 
For  integrity,  impaitiality,  and  firmness,  he  has  been  surpassed  by 
none  who  have  adorned  the  seat  of  justice.  —  In  private  life,  where 
we  should  look  for  the  virtues  or  blemishes  that  exhibit  the  real  fea- 
tures of  moral  beauty  or  deformity  which  make  up  the  character,  hi^ 
heart  was  always  benevolent  nnl  k:r;d.     In  every  human  face  he 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  735 

Council  shall  be,  ex  officio.  Justices  of  iJie  Peace  in  the 
counties  in  which  they  are  severally  resident."  From 
that  time  provision  has  been  amply  made  for  a  com- 
petent quota  in  addition,  of  this  class  of  respectable 
conservators  of  the  peace  in  their  respective  towns, 

recognizee!  a  friend  and  brotlier ;  and  often  where  there  was  fault,  he 
either  couid  not  see,  or  did  not  hke  to  impute  it.  The  criminal  at  the 
bar,  it  has  been  thought,  had  perhaps  sometimes  quite  as  much  of  his 
compassion  as  suited  the  stern  demands  of  justice.  —  Although  a  vein 
of  wit  and  humor  irresistibly  impelled  him  oflen  to  see  in  ludicrous 
shapes  the  arguments  and  opinions  of  those  with  whom  he  differed, 
hia  heart  never  took  side  in  the  struggle  with  the  intent  to  offend ;  the 
sharp  edge  of  his  keenest  sarcai^ms  would  seem  to  be  blunted  at  once 
by  the  first  appearance  of  wounded  feelings. —  In  his  domestic  rela- 
tions he  was  faultless;  living  a  life  of  patriai-chal  simplicity,  his 
humble  dwelling  the  abode  of  peace,  love  and  benevolence,  as  also  the 
scene  of  the  moat  unlimited  frugal  hospitality,  where  every  one  was 
received  with  a  welcome.  Though  fond  of  society,  he  was  a  man  of 
great  and  various  reading  —  well  versed  even  in  theological  polemics. 
His  intimate  friends  "  knew  him  to  he  a  sincere  believer  in  the  great 
doctrines  of  Christianity  —  in  immortality  brought  to  light  by  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  a  future  state  of  retribution."  He  smiled  at  the  dis- 
putes that  frequently  prevail  among  divers  sects,  and  perhaps  some  of 
liis  own  views  were  peculiar  to  himself;  but  he  was  a  Christian.  It 
were  enough,  perhaps,  to  say  lie  was  a  member  of  a  Christian  church ; 
for  no  particle  of  hypocrisy  entered  into  his  composition  —  hence,  he 
was  emphatically  a  practiced  believer,  whose  whole  life  would  bear 
the  test  of  tlie  Gospel.  That  life  was  happy.  He  coveted  nothing 
earthly  but  comfort,  family  loves  and  friends  ;  and  in  all  these  he  was 
rich  indeed.  Aiming  never  at  the  mere  accumulation  of  property,  ho 
lived  for  others  rather  than  for  himself;  and  died  in  hia  own  humble 
dwelling,  endeared  to  him  by  forty  years'  familiarity  —  where  every 
improvement  was  the  result  of  his  own  toil  and  taste  ;  the  wife  of  his 
youth  soothing  his  last  moments,  and  his  numerous  children  receiving 
his  parting  blessing;  leaving  no  enemy  behind  him,  but  many  warm 
friends  to  dwell  upon  his  memory  with  affection  and  delight.  If 
eccentricities  he  had,  they  were  innocent  and  sportive.  No  one  who 
had  occasion  to  consult  his  heart  ever  found  it  erring;  his  sympathy 
for  the  unfortunate  was  ready  ;  his  liberality  proverbial. 


vGooglc 


736 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CAPE  COD. 


and  also  of  select  ones  with    more   enlarged  juris- 
diction.^ 

Those  appointed,  since  about  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  to  Qualify  civil  officGrs,  have  been:^  — 

Peb.  18,  1K22,  Joliii  D.  Bangs,        T. 
I'eb.    5,  1833,  Sam.  P.  Oroaswoll,  Fe, 


Aug.  29,  1823,  Job  C.  Davis, 
Feb,  26,  1825,  Elisha  Pope. 
May  12,  1828,  leaiah  L.  Green, 
June  11,  1829,  Naler  Crocker, 

"  Abner  Davis, 

Jan.   30,  1830,  Seth  F,  Nye, 
April  3,  1833,  Nymphaa  Mai-aton, 
Eben'r  Bacon, 
J842,  Timothy  Eeed, 
1844,  Daniel  W.  Davis, 
"     Th.  HolbTook  2d. 
' '     LotliTop  Davis, 
1846,  Geoige  Copeland,   Br. 
18i7,  Jacob  Mitchell, 


Feb,  a,  1800,  Kath'l  Freeman,  S. 

"  John  Davis,  Be. 

"  Tim.  Phinney,      Be. 

"  Eben'r  Bacon,      Be. 

"  Sara'l  Savage,       Be. 

"  So!.  Freeman,       Br. 

Feb.  4,  1814,  Wendell  Davis,     S. 

Rd.  Sears,  C. 

May  10, 1817,  John  Reed,  Y. 

Feb. 18, 1S22, John  Seabury,      C. 

Elijah  Cobb,         Br. 

"  Joseph  Sampson,  Br. 

"  David  Crocker,     Be. 

"  James  CroweU,     Y. 

»  Brad'kDimmick,  F. 

"         Nathaniel  Lewis,  F. 

Anthony  Snovi^,     T.  Aaron  Cornish,         F. 

An  "  order  for  the  appointment  of  Judges  of  Pro- 
bate" was  passed  June  18, 1G92.  In  the  year  1702, 
Aug.  13,  "  the  Governor,  in  consideration  of  the  clause 
in  the  charter  referring  to  the  Probate  of  Wills,  &c., 
lodging  that  power  in  the  Governor  and  Council ;  hut, 
finding  courts  estabhshed  in  the  several  counties  for 
that  purpose,"  &c.,  "ordered  that  they  he  coiiiinued" 
The  incumbents  have  been :  — 

Aug.  13,  1703,  Barnabas  I.othiop.  Feb.  1,  1764,  Jaraea  Otis. 

June  16,  1714,  John  Otis.=  Mar.  37,  1781,  Daniel  Davis. 

Deo.  36,  1727,  Melatiah  Bourne.  May  27,  17Q9,  Bbcnczer  Bacon. 

Jan.  6,  1710-1,  Sylvanua  Bourne.''  Jan.  30,  1800,  John  Davis. 


'  See  Appendix  L, 

'  We  liave  not  followed  tlie  appointments  after  1847.  With  few 
exceptions,  tliose  named  in  the  above  catalogue  are  deceased;  and  all 
such  held  the  appointment  severally  to  the  end  of  life. 

*  Mr.  Otis  has  been  represented  as  first  Judge  of  Pi-obate,  and  it 
has  been  inadvertently  so  stated  p.  272 ;  but  the  contrary  now  appears. 

*  Mr.  Bourne  "petitions,  Jan.  27,  1742,  on  account  of  the  decease 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  161 

June    8,  1S26,     Job  C.  Davia.  Doc.  18,  18S4,     George  Marst.oii. 

Jan.    11,1828,     Nympliaa  Mariton.  May    13,1858,     Joaepli  M.  Day. 

The  office  of  Register  of  Probate  has  been  filled  by 
the  following ;  — 

Joseph  Lothrop,  Mar.   28,  183S,  Timothy  Tteed. 

Aug,  13,  1702,  ■William  Bassett.  June  29,  18fi2,  Nathaniel  Hinckley, 

June   14,  1721,  Nathaniel  Otis.'  Mar.     2,  1853,  George  Marston. 

Aug.  23,  1729,  Sylvanus  Bourne.'  Dec.   28,  1854,  Joseph  11.  Day. 

Jan,  6,  1740-1,  David  Gorhara.  Eufus  S.  Pope. 

A-ag.  28,  177fi,  Nathaniel  Freeman.  June   29,  1858,  Charles  F.  Swift. 

Jan.     22,  1823,  Abner  Davis.  Jonathan  Higgins. 

The  persons   occupying  tlie  office  of   Register    of 
Deeds  have  been :  — 


Joseph  Lothrop,' 

Solomon  Otis, 

Job  C.  Davis, 

William  Bassett,* 

Edwai'd  Bacon, 

Lothrop  Davis, 

Jolia  Thaclier, 

Ebenezer  Bacon, 

Frederick  Scuddei 

The  office  of  County  Treasurer,  eo  far  as  we  have 
been  able  to  ascertain,  has  been  filled  by  ^  — 

of  hia  father,  Melatiah  Bourne  Esq.,  he  being  residuary  legatee  and 
Judge  of  Probate  ;"  and  provision  was  made. 

'  Mr.  Otis  was  ap.  "  in  the  room  of  William  Bassett  Esq." 

'  Mr.  Bounie  was  ap.  "during  the  illness  of  Nath'I  Otis  Esq.,  or 
until  otherw/ise  ordered;"  and  Aug.  25,  1731,  was  reappointed  with- 
out conditions.     He  was  afterwards  ap.  Judge  of  Prob. 

°  Tbe  following  note  appears  in  tlie  office  of  Reg.  Deeds :  "  The 
first  record  of  a  deed  in  this  county  was  made  Oct.  6,  1686,  by  Mr. 
Joseph  Lothrop,  register.  Previous  to  that  time,  tlie  records  of  deeda 
were  made  in  the  Old  Colony  at  Plymouth."  This  note  was  made  in 
the  (irst  Book  of  Eecorda  after  Uie  burning  of  the  County  Building, 
Oct.  22,  1827,  in  which  the  records  generally  were  destroyed. 

*  "  A  deed  was  left  at  this  office,"  says  Frederick  Scudder  Esq., 
the  present  register,  Jan.  16,  1860,  "a  few  days  since,  bearing  date 
Feb.  3,  1691-2,  on  which  is  the  following:  "July  13,1710,  then 
received  this  deed  to  be  recorded,  and  is  accordingiy  entered  and  com- 
pai'ed,  per  me,  Wm.  Bassett,  Eeg." 

'  We  do  not  assume  to  give  here  full  and  perfect  catalogues  of 
those  who  have  filled  this  and  the  two  several  offices  next  following ; 
but,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  ascertained  facts. 
VOL.  L  93 


vGooglc 


7d0  THE   HISTORY    OP   CAPE   COD. 

Solomon  Otiy,  Ebenezer  Bacon,     1324. 

Edward  Bacon,        1784.  Josmh  Hinckley,     1837. 

Ebciiezer  Bacon,     1785.  Frederick  Scudder,  1842. 

David  Crocker,        1814.  Charles  F.  Swift,    1853. 

The  Clerks  of  Courts  have  been ; '  — 

WiSliam  Bassett,       Joseph  Otis,  Abner  Davis, 

Nathaniel  Oils,  "William  Otis,  Timothy  Reed, 

John  Sturgis,  David  Scudder,  Frederick  W.  Crocker,' 

The  office  of  County  Mioniey  has  been  held  by  ap- 
pointments of :  ^  — 

SepL   3,  1811,  Salmon  Nye.       Fuh.  12, 1816,  Nymphas  Marston. 

Feb.  22,  1813,  Wendell  Davis. 

The  first  appointment  of  High  Sheriff,  under  the 
charter,  was  May  27,  1692.  The  following  have  been 
the  appointees :  — 

May  37,  1693,  William  Bassett.  Aug.  25,  1731.  John  Hcdgc.= 

July   17,  1699,  Samuel  AUm.  Nov.  8,  1718,  John  Gorham. 

Jan.      4,  1713,  Shubael  Gorham.'  Feb.  I,  176*,  Natlmniel  Stoae. 

Dec.   10,  1715,  Joseph  Lotlirr>p.  Aug.  28,  1776,  Enoch  Hallett. 

Nov.     b   17  1   Joh    Eus  Maj  8   1  88,  Joseph  Dimmick. 


'  "We  1  ive  al  eady  al  led  to  tl  e  de  t  et  o  of  the  Court  records. 
We  think  the  e  was  at  least  o  e  other  fill  ng  th  s  office ;  but  do  not 
like  to  assert  t  m  thout  autho   tj 

^  The  ten  re  of  oflce  wa  c  t  ged  and  mile  elective  in  18S6, 
when  Ml  Crocker  he  ng  oftice  s  nt,t.  April,  1855,  was  elected  for 
five  yea     f   m  Janua  y  1S57 

'  Mr,  Gorham  was  agmn  appointed  July  23,  1720,  "to  he  joint 
Sheriff  with  Joseph  Ijothrop  Esq,;"  and  again  appointed  Dec.  12, 
1728.  Ill  1734,  Jan.  2,  he  was  appointed  "to  be  sole  Sheriff." 
April  11,  1735,  "  Sheriff  Gorham  has  afirouted  John  Eosaell  Esq.  by 
interrupting  him  in  the  discharge  of  the  diiiics  of  his  oiSce  as  a  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace;"  and  "is  ordered"  by  the  Council  "to  show 
cause;"  commissioners  were  appointed  to  take  evidence,  and  "both 
parties  are  ordered  to  appear  before  the  next  General  Court." 

*  Mr.  Russell  was  ^ain  appointed  October  27,  1740,  "  in  room  of 
S.  Gorham,  now  of  the  Council." 

'  Mr.  Hedge  was  appointed  "  to  be  joint  Sheriff  with  Shubael 
Gorham." 


yGoogle 


ANNALS  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 


739 


Mar.   3,  1803,  James  Freeman.  Oct.    5.  1848,  Charles  Mai'ston. 

Feb.    8,  1819,  Wendell  Davia.  July    2,  18S2,  Daniel  Bassett. 

May  14,  1823,  David  Crocker.  Feb.   U,  1853,  David  Bursley. 
Oct.         1843,  Nathaniel  Hiiiokley.  Charles  C.  Bearae. 

Those  who  were  appomted  to  the  office  of  Coroner 
were :  — 


Mar.      6,  1694,  Thomas  Freeman,  H, 
Mar.    18,  1702,  Peter  Thachct,  Y. 
Dee.    10,  1716,  Sani'l  Freemau,  E. 
"  Eben'r  Howes,  Y. 

"  John  Chipmnii,  Be. 

Not.  12,  17IT,  SamT  Treat,  E. 
Mar.  31,  1721,  Joaiab  Knowles,  E. 
Sept.    9,     "      Sam'l  Annable,  Be. 
Mar,   IS,  1723,  Ezra  Bourne,  Be. 
Stephen  Skiff,  S. 
Aug.  23,  1720,  Judah  ■iTiaeher,  Y. 
Oct.     10,     "      Nathan  Bassett. 
"  Eaekiel  Gushing. 

Aug.   25,  1731,  Thos.  Winslow. 
Sept.     1,     "     Rich'd  Knowles,  E. 
"  John  Knowles,  E. 

Thos.  Clarlc  Jr.,  H. 
"  John  Davis, 

Not.  18,  1737.  Sam'l  Hallctt 
Oct.      6,  1739,  Sam'l  Bourne. 
Dec.    5,  1740,  William  Roach, 
June  27,  1743,  Joshua  Atkins. 
Mai.    6,     "      John  Sturgis. 
Mar.     1,  1747,  Seth  Winslow, 
Nov.  18,  1743,  Isaac  Hinckley  Jr. 
April    6,  1751,  David  Sears  Jr.,  C. 
Jan.     2,  1753,  Barnabas  Paine. 
Jan.      8,  1756,  Joshua  Knowles. 
"  Timothy  Bourne. 

Oct.    10,     "     James  Bowin, 
June     2,  1758,  Heman  Stone,  H. 
Mar.     8,  1760,  Stephen  Hallctt,  Y. 
Feb.    17,  1763,  Sam'l  Jenkins  Jr. 
Oct.     17,  1776,  Jonathan  Handy, 
"  Nath'l  Doane,  H. 

"  Freeman  Parker,  Be. 

Mar.   27,  1781,  George  Lewis,  Be, 
"  Lemuel  Pope,  S. 


Mar.    27,  1781,  Richard  Sears,  C, 
"  Benj.  Popper,  E. 

Sam'l  Bourne  Jr.,  F. 
Mar.    12,  1785,  Josiah  Thaeher, 

"  Isaiah  Parker. 

June   IG,  1738,  Mich'l  Collins,  W. 
Mar,     I,  1794,  Wm.  Hinckley,  Be. 
Mar.     4,  1800,  Wm.  Crosby,  H. 
May      6,  1802,  Naler  Crocker,  Be, 
June   10,  1803,  Heman  Tobey,  8. 
Jan.     28,  1804,  Josiah  Whitman,  W. 
May    10,     "      Seth  Hamblin,  F. 
July      2,  1807,  ConaLder  Hatch,  F. 
Feb.    20,  1310,  RordT,  Crocker,  Be. 
May      3,  1812,  Samuel  Nye,  C. 
"  Edward  Nye,  S. 

Jan.    20,  1813,  Jonas  Stevens,  T. 

"  Jaazaniah  Gross,  T. 

Sept.     1,  1814,  John  Davis  Jr.,  Be. 
May    29,  1816,  Asa  Young,  Be. 
Nov.  29,  1817,  Lewin  Pope,  S. 
Jan.    25,  1822,  Jer.  Newoomb,  W. 
"  Henry  Knowles,  O. 

"  Timothy  Cole,  E. 

"  Jona.  Nickerson,  D. 

Feb.    22,  1825,  James  Small,  T. 
Feb,    28,  1829,  Joseph  Smith,  Br. 
Feb.    If,     <'      Jona.  Nickerson,  P. 
Mar.   11,  1830,  Jas.  N:  Howland,  Be. 
June     9,  1831,  Solomon  Rich,  P. 
Mar.   20,  1832,  Wm.  Hamilton,  C. 

"  Amasa  Nickerson,  H. 

Jan.    18,  1833,  Benj.  F.  Berry,  Br. 
Oct.      1,  1834,  Ezra  Tobey,  S, 
Feb.   27,  1333,  Benj.  Foster  Jr.,  Br. 
Mar.  30.  1838,  Luther  Hinckley,  Be. 
Feb.   11,  1839,  Matt.  Kingman,  0. 


It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  enter  here  upon 
the  mention  of  all  the  various  offices  and  officials  per- 


vGooglc 


740  THE  HISTOCr   OF  CAPE  COD. 

taining  to  the  administration  of  the  laws  in  Barnstiible 
County.  Nor  have  we  room  in  this  place  for  an  ex- 
tended view  of  the  MHUary  —  an  organization  to  which 
formerly  was  attached  mncb  importance — the  govern- 
ing sentiment  of  our  revolutionary  sires,  whose  repug- 
nance to  a  standing  army  was  natural,  being :  "Free- 
dom cannot  be  maintained  without  power,  and  men 
who  are  not  in  a  capacity  to  defend  their  liberties  will 
certainly  lose  them."  ^  —  We  pass  on  to  the  concluding 
chapter. 

^  See  Appendix  M. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

Conclusion,  —  The  Right  Arm  of  Massachusetts.  —  Inhabitants.  —  Occu- 
pations. —  Love  of  Home.  —  Education.  —  Schools.  —  Religion.  —  Sa- 
lubrity of  Climate.  — Agriculture.  —  Soil. — Topogi'aphy. — ■  "Winds  and 
Tides.  —  Manufactures.  —  Fisheries.  —  Migrations.  —  Census.  —  Grad- 
uates. 

Cape  Cod  has,  not  inappropriately,  been  called  the 
"  Eight  Aem  of  Massachusetts."  Without  reference  to 
the  topographical  outline,  the  designation  is  merited,  if 
regard  be  had  to  the  employments,  the  nautical  skill, 
the  enterprising,  and  hitherto  morally  upright  char- 
acter of  its  inhabitants ;  and  it  is  doubtless  to  these 
considerations  that  reference  was  primarily  intended  in 
the  figure  employed.  The  glory  of  the  Cape,  we  un- 
hesitatingly assert  without  the  possibility  of  contradic- 
tion, has  been  the  character  of  the  men  who  settled 
here,  and,  through  successive  generations,  their  nu- 
merous descendants.  We  make  this  declaration  ingen- 
uously— unawed  by  the  fear  of  an  accusation  of  self- 
laudation  or  egotism ;  for  we  speak  of  the  community 
as  a  whole  —  not  ignoring  the  few  anomalies  that 
might  possibly  be  found,  as  among  all  peoples,  to  con- 
stitute the  exceptions  that  prove  the  general  rule ; 
nor  claiming  for  history  the  unfinished  career  of  gen- 
erations now  on  the  stage  of  action. 

The  almost  entire  population  of  the  Cape  has  been 
made  up  of  those  who  were  descendants  from  the 
puritans,  perpetuating  their  pames  and  their  virtues ; 
and  tlie  races  here  are  generally  more  purely  English 


vGooglc 


742  THE   HISTOKY   OP   CAPE   COl). 

than  in  any  other  part  of  our  land.  The  Cape  has  at 
all  times  furnished  its  full  proportion  of  enterprise, 
talent,  genius,  learaing ;  and  the  merit  of  her  sons  has 
been  acknowledged  in  all  lands.  The  moral  sense  and 
general  intelligence  of  the  people,  from  the  time  of 
the  earliest  settlements,  compare  favorably  with  the 
inhabitants  of  any  age,  clime,  or  country. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  the 
Cape  are,  as  is  well  known,  early  addicted  to  the 
seas.  This  is  a  necessary  incident  of  their  locality. 
As  seamen,  their  aim  generally  is  to  command ;  and 
perhaps  no  one  portion  of  the  globe,  of  similar  extent, 
has  furnished  so  many  able  commanders  of  ships.  A 
vague  impression,  we  are  aware,  has  long  possessed  a 
portion  of  the  public  mind,  that  a  seafaring  life  is  not 
promotive  of  virtue :  —  but,  that  the  seamen  of  Cape 
Cod  are  as  remarkably  exempt  from  the  vices  and 
frailties  of  humanity  as  any  class  of  people  whatever, 
challenges  denial ;  and  the  apprehension  to  which  we 
have  adverted  has,  whether  just  or  merely  imaginary, 
no  support  from  what  is  observable  here.  Our  seamen 
are  generally,  as  before  intimated,  very  soon  command- 
era  of  ships,  rather  than  ordinary  sailors ;  and  such  as 
have  not  arrived  at  the  distinction  are  for  the  most 
part  employed  in  vessels  under  those  commanders,  or 
engaged  in  the  fisheries.  Their  visits  to  all  lands  and 
their  intercourse  with  the  wide  world,  give  them  large 
views  that  tend  to  the  formation  of  a  liberal,  manly, 
noble  character.  Even  in  their  fishing  excursions  they 
are,  as  it  were,  at  home  —  among  their  relatives  and 
their  early  associates ;  ^    and  when  returned   to    the 


'  The  Ashing  voyages,  it  ijf  admitted,  arc  not  always  conducted 
vithout  auxiliaries  from  ahroad.     For  many  years  there  has  been  a 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BABNSTABLE   COUHTY.  Y43 

land  and  under  their  own  roofs  —  wbatevcr  privations 
they  may  have  suffered  in  the  times  of  peril,  or  because 
of  national  calamities,  involving  embargoes  and  wars, 
their  dwellings  are  preeminently  abodes  of  comfort, 
and  exhibit  the  marks  of  healthy  thrift  and  enjoyment 
beyond  the  allotment  to  other  sections  of  our  country, 
so  far  as  relates  to  the  general  and  equable  distribution 
of  the  bounties  of  a  good  Providence.' 

disposition  on  the  part  of  persona  from  the  interior  to  place  thcmselvea 
on  board  these  vessels,  lo  participate  in  Ihe  foils  and  advantages  of 
these  escursions.  But  after  all,  the  home  hands  are  the  majority. 
Moreover,  those  from  abroad  who  seek  a  plat»  on  board  our  iiahing 
vessels,  are  ia  many  instances  agricultui'isto,  mechanics,  sometimes 
tradesmen  and  clergymen,  whose  health  has  required  that  they  try 
the  salubrious  air  and  salutary  exercise  of  the  voyage  for  the  restora- 
tion of  wholenome  and  vigorous  action  of  the  system,  —  an  experi- 
ment that  seldom  fails. 

'  The  sweeping  remark  of  Talleyrand,  that  "ail  the  qualities,  all 
the  virtues  which  are  attached  to  agrieiilture,  are  wanting  in  the  man 
who  lives  by  fishing,"  has  been  readily  seized  hy  many  minds  of 
superficial  observation,  as  if 


but  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  those  engaged  in  fisheries  from  the 
Cape  are  many  of  them  agriculturists.  This  community  is  very  far 
from  being  made  up  of  mere  fiaheraien.  Unlike  the  ancient  Tjrus, 
when,  in  fulfil  men  f  of  its  ruin  foretold,  it  became  "the  destroyed  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea,  like  the  top  of  a  rock,  a  place  for  fishers  to  dry 
their  nets  on,"  the  Cape  embraces  an  extent  of  territory  without  an 
over-crowded  population,  sufiiciently  productive  yel,  if  not  to  save  from 
famine  the  two  old  colonies  of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts,  to  re- 
munerate the  homely  toils  of  a  few  practical  huabandmen.  Indeed, 
very  few  persons  in  the  county  are  exclusively  fishermen  ;  nor  are  the 
circumstances  under  whiuh  the  fisheries  are  prosecuted  sucb  as  to 
stigmatize  any  class.  Admit  that,  under  certain  circum-itancea,  Ihe 
exclusive  vocation  of  fishing  is  not  most  favorable  to  mental  dpu'loji- 
ment ;  the  remark  would  not  be  applicable  at  all  to  the  larger  cUws 


vGooglc 


744  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

The  Cape  Cod  man  loves  his  native  home.  Wher- 
ever he  may  be,  —  whether  in  foreign  chines,  or  bulfel^ 
ing  the  winds  and  ploughing  the  waves  of  the  billowy 
deep;  whether  a  merchant  prince  in  some  one  of  our 
large  cities,  or  located  on  the  fertile  lands  of  some  new 
territory ;  whether  north,  or  south,  or  east,  or  near  the 
dechning  sim,  his  thoughts  ever  turn  to  his  place  of 
nativity  with  fond  delight  and  peculiar  yearning ;  and 
he  is  proud  to  hail  from  this  garden-spot  of  creation  — 
for  such,  to  him,  in  an  important  sense,  it  appears, 
whatever  impressions  others  may  have  conceived  of  its 
sterility  and  stereotyped  dulnoss. 

Of  the  parvemi  aristocracy  of  some  parts  of  our 
country  at  the  present  day,  the  Cape  makes  no  boast. 
It  is  plebeian,  though  it  has  wealth,  and  that  wealth 
liberally  distributed.  What  is  elsewhere  often  mere 
show  and  empty  ostentation,  is  here,  generally,  sub- 
stantial reality.     A  man's  brains  are  not  regarded  as 

e  g  g  d  upon  t!  e  seaa  a  d  other  em plo)' meats,  nor  to  the  many 
o  1  ed  \  r  ous  ju  ut  B  sides  the  constant  emigration  in- 
duced by  tl  -it  el  araeten  t  e  e  terprise  which  leads  bo  many  to  seek 
del  fields  ot  aft  on  a  1  wh  eh  has  been  populating  every  part  of 
our  countiy  ever  since  the  fimt  settlement  of  the  Cape,  leaves  ample 
room ;  so  that  none  are  debarred  for  want  of  space  of  the  opportunity 
of  associating  with  other  chosen  pursuits  that  of  agi-icuJture,  horti- 
culture, or  kindred  avocations.  We  readily  concede,  however,  that 
thei-e  is  nothing  necessarily  ennobling  in  mere  fishing;  indeed,  are 
constrained  to  acknowledge  that  there  is  always  discernible  a  marked 
difference  just  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in  which  certmn  fisheries 
engross  the  time  of  individuals  to  the  exclusion  of  a  latter  acquaint- 
ance with  the  world  and  the  neglect  of  books.  Yet  this  difference  is 
not  more  apparent  than  in  the  influence  of  continual  application  to 
other  callings  every  where.  Lumbering,  rafting,  boating  on  canals, 
&c.,  are  attended  with  similar  results.  When  the  Cape  sliall  have 
become  a  community  of  fishermen  alone,  we  shall  have  better  oppor- 
tunity of  testing  the  axiom  of  Talleyrand. 


yGoogle 


ANNALS   OP   BARNSTABLE   COHHTT.  745 

lodged  in  his  purse ;  nor  his  character  and  claims  as 
depending  on  the  supercilious  devotion  of  sinister  and 
false-hearted  hangers-on  ;  nor  yet  his  principles  a  thing 
to  be  determined  by  the  fortuitous  chances  and  muta- 
tions of  events.  Eefinement  exists  —  without  its  sick- 
ening affectations  and  diseased  sensibilities ;  and  intel- 
ligence —  without  attempt  at  the  display  of  the 
transcendental,  unreal,  or  impracticable.  Common- 
sense —  we  use  the  term  in  good  old  import  —  has 
not  so  far  become  obsolete  tliat  it  is  no  longer  destined 
to  dwell  among  the- denizens  of  the  Cape,  a  fixed  trait. 
Do  we  utter  extravagances  ?  does  oux  delineation  of  the 
character  of  the  mass  of  the  people  seem  to  partake  of 
a  vain  boast?  —  let  the  verdict  of  the  whole  world  in 
regard  to  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Cape  Cod  be  the 
decision  of  the  issue. 

The  diffusion  of  education  among  all  classes  is  pro- 
verbial. One  native-born  who  cannot  read  and  write 
as  soon  as  seven  years  of  age,  would  here  bo  regarded 
as  a  phenomenon.  And  here,  we  are  forcibly  reminded 
of  that  peculiar  trait  in  the  early  settlers  of  the  col- 
ony, forever  worthy  of  commemoration  —  their  appre- 
ciation of  the  general  blessing  of  early  education,  and 
their  untiring  efforts  to  secure  it  for  posterity.  The 
education  of  all  was  regarded  by  them  as  of  primary 
importance  to  the  well-being  of  the  rising  generations, 
the  best  good  of  the  State,  and  the  greatest  happiness 
of  the  human  race ;  and  to  the  furtherance  of  this  end 
their  best  energies  were  directed.  It  was  truly  fortu- 
nate for  New  England  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  its 
first  settlers  were  people  of  intelligence  and  education  ; 
and  it  may  well  be  a  subject  of  devout  gratitude  to 
God  at  the  present  day,  as  it  is  of  admiration,  that,  in 
circumstances  so  unpropitious  to  the  support  of  schools, 
VOL.  I.  94 


vGooglc 


746  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

the  settlers  just  beginning  to  plant  themselves  in  a  wil- 
derness in  the  midst  of  many  privations ;  —  obliged  to 
fell  the  forests  and  erect  for  their  protection  against  the 
rigors  of  the  climate  such  habitations  as  they  might ; 
compelled  to  cultivate  the  lands  for  their  daily  subsist- 
ence, and  often  to  defend  themselves  against  appre- 
hended dangers  from  the  aboriginal  race  ;  should,  with 
so  slender  means,  have  given  so  much  thought  to  the  sub- 
ject of  education,  and  especially  that  their  thoughts 
should  have  been  so  directed  to  the  education  of  the 
masses.  It  was  not  enough  that  they  made  it  a  religious 
duty  to  instruct  their  offspring  in  the  family  to  enable 
them  to  read  the  Bible :  they  must  have  other  and 
greater  facilities,  —  an  educated  ministry,  educated  offi- 
cers of  State,  and  teachers  thoroughly  educated ;  and, 
we  hazard  nothing  in  saying,  sacrifices  were  endured 
and  pains  taken  to  accomplish  the  noble  end,  which 
are  a  monument  of  distinction  to  the  praise  of  our 
forefathers,  enduring  as  eternity. 

Never  has  there  been  a  time  in  the  history  of  this 
or  any  other  country,  when  ministers  of  the  gospel 
were  generally  —  perhaps  without  exception  —  better 
qualified  by  education  and  sound  learning  to  give  im- 
pulse to  such  a  movement ;  and  never  were  a  set  of 
men  more  influential  than  the  early  settlers.  Nor  was 
it  the  ministry  alone.  However  much  deference  was 
paid  to  that  class  of  men,  the  laity  which  embraced 
very  many  highly  educated,  and  a  full  proportion  be- 
sides of  those  who  had  a  large  share  of  (that  to  which 
we  have  already  adverted,  —  too  generally  at  the  pres- 
ent day  most  uncommon  kind  of  sense  called  by  a  sin- 
gular misnomer)  common  sense,  had  minds  of  large  views 
and  well  disciphned,  nor  did  they  fail  to  employ  their 
efforts,  happily  in  concert  with  their  religious  teachers. 


vGooglc 


AHNALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  747 

in  efTecting  wliat  they  conceived  to  lie  at  tlie  founda- 
tion of  good  morals,  good  government,  and  the  public 
weal. 

Private  schools   were,  indeed,  neeesaarily  the  first 
resort ;  but  the  subject  of  public  schools  was  agitated 
from  the  very  firat.     In  1663,  the  Colony  Court  "pro- 
posed to  tlie  several  townships  within  its  jurisdiction,  as 
a  thing  which  ought  to  be  taken  into  serious  considerar 
tion,  that  some  course  be  taken  in  every  town  that 
there  be  a  schoolmaster  set  up  to  train  children  to  read- 
ing and  writing;"  and,  in  1670,  that  which  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  very  germ  of  our  present  truly  noble  and 
beneficent  system  of  Free  Schools,  was  enacted :  a  law 
freely  granting  "  all  such  profits  as  may  or  shall  accrue 
annually  to  the  colony  from  fislaing  with  nets  or  seines 
at  Cape  Cod  for  mackerel,  bass,  or  herring,  to  be  im- 
proved for  and  towards  a  free  school  in  some  town  in 
this  jurisdiction,  for  the  training  up  of  youth  in  litera- 
ture for  the  good  and  benefit  of  posterity."      That 
school  was  established  at  Plymouth,  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, and  was  supported  six  years  by  the  Cape  Cod 
fisheries;  when,  in  1687,  it  "was  ordered"  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  "  that  in  whatever  township  in  this  Govern- 
ment, consisting  of  fifty  families  or  upwards,  a  meet 
person  may  be  obtained  to  teach  a  grammar  school ; 
and  that  such  township  shall  allow  at  least  £12  to  be 
raised  by  a  rate  on  all  the  inhabitants  of  said  town : 
and  that  those  who  have  the  more  immediate  benefit 
thereof,  with  what  others  shall  voluntarily  give,  shall 
make  up  the  residue  necessary  to  maintain  the  same  : 
and  that  the  profits  arising  from  the  Cape  fisheries 
heretofore  ordered  to  maintain  a  grammar  school  in  the 
colony,  shall  be  distributed  to  such  towns  as  have  such 
grammar  schools,  not  exceeding  £5  per  annum  to  any 


vGooglc 


748  THE   HISTORY   OF    CAPE   COD. 

one  town  unless  the  court  treasurer  or  others  appointed 
to  manage  that  affair  shall  see  good  cause  to  add  there- 
unto :  and  further,  that  every  such  town  as  consists  of 
seventy  families  and  upwards,  and  has  not  a  grammar 
school  therein,  shall  allow  and  pay  to  the  next  town 
that  has  a  grammar  school,  the  suui  of  £5  to  be  levied 
on  the  inhabitants  by  rate,  and  gathered  hy  consta- 
bles of  such  towns  by  warrant  from  any  magistrate 
of  this  jurisdiction."  This  law  was  in  force  until 
the  union  with  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  or  until 
about  that  time.  The  fisheries  were  then  made  free 
to  all  perons ;  and  other  provisions  for  schools  were 
made. 

The  attention  of  the  community  has  ever  thus  been 
carefully  directed  to  the  cause  of  education.  The  poor 
and  the  rich  have  enjoyed  the  means  of  good  educa- 
tion. Hence  there  are  few  in  New  England  (and,  as 
we  have  suggested,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  at  the 
present  day  any  adult  born  on  the  Cape)  who  cannot 
at  least  read  and  write,  with,  in  addition,  a  competent 
knowledge  of  figures ;  whilst  generally  the  opportunity 
has  been  afforded  to  secure  that  full  amount  of  educa- 
tion requisite  to  qualify  for  successful  business.  In 
later  years,  the  Cape  has  kept  pace  with  the  educa- 
tional improvements  of  the  age ;  and  may  point  to 
many  of  its  distinguished  sons  and  accomplished  daugh- 
ters as  proof  that  it  has  never  been  greatly  derelict  in 
this  duty. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Cape  )ire  a  religious  people. 
The  entire  freedom  of  religious  opinion  claimed  hy 
them,  has  led  to  a  diversity  of  denomination  ;  in  almost 
every  village  as  well  as  town,  places  of  public  worship 
being  reared  by  differing  sects.  But  it  is  here  disrepu- 
table to  have  no  religious  belief;  and  there  are  scarcely 


vGooglc 


ANNAM    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  749 

any  to  be  found  who  do  not  give  their  support  to  some 
one  mode  of  religious  worship  and  form  of  faith.^ 

We  may  add,  that  health,  that  greatest  of  all  mere 
earthly  blessings,  here  waves  her  wand,  and  crowns 
the  votaries  of  frugality,  industry,  temperance  and 
virtue.^ 

•  It  is  not  for  us  to  detail  or  define  the  secta  into  which  commnQi- 
tiea  have  divided,  nor  to  suggest  even  the  causes.  There  have,  of 
late  years,  "  come-out,"  in  few  instances,  doctrines  and  practices  that 
were  unknown  to  the  fathers.  We  could  do  no  good  service  in  rebuk- 
ing singular  extravagances  even  hj  a  record  of  them. 
"  You  may  as  well 

Foibid  the  sea  for  to  obey  the  moon, 

As,  or  by  oath  remoTe,  or  eounBel  shake. 

The  fabiic  of  his  folly  whose  foundation 

Is  piled  upon  his  faith." 

'  It  is  not  too  much  to  assume  that  the  people  of  the  Cape  are  gen- 
erally a  temperate  community.  It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to 
enter  minutely  upon  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  from  time  to 
lime  to  suppress  intemperance  in  the  use  of  stimulating  liquors. 
There  have  always  been  instances  of  incorrigibleuess.  Much  that 
has  been  done  has  been  wisely  directed ;  that  an  indiscreet  zeal  should 
be  exhibited  by  some  reformers  is  a  necessary  consequence  of  the 
diversity  of  the  human  mind. 

"  We  have  strict  statutes  and  most  biting  laws, 

as  fond  fathers 

Have  bound  up  the  threatening  twigs  of  bitch 

Only  to  stick  it  in  their  children's  sight 

For  terror,  not  for  use :  in  time  the  rod 

Becomes  mote  mocked  than  feared." 

That  stimulating  drinks  were  in  vogue  in  fonner  times,  hero  as  every 
where,  is  very  evident  from  the  items  of  public  cliarges  and  allow- 
ances ;  and  the  practice  at  the  seat  of  government  of  ample  refresh- 
ments on  great  occasions  seems  to  have  furnished  precedents  in  high 
places  for  the  expenditures  of  oiScials  of  later  days.  In  1714,  Sept. 
30,  a  council  order  was  issued  "  that  Penn  Townsend  Esq.  and  Mr. 
William  Payne  take  care  to  provide  and  lay  in  wine,  &c,,  at  the  coun- 
cil chamber  for  the  entertainment  of  the  Governor  and  Cktuncil  and 
other  guests  that  shall  attend  the  solemnity  of  proclaiming  His  Majesty 


yGoogle 


750  THE   HtSTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

Agriculture,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  is  not  in  the 
ascendmd  on  the  Cape  ;  but  that  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  is  by  no  means  neglected,  the  reports  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  the  county  "will  demonstrate. 

A  very  extensive  misapprehension  prevails  elsewhere 
in  regard  to  the  Cape  soil.  In  this  respect,  many  have 
been  misled  by  the  error  of  some  of  the  popular  writers 
and  compilers  of  topographical  statistics,  Mitchell,  for 
instance,  in  his  "  View  of  the  United  States,"  says, "  The 
South  point  of  the  great  Bay  from  which  the  State  takes 
ite  name,  is  Cape  Cod;  a  long  irregular  peninsula  of 
seventy-five  miles  in  length,  by  from  five  to  twenty  in 
breadth.  It  consists  chiefly  of  hills  of  white  sand, 
mostly  destitute  of  vegetation.  The  houses  are  in 
some  places  built  upon  stakes  driven  into  the  ground, 
with  open  spaces  for  the  sand  to  drift  through.  The 
Cape  is,  notwithstanding,  well  inhabited,  and  supports  a 
large  popvilation,  the  large  majority  of  which  subsists 
by  the  fisheries  and  the  coasting  trade."  Some  writers 
have,  with  their  usual  accuracy,  and  in  the  plenitude  of 
their  knowledge,  been  content  to  describe  the  Cape  as 
chiefly  the  scene  of  shipwrecks,  sandy,  barren,  and  des- 
olate, where  fish  are  the  main  subsistence  and  the  sparse 
population  little  better  than  semi-barbarians.  All  this 
is  sufficiently  amusing.  The  error  by  which  the  super- 
ficial and  hasty  gleaner  of  geographical  facts  and  of 

King  George  on  Wednesday  next  the  22  current,  to  be  performed  at 
12  A.  M. ;  also  a  dinner  for  the  same,  and  candles  for  illuminating 
the  house  in  the  evening;  also  hread  and  wine  for  the  refreshment  of 
the  troops  and  soldiers  commanded  to  attend  the  solemnity."  The 
"account  allowed,  Oct.  15,  for  public  dinner,  wines,  bi'andies,  bisquet, 
and  other  expenses,"  wsig  £77  1  9.  But  at  that  time  adulterations  or 
"  extensions  "  were  a  thing  yet  to  be  learned,  and  temperance  rather 
than  abstinence  was  the  doctrine  inculcated  and  genei-ally  practi.ied. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OF   BAKHSTABLE   COUNTY.  751 

other  etatistics  is  misled,  is  probably  the  result  of  his 
'ding  "  the  South  Paid  of  the  Great  Bay"  from  which 
s  is  sometimes  denominated  the  Bay  State, 
as  the  peninsula  itself  But  even  fhen,  the  Sinbad-the- 
Sailor,  or  Gulliver's-travels-writers  of  the  day  who  occa- 
sionally  honor  Cape  Cod  with  a  glance  profoundly  eru- 
dite, would  find  it  very  difficult  to  find  a  heoiwn  for 
their  romance.^ — There  is,  on  the  Cape,  some  good 
land  and  skilful  and  thrifty  husbandry. 

Although  the  topography  of  the  county  in  detail, 
will  come  more  appropriately  in  connection  with  the 
Annals  in  the  second  volume,  we  may  here  say  that 
the  surface  of  the  Cape  is  varied.  Like  the  land  on 
the  sea  shore  of  New  England  generally,  its  aspect  i.? 
irregular,  presenting  hills  and  ridges,  with  flats  of  mod- 
erate extent,  A  considerable  portion  of  the  soil  is  pro- 
ductive. Much  of  this  portion  is  of  easy  tillage ;  but 
requires  diligent  renovation  and  faithful  culture.  Geol- 
ogists state  that  much  of  the  county  is  alluvial,  with 
other  portions  of  diluvial  soil.  The  best  land  of  the 
Cape,  would  doubtless  be  lightly  esteemed  by  the 
planter  in  comparison  with  the  fertile  prairies,  vaUeys, 
and  gently   undulating   lands    of  richer   agricultural 

^  The  crudities  of  modern  writers  are  not  peculiar  to  themselves. 
We  might  inultiply  almost  indefinitely  aa  palpable  blunders,  by  quota- 
fions  from  earlier  times.  Neal,  in  1720,  says,  "The  conveniences  of 
fibbing  renders  Cape  Cod  populous  as  most  places  in  New  England." 
Perhaps,  however,  he  has  reference  to  the  Province  lands  alone. 
Still,  as  he  also  says,  "  The  great  fresh  water  lakes  behind  New  Eng- 
land are  constantly  frozen  over  in  winter  from  November,  which  occa- 
sions the  long  and  hard  winters  in  New  England ;  "  we  ran^i  consider 
him  as  sometimes  borrowing  from  doubtful  authority,  DmigJass,  1749, 
says,  "At the  present,  Cape  Cod  called  Provincetown,  may  consist  of 
2  or  3  settled  families,  2  or  3  cows,  and  6  to  10  sheep."  Guthrie  and 
even  Dr.  Morse  make  some  singular  statements. 


vGooglc 


752  Tim  HISTORY  OF  CAPE  COD. 

regions.  But  uninviting  as  the  soil  is  to  the  agricul- 
turist, it  was  not  only  the  land  of  sustenance  to  the 
Pilgrims  at  their  first  settlement,  but  was  then  the  land 
of  plenty.  It  was  long  distinguished  by  its  supply  of 
the  cereals ;  nor  will  it  soon  cease  to  yield  to  the  hus- 
bandman a  moderate  reward  for  his  toils. 

The  cutting  off  the  forest  trees  that  nature  had 
planted  around  these  shores  as  if  to  guard  against  en- 
croachments of  winds  and  waves,  was  unfortunate.  It 
commenced  early ;  the  error,  however,  is  not  to  be 
attributed  to  the  early  settlers  alone  or  chiefly.  In- 
deed, it  was  begun  before  they  were  here.  It  was  con- 
tinued when  they  had  taken  possession  of  only  a  few 
remote  positions;  and  often  did  they  protest  against 
these  spoliations,  endeavoring  by  such  restrictions  and 
legal  measures  as  were  within  their  power,  to  stay  the 
wanton  destruction.  Notwithstanding,  the  work  of  dev- 
astation was  too  extensively  accomplished  ;  as  is  seen 
on  the  shores  of  the  Cape  since  washed  away  by  tides 
aided  by  the  force  of  winds,^  so  that  vast  flats  of  sand 
extend  in  some  places  a  mile  from  the  shore,  now,  at 
low  water,  dry,  or  nearly  so,  and  in  some  instances  these 
flats  disclose  large  stumps  of  ancient  trees  embedded  in 
their  native  peat.^ 

'  In  1717  or  1718,  April  26,  during  the  violent  storm  in  which  the 
"Whidah,  the  noted  pirate-ship,  was  driven  on  the  outer  shore  of  Well- 
fleet  and  dashed  to  pieces,  (see  p.  356,)  "the  sea  forced  its  wayauross 
the  Cape  iwd  made  such  a  channel  that  persons  passed  tLrough  in  a 
whale  hoit "  The  channel  was  soon  closed  by  great  effort  on  (he  part 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  has  been  kept  so,  Bnt  for  the  timely  interpo- 
sition of  the  settlers  "  it  is  probable  that  20  or  30  miles  of  the  ex- 
treinity  of  thu  wonderful  arm  of  land  would  ere  this  have  been  en- 
tirely washed  aw  ■ly  " 

"^  The  chinges  of  ocean  tides  aro  a  subject  of  fruitful  inquiry  avid 
of  much  1  tc  i.~i      The  waters  upon  the  eo.vt  are  generally  ^upjio-L-;! 


yGoogle 


AKNAL8   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  753 

Not  designing  at  all  to  controvert  the  theory  of  geol- 
ogists, that  the  formation  of  much  of  this  peninsula  is 
the  result  of  the  powerful  action  of  winds  and  waves 
and  that  the  boulders  found  on  the  highest  land  a3 
well  as  in  other  locations  were  conveyed  hither  by  ice, 
(though  some  are  incredulous,)^  we  may  remark  that 
whether  these  speculations  of  science  remain  forever 
irrefutable  or  are  destined  to  vanish  before  superior 

to  be  gradually  sinking.  When  Quebec  was  founded,  in  1608,  ihe 
tide-waters  are  said  to  have  wa,slied  the  foot  of  tlic  rock  that  now 
diyides  that  city  into  upper  and  lower  town.  Since  that  time,  the 
lower  town  has  arisen  from  the  waters,  aiid  become  the  principal  seat 
of  trade  and  commerce.  The  inhabitants  of  West  Bothnia  have  ob- 
served, by  marks  on  rocks,  that  the  sea  decreases  about  44  in,  eveiy 
century.  Dalen  reports  that  the  waters  in  Sweden  sink  37  in.  in  a 
hundred  years.  Ravenna,  in  Italy,  once  a  seaport,  is  now  inland.  It 
is  supposed  that  a  dii'ect  water- communication  once  existed  between 
the  Baltic  and  Eusine  Seas.  Herodofus  alleges  that  a  great  part  of 
Poland  and  Russia  has  been  covered  by  water.  Ptolemy  speaks  of 
Scandinavia  as  an  island.  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  is  built  oa  the  very 
spot  where  was  the  original  harbor  of  the  old  city. 

The  changes  in  the  lakes,  or  ponds,  of  the  Cape,  are  also  remarka- 
ble. Although  w  3  have  no  solid  maiks  oi  the  cotst  bj  which  we  C'^n 
accurately  estimate  tlie  ace  deace  of  the  sei  locks  on  tlie  margin  of 
ponds  show  thit  there  is  a  general  sub'iidenee  m  the  e  peiiodicilly 
and  a  con'e  (ueat  ii  e  during  a  similir  peiiod 

1  In  Ti  110  Wellfleet  Eastham,  Chatham  and  Ilamich  veil  f  w 
rocks  or  stones  are  lounl  But  n  Bie^  ster  and  Dennis  as  well  a.s 
farther  up  the  comty  in  all  the  other  towns  immen'ie  locks  pio 
nounced  by  the  scient  fle  houkhis  appeal  Some  on  the  higtie  t 
land  are  piled  up  oie  above  the  ctJei  in  gieit  piofu=iion  As  far 
down  the  C'lpe  as  Edstham  is  found  a  luge  rock  Ijiiij,  olitirj  deeply 
embedded  in  the  eaith  and  at  the  same  time  rai'iing  high  its  conical 
form,  a  Ian  Imark  for  seamen,  in  view  (o  those  approaching  that  pai  t 
of  the  coast,  before  any  other  object  upon  the  land  is  visible.  A  rock 
in  the  west  part  of  Brewster  is  also  somewhat  remarkable,  called  the 
"  Rent  Rock,"  having  been  split  by  some  powerful  action  of  the  ele- 
ments info  a  nnmber  of  parts. 
VOL.  L  95 


vGooglc 


754  THE   HISTORY    OF   CAPE   COD. 

light  to  be  elicited  by  discussion,  exploration  and  dis- 
covery ;  it  is  evident  that  both  Gosnold  and  the  captain 
of  the  Mayflower  found  the  Cape  in  a  better  state  of 
defence  against  the  ravages  of  winds  and  waves  than  it 
has  ever  been  since ;  and  it  must  have  remained  thus 
defended  long  ages  before  the  eye  of  any  European 
rested  on  its  shores.  It  is  equally  evident  that  it  now, 
in  many  places,  requires  artificial  protection,  not  simply 
for  its  preservation  for  the  convenience  of  the  dwellers 
in  these  parts,  but  for  the  benefit  and  urgent  need  of 
commerce  at  large.^ 

An  indisputable  fact  it  is  that  Cape  Cod  has  from  its 
earliest  history  been  a  "  terror  to  mariners."  Its  CsiEATOii 
so  formed  and  located  it.  But  what  would  it  be  with- 
out the  life  and  enterprise  and  strength  He  has  scat- 
tered over  it !  All  that  could  be  done,  was,  in  the  in- 
fancy of  its  settlements,  assayed,  by  the  then  scattered 
population,  to  lessen  the  dangers  of  navigation,  to  in- 
crease the  conveniences  of  harbors  and  mitigate  the 
sufferings  of  strangers  wrecked.  The  voice  of  its  in- 
habitants has  often  since  been  heard  calling  upon  the 
General  Government  to  aid  their  good  designs  for  the 
general  weal.  That  the  National  Government  has  not 
been  altogether  remiss  in  this  matter,  is  shown  by  fif- 
teen lighthouses  on  the  shores  of  the  Cape  that  have 
cheered  many  a  ship  on  its  way,  and  saved  many  a 

^  There  is  considerable  wood  yet  remmning  in  the  county,  mostly 
oaks,  and  pines.  This  is  now  generally  cut  off  once  in  from  15  to  30 
years,  the  oak  growing  more  thriftily  from  the  stump  when  cut  in  its 
early  prime.  Considerable  quantities  are  yet  sent  to  markets  without 
the  county.  The  increasing  use  of  coal,  the  prolilic  supply  of  native 
peat,  and  the  importation  of  wood  in  places  destitute  of  a  full  supply 
and  better  accessible  from  ports  of  Maine,  making  up  any  deficiency. 
Until  recently  much  ship-huilding  was  carried  on  in  different  parts  of 
tlie  county,  the  supply  of  native  timber  being  ample. 


yGoogle 


ANHA18   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTT.  765 

mariner  and  passenger  from  a  watery  grave.  The  U.  S. 
Government  has  also  done  sometliing  in  the  erection 
of  breakwaters  for  the  preservation  of  convenient  and 
important  harbors.  Private  funds  have  often  been  em- 
ployed to  accomplish  what  the  National  Government 
would  not  undertake.  There  is  yet  room  for  tke  Gen- 
eral Government  to  work.  It  need  not,  it  ought  not  to 
stint  its  appropriations  for  objects  so  eminently  national 
and  humane,  when  great  and  most  beneficial  results 
may  be  easily  attained;  especially  with  a  treasury 
often  plethoric,  and  scattering  its  increasing  surplus  too 
much  in  a  way  that  engenders  corruption  and  tends  to 
national  degradation.  The  works  which  remain  yet  to 
be  effected  here  are  by  no  means  of  mere  local  impor- 
tance. A  nation's  commerce  —  ay,  a  world's  com- 
merce is  deeply  interested  in  the  consummation.  The 
Cape  is,  what  it  was  intended  by  the  All  Wise  to  be,  a 
good  land,  surrounded  by  goodly  seas,  blessed  with  an 
invigorating  and  inspiring  atmosphere,  supplying  all 
needful  comforts  to  its  possessors,  and  through  them 
blessing  the  land  and  the  world ;  but  as  a  locality  of 
public  interest,  it  should  not  be  passed  by  with  meagre 
appropriations  for  the  public  weal,  or  parsimonious 
improvements. 

As  with  agriculture,  so  with  Manufactures.  Man- 
ufacturing establishments  do  not  prevail  as  in  some 
parts  of  the  State.  And  yet  Cape  Cod  is  not  the  least 
in  respect  to  these,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the 
Annals  of   several   towns.^     8aU,  the  manufacture  of 

•  The  manufacture  o?  fabrics  prevailed  early  on  the  Cape,  to  con- 
siderabte  extent,  though  of  late  years  almost  wholly  discontinued. 
This  manufacture  was  carried  on  not  only  domestically  from  the  first, 
but  by  pi-ofessional  manufacturers  and  capitalists  long  prior  to  ihe 
revolution.    Among  these,  the  Marstona  and  Winslows  were  prom- 


vGooglc 


756  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

which  for  many  years  received  great  attention,  and  was 
indeed,  for  the  time  being,  the  chief  mannfacture,  in 
which  was  invested  about  two  million  dollars  of  capital 
—  a  branch  of  business  that  was  more  profitable  than 
any  other  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  capital  em- 
ployed —  has  not  ceased  to  be  manufactured  ;  hut  the 
business  has  greatly  declined.  The  price  of  the  article 
not  justifying  any  additional  outlay,  no  new  works 
have  been  constructed  for  many  years ;  and  as  those 
yet  existing  become  dilapidated  and  unlit  for  use  with- 
out repairs,  they  are  from  time  to  time  demolished,  so 

inent  In  the  Massaeiiusetts  Gazette,  March  3,  1768,  appears  an 
item,  copied  from  a  letter  dated  "Barnstable,  Feb.  19,"  sayings 
"  A  few  days  since  a  nmnber  of  Barnstable  ladies  paid  me  a  visit, 
dfCBsed  flli  in  homespnn,  even  to  their  handkerchiefe  and  gloves,  and 
not  so  much  as  a  ribbon  on  their  heads.  They  were  entertained  with 
Labrador  Tea ;  all  innocently  cheerful  and  merry.  .  ,  .  Towards  night 
we  had  the  company  of  some  of  the  chief  gentlemen  of  the  town, 
who  also  drank  Labrador  Tea" — a  domestic  production,  of  course, 
—  In  the  same  Gazette,  "  Oct.  18,  1770,"  is  "  a  letter  from  New- 
port, R.  I.,"  saying,  "  We  are  assured  that  one  gent,  only,  at  Barn- 
stable, about  SO  m.  from  Boston,  who  has  not  long  since  set  up  the 
woollen  manufacture,  receives  froai  the  spinners  he  employs  500 
akeins  of  yam  one  day  with  another,  and  that  he  has  lately  pur- 
chased 6000  lbs.  of  wool  for  his  winter's  stock.  By  a  moderate  cal- 
culation, he  cannot  clear  less  than  $3000  per  year  by  this  manufac- 
ture, which  is  the  most  profitable  of  any  business  now  carried  on  in 
America  according  to  the  stock  improved  in  it;  for  the  full  knowl- 
edge and  proof  of  which  we  are  indebted  to  our  politic  lords  and 
masters,  as  fhey  would  be  called,  the  ministry  of  Great  Britain.  It 
is  affirmed  by  the  best  judges,  that  is,  by  those  who  have  made  the 
experiment,  that  a  piece  of  broadcloth  of  equal  goodness  with  what 
would  cost  $3  per  yd.  in  London,  may  he  made  in  this  colony  at 
$1.50,  Hence  it  is  easy  to  conceive  how  the  importation  of  woollens 
might  bo  stopped  by  a  little  industry."  —  The  Barnstable  ladies  above 
mentioned  have  thus  precedence  of  Mrs.  Washington,  who  at  a  later 
period  appeared  in  court  circles  in  American  fabrics,  as  did  her  hus- 
band when  he  delivered  his  inaugural. 


vGooglc 


AHSALS   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY.  757 

that  few  comparatively  now  reinain.  But  whilst  this 
branch  of  business  has  ceased  in  great  degree,  other 
and  important  manufacturing  establishments  have 
sprung  np  in  some  of  the  npper  towns. 

The  Fisheries  now,  as  ever,  command  much  atten- 
tion, and  employ  a  great  number  of  men  and  a  very 
large  amount  of  capital.  These  fisheries,  it  need  not 
be  said,  train  a  large  number  of  the  most  experienced 
and  intrepid  mariners  in  the  world.^  The  Cape  is  also 
still  engaged  more  and  largely  in  Navigation  for  other 
purposes.  The  amount  of  tonnage  owned  in  the  Dis- 
trict as  by  the  revenue  returns,  by  no  means  indicates 
the  extent  of  its  navigation.  A  large  amount  owned 
by  citizens  of  this  county  is  registered  in  Boston,  New 
York,  and  other  cities,  but  is  sailed  under  the  direction 
of  enterprising  adventurers  and  able  seamen  belonging 

^  As  the  aljolition  of  the  bounty  on  salt  caused  the  genei-al  decline 
of  that  branch  of  domestic  manufacture,  ?o  the  often  tlu-catened  ab- 
olition of  the  fishing  bounties,  may  yet  cause  the  decline  and  even 
general  abaiidonment  of  this  branch  of  iadustry.  The  jioiicy  of  our 
government  has,  unhappily,  never  been  fixed  in  regard  to  the  en- 
couragement of  home  industry  and  enterprise,  as  has  been  that  of 
other  nations.  The  English  and  French  set  the  example  very  early 
of  giving  these  bounties,  expressly  for  the  encouragement  of  com- 
merce, and  to  keep  up  the  fisheries  as  a  nurseiy  for  seamen.  Mr, 
Jefferaon  always  advocated  the  bounty,  in  order  '■  lo  foster  our  fish- 
eries aa  a  nursery  of  navigation."  Wkenever  the  bounties  have  been 
withheld,  the  fisheries  have  declined.  Whenever  they  ha^'e  been 
resumed,  an  increased  activity  in  the  business  has  immediately 
responded.  The  experience  of  the  war  of  1S12  shows  what  an 
invaluable  school  of  instruction  we  had  maintained,  from  which  bold, 
hardy,  and  skilful  seamen  rushed  to  enlist  in  the  navy,  and  to  fight 
and  win  the  battles  which  could  not  Lave  been  won  without  them. 
The  Massachusetta  privateers  in  the  revolutionary  struggle  were 
always  manned  by  fishermen,  and  rivalled  the  navy  in  the  brilliancy 
of  their  performance  and  the  efficiency  of  their  service  to  the  gov- 
ernment. 


vGooglc 


758 


THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 


here.  In  1837,  however,  the  custom  house  statistics  of 
this  District  showed  28,153  tons,  since  which  time  the 
amount  has  considerably  increased,^ 

The  population  of  the  Cape  towns  will  appear  in  the 
census  table,  down  to  the  year  1850,  subjoined  in  a 
note.  Since  the  last  United  States  census  was  taken, 
the  population  has  probably  increased  in  a  greater 
ratio.^ 

'  The  same  fluctuating  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Genenl  Govern- 
ment which  has  affected  the  salt  m'lnut'icture  and  the  iishene'',  has  m 
some  degree  rendered  the  inteiesta  of  navigation  generallj  insecuie. 
It  lias  been  proposed  to  thiow  open  our  coasting  tiade  to  foreign  com- 
petition, and  thus  let  foreign  vessels,  when  trtsighta  are  dull  at  home, 
come  over  here  to  bring  oura  down  al'-o  Those  femilur  wilh  our 
shipping  interest  think  the  elfett  of  "iULh  a  law  will  be  extremely  dis- 
astrous. It  used  to  be  smd  that  the  ISritish  navy  could  sweep  from 
the  sea  the  commerce  of  any  nation  at  war  with  her.  Soiae  seem 
willing  to  save  her  the  trouble. 

^  Census  of  Barnstable  County  since  it  was  constituted  a  county, 
1685:  — 


Bespo, 

,„. 

"j^'r 

1764 

206 

1780 

1800 

laio 

IflflO 

1830 

law  1  MM. 

do. 

do 

Jnns!, 

'a" 
.,..„ 

June!*, 

im 
'mm* 

fT. 

70 
lOT 

na 
so 

12S!6 

t 

1637 

3,m 

2S67 
1361 

751 

ma 

1884 

24,4E1 

leso 

1348 

EMY 

FillBHITH, 

1638. 
16W 

S719 
4301 

4181 
2431 

m«m 

From 
Fri>m 

z 

From 

- 

' 

yGoogle 


ANNALS   OF   BAEH8TABLE   COUNTY.  759 

Very  many  on  the  Cape  still  own  and  dwell  on  tlie 
lands   occupied   once   by   their   early   ancestors.     Al- 
though ite  inhabitants  have  spread  in  every  direction, 
from  Nova  Scotia  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  beyond 
it,  and  have  gone  forth  in  great  numbers  into  all  the 
new  States  and  Territories,  some  of  each  original  fam- 
ily are,  with  few  exceptions,  yet  the  representatives  of 
the  name  on  the    Cape.     We  have  said,  no    race    of 
people,  as  a  whole,  are  purer  English.     Whether  there 
be  any  advantage  in  this  or  not,  there  has  been,  until 
within  a  short  period  scarcely  any  admixture  of  foreign 
blood.     It  may  be  owing  partly  to  this  circumstance, 
.  and  partly  to  their  locality,  that  they  are  still  the  same 
bold  and  able  navigators;  the  same  industrious  and 
enterprising  fishermen ;  the  same  staid,  sober,  honest, 
well-balanced-minded  people,  as  in  times  of  yore  ;  and, 
wherever  found,  (and  where  are  the  descendants   of 
Cape  Cod  not  found  ?)  are  buoyant  with  hope,  full  of 
activity,  fearless  of  danger,  noted  for  integrity  —  as  a 
general   rule.     Notwithstanding  the  tendency  of  the 
youthful  mind  to  maritime  or  commercial  pursuits,  a 
good  proportion   of  the  young  men  of  these  towns 
have,  in  the  several  periods  of  our  history,  been  called 
to  fill  other  spheres  of  usefulness  eitlier  at  home  or 
abroad  —  many  of  them  places   of  high  and  distin- 
guished trust.     Numbers  have  enjoyed  collegiate  ad- 
vantages —  a  fact  to  which  we  advert  as  a  proof  that 
the  best  facilities  for  a  good  education  were  appre- 
ciated :  not  because  we  suppose  that  a  collegiate  course 
is  indispensable  to  talent  or  greatness.^     Although  in 

'  It  were  an  cirov  to  suppose  that  any  one  by  being  denominated 
an  Alumnus  of  any  institution,  necessarily  springs  forth  a  learned 
man,  lawyer,  clergyman,  physician,  or  statesman.  He  must,  to  ber 
come  truly  learned  or  great,  educate  himself.     The  best  education  of 


vGooglc 


IQO  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

the  earlier  days  of  our  history,  a  good  proportion  of 
our  leading  men  had  received  collegiate  honors,  the 
clergy  almost  invariably,  numbers  of  our  strongest  pa- 
triots and  most  useful  and  influential  citizens  had  not. 
Self-education  did  the  work,  presenting 

"A  combination  and  a  form  indeed 
Where  every  god  did  seem  to  set  Ma  seal 
To  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man."  ' 

The  Cape  has  long  been  distinguished  for  its  peace- 
ful, neighborly  quiet,  and  exemption  from  the  acerbi- 
ties of  litigation.  We  are  inclined  to  believe  it  was 
always  so ;  for  most  of  the  cases  of  litigious  strife  that 
appear  in  its  earliest  days  were  mandatory  from  the 
seat  and  influence  of  Grovemment  —  with  the  meas- 
ures and  views  of  which,  at  times,  leading  men  on  the 
Cape  did  not  readily  acquiesce.  If  questions  of  diffi- 
culty arise — and  they  must  necessarily  arise  some- 
times in  a  community  so  largely  engaged  in  maritime 
pursuits,  they  are,  perhaps,  oftener  settled  amicably  by 
arbitration  than  in  any  other  county.  A  writer,  more 
than  a  hundred  years  ago,  intimated  that  "  the  smallness 
of  court-fees  multiply  lawsuits  in  the  Province,  and 
are  a  snare  for  people  to  become  litigious."  The  same 
writer  tells  that  at  the  time  of  his  writing,  1749,  were 
existent  certain  traits  that  seem  to  corroborate  the  pre- 
ceding :  he  says,  "  Generally  in  all  'our  colonies,  partic- 
ularly in  New  England,  people  are  much  addicted  to 
quirks  in  law ; "  also  that  "  a  very  ordinary  country- 

the  tmly  educated  is  always  chiefly  their  own  work.  The  world 
marvel  at  a  "self-taught"  individual,  and  often  seem  to  forget  that  all 
who  are  really  learned,  are,  whatever  extraordmary  advantages  they 
have  enjoyed,  also  si 
^  See  Appendix  N. 


vGooglc 


ANNALS   OP   BAENSTjVBLE   COUNTY.  761 

man  in  New  England  is  almost  qualified  for  county 
attorney  in  England."  We  accept  from  Mr.  Douglass 
the  latter  compliment ;  but,  for  the  Cape,  repudiate  the 
rest.  The  frequent  immediate  adjournment  of  onr 
courts,  siw  die,  after  the  formalities  of  opening  sustains 
us  in  the  disclaimer.^ 

If  the  general  "view  of  the  Cape,  which  we  have 
attempted  in  the  present  volume,  shall  prove  instruc- 
tive or  interesting  to  any  of  the  descendants  of  the 
early  settlers,  and  we  shall  in  the  view  of  the  public 
have  accompHshed  any  thing  worthy  of  our  progen- 
itors, the  humble  labors  of  the  compiler  will  not  have 
been  in  vain.  Let  none,  because  of  the  humble  posi- 
tion which  thia  peninsula  may  have  seemed  to  occupy 
in  the  apprehension  of  divers  persons  who  have  pro- 
fessedly written  the  history  of  the  State  or  Country, 
look  with  contempt  upon  the  past.  Our  fathers  had 
an  important  mission  to  perform ;  and  generally  they 
acted  well  their  several  .parts. 

If,  perchance,  any  of  the  descendants  of  noble  sires 
are  indifferent  to  the  subject,  it  only  proves  them  un- 
worthy of  their  paternity.  Some  may  truly  have,  for 
aught  we  know,  (they,  in  such  case,  probably  think 
they  have,)  good  reasons,  not  to  be  promulged,  for  tak- 
ing no  interest  in  "  the  rock  from  whence  they  were 
hewn : "  but  even  such  may  learn  something  from  his- 
tory, and  should  be  admonished  that  "  contempt  for  the 
past  is  by  iio  means  the  beginning  of  wisdom."  The 
policy  that  would   incline  to  nonchalance  and  indif- 

'  "We  cannot  ascertain  tliat  a  single  instance  ever  occniTcd  of  tiie 
infliction  of  capital  punishment  within  tbe  county. 
VOL.  L  96 


vGooglc 


762  THE   HISTORY   OF   CAPE   COD. 

ference  in  respect  to  a  memorial  in  honor  of  the  past, 
is  not  becoming  a  genuine  son  of  Cape  Cod. 

"The  man  whose  eye 
Is  ever  on  himself,  doth  look  on  one 
The  least  of  Nature's  wovks  —  one  who  might  move 
The  wise  near  to  that  scorn  which  wisdom  holds 
Unlawful  evisr." 

But,  all  —  all  wish  well  to  the  undertaking.  It  may  be 
— ifc  must  be  so.  We,  then,  who  know  the  toils  of  the 
way,  and  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  may,  with 
grateful  acknowledgments  to  those  whose  efficient 
countenance  has  encouraged  us  in  our  labors,  be  per- 
mitted to  suggest,  that  so  far  as  the  wish  is  a  mere 
abstract, 

"That  wishing  well  hath  not  a  body  in't 
That  may  be  felt." 

We  proceed  to  the  second  volume  —  the  Annals  of  the 
Towns,  animated  and  strengthened  by  the  countenance 
and  sustenance  of  the  patriotic  and  liberal ;  simply 
remarking,  that  having  endeavored  hitherto  to  follow 
the  order  of  events  from  the  first  knowledge  had 
among  civilized  nations  of  the  existence  of  Cape  Cod, 
to  the  present  time  —  noting  events  so  far  as  seemed 
necessary  to  a  general  view  of  the  history  of  the  Cape 
as  a  county,  and  as  furnishing  an  architectural  base  on 
which  shall  appropriately  rest  the  more  minute  details 
of  the  several  towns  which  shall  constitute  the  column 
in  due  proportion,  much  of  importance  remains. 


vGooglc 


APPENDIX. 


Note  A.  (p.  590.) 

POET  OF  ENTET,  CUSTOMS,  AND  COLLECTORS. 

It  may  be  a  question  with  the  reader,  why  "  measiircs  weve  con- 
certed in  1809,  to  secure  for  ihe  county  a  port  of  entry,"  whereas 
in  1749  "  collectors  of  excise  were  chosen  for  each  county  by  the 
council  and  house  of  reps.,  and  Barnstable  was  then  made  a  port  of 
entry;  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  circumstances  of  the 
country  have  changed  fiom  time  to  time,  and  the  laws  have  not  been 
uniformly  the  same.  In  fact,  the  terms  in  use  have  not  at  all  times 
had  the  same  meaning.  Until  1672,  "no  custom  house  had  been  es- 
tablished any  where  upon  the  continent;"  but  the  subject  was  under 
consideration  by  the  parent  government  which,  in  1675,  "resolved  to 
settle  collectors  in  Kew  England  as  in  other  places."  Whilst  the  rev- 
olution was  in  progress,  a  law  of  the  General  Assembly,  1776,  afler 
the  royal  commissioners  of  customs  had  joined  in  the  evacuation  of 
Boston,  was  passed  entitled  "  An  Act  for  establishing  a  Naval  Office ; " 
and  an  appointment  of  "  naval  officer  "  was  made  for  this  county,  by  bal- 
lot of  the  two  houses,  Nov.  27,  the  same  year,  Joseph  Otis  being 
the  appointee.  William  Tatlob  succeeded  Gen.  Otis,  Feb.  6, 1779. 
Samuel  Hincklbt  was  in  office  1789 ;  and  then  again  Gen.  Otis, 
appointed  by  Gen.  Washington,  was  collector  to  the  time  of  his  de^ 
cease.  His  son  William  Otis  succeeded  in  1810,  who  was  succeeded 
by  Isaiah  L.  Gheen  in  1814  or  1815.  Henbt  Ckockek  succeeded 
to  Mr.  Green,  1837.  Ebekezbk  Bacon  was  appointed  1841,  super- 
seded by  JosiAH  HiNCKLKY.in  1845,  Mr.  Hinckley  holding  two  years, 
and  Stlvanus  B.  Piiiknet  receiving  the  appointment  in  1847.  Mr. 
Phinney  held  2  years,  and  Mr.  Bacon  again  appointed  in  1849, 
was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Phinney  in  1853  who  remains  to  the  present 
time.  —  That  Barnstable  was  not  a  port  of  entry  in  the  extended 

(763) 


vGooglc 


764  APPENDIX. 

meaning  of  the  term,  when  the  convention  waa  held  in  1809,  is  suffi- 
dently  apparent.  By  reference  to  the  act  of  Congress,  July  31, 
1789,  it  appears  to  have  been  pi-ovided,  "That  for  the  due  collection 
of  duties,  &c.  .  .  .  there  shall  be  established  districts,  ports,  and 
officers.  ...  In  the.  State  of  Massachusetts  shall  be  20  districts  and 
ports  of  entry."  Barnstable  is  named  as  the  Seventh;  and  thus  far, 
and  elsewhere,  in  the  act,  the  words  "district"  and  "port"  are  used 
as  convertible  terms.  Subsequently  the  same  act  says,  "  To  the  dis- 
trict of  Barnstable  shall  be  annexed  the  several  towns  or  landing- 
places  of  Sandwich,  Wellfleet,  Pi-ovincetown,  and  Chatham  as  ports 
of  delivery  only;  and  a  collector  for  the  district  shall  be  appointed  lo 
reside  at  Barnstable."  "To  the  district  of  Edgartown  (9lh)  shall  be 
annexed  the  town  of  Falmouth  as  a  port  of  delivery  only."  In  the 
next  section  of  the  act,  the  "ports  of  entry"  are  also  made  "ports  of 
delivery "  to  certain  ports  and  distvicts ;  and  Boston  and  Plymouth 
are  the  only  "  districts "  in  (what  is  now)  Mass.  proper,  not  so  re- 
strained. The  same  aet  says,  "The  district  of  Barnstable  shall  in- 
clude all  the  shores  and  waters  within  the  County  of  Baj'nstiible, 
excepting  the  town  of  Falmouth."  —  Subsequently,  at  the  2d  session 
of  the  1st  Congress,  chap.  35  of  the  Statutes  at  Large,  appr.  Aug.  4, 
1790,  again  districts  the  coast,  and  Falmouth  is  annexed  "lo  the  dist. 
of  Barnstable,  as  a  port  of  deliveiy ; "  and  it  is  provided  that  "  none 
bttt  ships  or  vessels  of  the  U.  S.  shall  be  permitted  to  unlade  at  any 
other  than  the  ports  following,  viz. :  New  Bedford,  Dighton,  Salem 
and  Beverly,  Gloucester,  Newbuiyport,  Marblehead,  Boston,  and 
Plymouth."  This  last  act  was  repealed  by  the  celebrated  Revenue 
Act  of  March  2,  1799,  which  re-districted  the  country,  making  22  dis- 
tricts in  Mass.,  (then  including  Maine,)  and  provided  more  paitica- 
larly  for  every  requirement  of  the  revenue  service.  This  last  act  is, 
essentially,  the  present  law  of  t!ie  land,  tariffe  excepted.  It  re-enacts 
the  then  existing  provisions  in  regard  to  this  county,  it  being  still  pro- 
hibited from  the  privilege  of  unlading  any  foreign  ihip  oi  vessel ,  and 
this  fact,  doubtless,  accounts  for  the  assemblmg  of  delegates  in  1809. 
— We  have  taken  some  pains  to  unravel  the  intncacies  of  this  ques- 
tion, and  to  effect  this  made  our  appeal  to  a  gentleman  than  whom  we 
know  of  no  one  better  able  to  aid  us.  For  the  su^nstions  leadmg  to 
our  conclusion's,  we  are  gratefully  indebted  to  his  pohteness  We 
refer  to  Hon  Hekrt  CROCii.tii  of  Boston ,  and  further  gather  from 
his  respon'ses,  that  when  Barnstable  was  permitted  to  ret,ei\e  entry  of 
merohandiee  from  foreign  bnttoms  does  not  clearly  appear ,  but  that 
it  has  lonT  leei  m  practice  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Government. 


yGoogle 


APPENDIX.  765 

Neither  does  it  appear  when  Falmouth,  Provincetown,  Wellfleet,  or 
Chatham  were  made  ports  of  entry,  unless  under  the  act  of  March  3, 
1817,  ■which  gave  every  "collector  authority  with  the  approbation  of 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  to  em[)loy,  within  his  district,  such  num- 
her  of  proper  pei-sons  as  deputy  collectors  of  the  customs,  as  he  shall 
judge  necessary,  who  are  hereby  declared  to  be  officers  of  the  cus- 
toms," &c.  It  has  been  decided  by  the  Sup.  Jud.  Ct.  that  deputy  col- 
lectors "  may  perform  any  service  which  the  collector  might  perform 
if  present ; "  so  that,  constructively,  the  locating  a  dep.  coll.  at  each  of 
the  above  four  outposts,  is  virtually  establishing  a  custom  house  there, 
and  giving  to  tliose  several  places  all  the  privileges  that  Barnstable 
has.  Such,  at  least,  has  long  been  the  effect.  Not  only  TJ.  S.  vesseb, 
but  foreign,  have  entered  and  unladed  at  each  place.  —  From  the 
estabUshment  of  the  districts,  1789,  the  tenure  of  the  office  of  collector 
was  indefinite,  subject  to  removal  by  the  Executive,  until  the  act  of 
May  15,  1820,  which  provided  a  four  years'  tenure  for  all.  —  We  may 
not  omit  to  mention  that  formei-ly  a  Comptroller  Genei'al,  whose  busi- 
ness it  was  "  to  superintend  the  conduct  of  the  Naval,  Impost  and 
Excise  Officers,  so  that  Gov't  may  at  any  time  have  from  him  accn- 
rate  statements  of  the  navigation,  trade,  and  commerce  of  the  State, 
the  revenue  derived  therefrom,  and  the  expense  of  collecting  the 
same,"  existed;  and  hence  we  find  in  1782  Joseph  Nye  mentioned  aa 
Excise  OlRcer,  and  in  1783  Jonathan  Howes,  as  distinct  from  Naval 
Officer. 


Note  B.  (p.  6i3.) 

MAILS,  POSTS,   TRAVEL. 

It  is  difficult  to  realize  that  we  are  now,  1859,  in  more  intimate 
and  close  contact  with  Berkshire  and  even  Maine,  in  fact  with  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania,  than  the  Cape  was  with  Plymouth  during  all 
the  time  that  it  remained  the  seat  of  justice,  and  the  only  place  where 
might  be  exercised  the  right  of  franchise ;  and  that  it  is  easier  from 
the  extremest  town  on  the  Cape  now  to  visit  Boston  and  return,  than 
it  was  once  to  perform  the  necessary  aet  of  domestic  preparation  by 
carrying  a  grist  from  Sandwich  to  Plymouth  to  be  ground.  And  yet 
it  is  well  remembered  by  many  now  living,  how  even  the  travel  from 
Barnstable  to  Plymouth  was  the  hard  journey  of  a  day,  and  that 
another  toilsome  day's  ride  was  required  to  reach  Boston  :  nor  have 


vGooglc 


766  APPENDIX. 

we  forgotten  that  important  character,  the  poaf>-rider,  who  took  the 
entire  mail  in  his  saddle-bags,  (and  lean  they  were  too,)  and  occupied 
the  week  in  going  down  the  Cape  and  returning;  and  a  mail  once  a 
week,  when  the  boon  was  first  granted,  was  a  great  desideratum,  a 
matter  of  general  gratulation.  Another  point  gained  at  a  later  day, 
was  that  of  a  mail  as  far  as  Sandwich  once  a  week  from  New  Bed- 
ford. The  clock  could  not  better  indicate  the  hour  of  5  P.  M.,  than 
did  the  regular  appearance  of  Mr.  Terry  on  his  slow,  but  sure  and 
well-fed  hoi-se  (the  horses  of  the  Friends  are  always  well  kept  and 
sleek,  Mid  possibly  their  capacity  for  swiftness  of  locomotion  was 
never  put  to  the  test)  with  his  diminutive  saddle-bags  that  seemed  to 
challenge  the  observation  of  every  one  touching  the  question  of  their 
entire  emptiness,  every  Friday  afternoon. 

Whilst  on  this  subject,  we  mu,y  as  well  note  that  "a  post  office  was 
ordered  to  he  established  in  Boston,"  March  30,  1693  -,  and.  May  7, 
1696,  it  was  "  ordered  that  a  salary  of  £25  per  annum  be  allowed  to 
Andrew  Hamilton  Esq.,  Postmaster  General  of  North  America," — 
a  work  of  Massachusetts  enterprise.  The  post  accommodations  on 
some  of  the  great  thoraughfarea  may  be  inferred  from  the  following 
which  was  regarded  as  an  important  feature  of  the  progress  of  the 
age:  "Post  Office,  New  York,  Feb.  3,  1755.  —  It  being  found  very 
inconvenient  to  persons  concerned  in  trade,  that  the  post  from  New 
Tork  to  New  England  has  heretofore  set  out  but  once  a  fortnight  dur- 
ing the  winter  season;  the  stages  are  now  altered,  by  order  of  the 
Postmaster  General,  and  the  New  England  post  is  henceforth  to  go 
once  a  week  the  year  round ;  whereby  correspondence  may  he  carried 
on,  and  answers  obtained  to  letters  between  N.  Y.  and  Boston  in  two 
weeks,  which  used  in  winter  to  require  four  weeks ;  and  between 
Philadelphia  and  Boston  in  three  weeks,  which  used  to  require  sis 
weeks.  —  Alex.  Golden,  P.  M."  Post  offices  and  posts  were  first  es- 
tablished in  this  county.  May  13,  1775 ;  and,  as  may  be  supposed,  the 
progress  of  the  post-rider  began  at  once  to  be  watched  here  as  else- 
where with  great  interest.  He  was  every  where  an  important  char- 
acter. His  appearance  at  any  town  op  village  was  announced  by  the 
blast  of  a  horn.  In  this  respect  he  was  literally  his  own  trnmpeter, 
The  extent  of  mail  privileges  in  this  county  at  that  time,  may  be 
learned  from  the  following  programme  :  — 

"  Plan  froni  Cambridge  to  Falmouth ;  To  set  off  from  C.  every 
Monday  noon  and  leave  letters  with  Wm.  Watson  Esq.,  postmaster  at 
Plymouth,  on  Wed.  9  o'clock  A.  M. ;  then  to  Sandwich  and  leave  let- 
ters with  Mr.  Joseph  Nye  3d,  Wed.  at  2  o'clock  P.  M, ;  to  set  off 


vGooglc 


APFENDIX.  767 

from  S.  at  4  o'clock,  and  leave  letters  wittMr.  Moses  Swift  at  Fal- 
mouth, Thui's.  at  8  o'clock  A.  M.  On  the  rider's  return,  to  set  off 
from  thence  on  Thurs.  at  noon,  and  reach  S.  at  5  o'clock ;  set  off  thenee 
i'rl.,  6  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  reach  Plymouth  at  noon;  set  off  from  P., 
Fri.  at  4  P.  M,,  and  leave  letters  witli  Mr.  James  Winthroj)  at  Cam- 
bridge on  Sat.  evening." 

The  arrival  of  a  mail  stage-coach,  was,  ia  Borae  parts  of  New  Eng- 
land,  as  lato  as  1781,  quite  an  incident  of  the  day ;  but  that  wondei'- 
ful  convenience  was  not  known  on  the  Cape  until  long  after.  The 
facilities  now  afforded  by  railroads,  slage-coaches,  cheap  postage,  &c., 
contrast  strangely  with  former  times.  The  post  ofScea  in  the  couuty 
wei-e  in  1850,  as  Ibllows :  — 

In  Sandwich,  7,  viz. ;  Sandwich,  Pocasset,  Monument,  E.  Sand- 
wich, N.  Sandwich,  S.  Sandwich,  and  W.  Sandwich,  In  Falmouth, 
6,  viz.:  Falmouth,  E.  Falmouth,  N,  Falmouth,  W.  Falmoutli,  Woods' 
Hole,  and  Waquoit.  In  Barnstable,  8,  viz. ;  Barnstable,  W.  Barnsta- 
ble, Osterville,  Cotuit,  Cotuit  Port,  Hyannis,  Hyannis  Port,  and  filars- 
lon's  Mills.  In  Yarmouth,  4,  viz. :  Yarmouth,  Yarmouth  Port,  "W, 
Yarmouth,  and  S.  Yarmouth.  In  Dennis,  4,  viz. :  Dennis,  S.  Dennis, 
E.  Dennis,  and  W.  Dennis.  In  Harwich,  4,  viz.:  Harwich,  E.  Har- 
wich. S.  Harwich,  and  W.  Harwich.  Ia  Chatham,  2,  viz. :  Cliatham, 
and  N.  Chatham.  In  Orleans,  3,  viz. ;  Orleans,  S.  Orleans,  and  E. 
Orleans.  In  Brewster,  3,  viz. :  Brewster,  W.  Brewst^^r,  and  E. 
Brewster.  In  Eastham,  3,  viz. :  Eastham,  and  N.  Eaatham.  In 
Wellfleet,  2,  viz.:  Wellfleet,  and  S.  Wellfleet.  In  Trnro,  2,  viz.: 
Truro,  and  K.  Truro.     In  Provincetown,  1,  viz. :  Provincetown. 


Note  C.  (p.  6i6.) 

NAEEAGANSET  SOLDIERS. 

The  town  of  Gorham,  Me.,  was  inc.  1764 ;  but  began  to  be  settled 
much  earlier.  Tlie  first  man  wlio  took  up  his  residence  there  was 
Capt.  John  Phinney  from  Barnstable,  who  was  father  of  Col.  Ed- 
mund Phinney  of  the  Continental  army.  In  1745  the  inhabitants,  18 
families,  were  driven  into  garrison  by  the  Indiana,  and  suffered  se- 
verely. The  Rev,  Benj.  Crocker  was  the  first  minister  employed  to 
preach  at  G, ;  and  Rev,  Solomon  Lombard  of  Truro  was  the  iii'st 
settled,  ordained  Dec.  26, 1750.     "  The  records  of  the  Narraganset 


vGooglc 


768  APPENDIX. 

Grantees,  No.  7  towtisliip,  June  6, 1733,"  siiow  a  long  array  of  Cape 
names.  It  will  be  recollected  that  "  of  Capt.  Gorham'a  company  in 
the  Narraganset  battle,  36  were  killecl,  and  41  wounded."  The 
"grant  for  services  by  Narraganset  soldiers,"  was  to  the  following; 
"Bamstaile:  Mary  Dovener,  Sam'l  Barnam,  John  Carmon,  Sam'l 
Linneli,  George  Lewis,  Matt,  Fuller,  John  Hathaway,  Samuel  Fuller, 
Jacob  Hinckley,  Thos.  Fuller,  Joseph  Higgins,  Sam'i  Hinckley,  Sam'l 
Allyn,  Sam'l  Davis,  Caleb  Lombard,  Joseph  Gorham,  Ebea'r  Good- 
speed,  Lot  Conant,  Jobn  Clark,  Josiah  Crocker,  Sami  Bryant,  In- 
crease Clap,  Ed.  Ellingham,  Joseph  Taylor,  Sam'l  Child,  John  Dun- 
can, Bart.  Hamblin,  Eleazer  Hamblen,  Thos.  Huggins,  John  Phinney, 
Joseph  Bearse,  John  Lewis'  heirs,  Josiah  Davis,  Eben'r  Clap,  Jede- 
diah  Lumbert,  Sam'l  Cops,  Joseph  Blush,  John  Howland,  Shubael 
Gorham  Jr.,  Joiin  Goodspeed,  John  Lewis  for  bro.  Benj. 

"  TarmoutJi:  Sam'l  Baker,  Wm.  Chase,  John  Thacher,  John  Hal- 
lett,  John  Maithews,  Thos.  Thornton,  Edw'd  Gray,  Sam'l  Hall,  Jona. 
Smith,  Sam'l  Jones,  John  Taylor,  Thos.  Felton,  John  Gage,  Wm.  Fel- 
lows, Wm.  Gage,  Ananias  Wing,  John  Pugsley,  Daniel  Baker,  Ed. 
Taylor,  Wm.  Gray,  Capt.  John  Gorham,  Thomas  Baxter,  James 
Maker,  James  Clagliora,  Joseph  Hall,  Nath'l  Hall,  Laramy  Hedge, 
Joseph  Wildens,  Sam'l  Thomas,  John  Crowell,  John  Chase,  Henry 
Golds,  Ed.  Lalte,  Jabez  Gorham,  Henry  Gage,  Everton  Croweli,  Jona. 
White.  [In  1741,  Wm.  Gray  is  put  down  for  his  father  Edw.  Gray's 
heirs ;  Sam'l  Baker  for  his  father  Sami ;  and  Shubael  Gorham  for  his 
father  John.] 

"Eastham:  Timo,  Cole,  Jere'h  Smith,  Jona.  Grew,  Thos.  Paine, 
Jedediah  Higgins,  EUakim  Higgins,  Joseph  Downings,  Benj.  Downings, 
John  Walker,  John  Myrick,  Nath'I  Williams,  Jos.  Doane  and  Sam'l 
Doane  for  their  father  Sam'l  Berry,  Jno.  Freeman,  Jona.  Sparrow,  Jno. 
Knowles,  Sam'l  Atkins,  John  Doane,  Thos.  Mulford,  David  Doane, 
Josiah  Cook,  Joseph  Harding,  Geo.  Brown.  [In  1741,  Timothy  Cole 
is  put  down  for  his  fetlier  Timo.  j  and  Geo.  Brown  for  his  father  Geo.] 
"Sandwich:  Jona.  Morey,  Sami  Tobey  put  down  for  his  uncle 
Siiai'l  Knott,  Nath'I  Wing  put  down  for  his  father  Nath'I,  Sam'l  Gibbs, 
John  Davis,  James  Atkins,  Jehoshaphat  Eldridge." 

The  Hon.  Josiah  Piekce,  now  of  Gorham,  to  whom  we  are  under 
obligation  for  ready  md  in  our  investigations  and  polite  attention 
in  our  late  visit  at  Gorham,  says,  "  Pei-sons  and  families  from  Cape 
Cod,  of  the  following  names,  settled  in  G. :  Bacon,  Bangs,  Bourne, 
Davis,  Gorham,  Harding,  Higgins,  Hinckley,  Hamblen,  Lewis,  Lin- 
neli, Lombard,  Paine,  Phinney,  and  Sturgis."     His  minutes  also  de- 


vGooglc 


APPENDIX.  769 

monstrate  additional  names :  In  1741  and  1750,  lands  were  conveyed 
to  Paul  Crocker,  Benj.  Stevens,  and  Joseph  Doane,  and  Thos.  Knowles 
of  Easlham ;  in  1751,  to  Eliphalet  Watson,  Sbth  Harding,  and  Joshua 
Freeman;  and  in  1757,  to  John  Freeman. — Among  the  names  of 
grantees  is  "put  down  the  name  of  Jona.  Lumbert  of  Tisbury." 
Among  those  "  driven  into  garrison  "  by  the  Indians,  were  Captain 
John  Fhinney  and  his  sons  Edmund  who  was  shot  and  his  arm 
broken,  and  John,  Jacob  Hamblen,  Ehpht.  "Watson,  Eb'r  Hall,  Wm. 
Cotton,  Benj.  Stevens ;  and  "  the  Bryant  fimiily  were  all  either  cut 
off  or  carried  away  captive." 

Whilst  ill  the  act  of  penning  the  preceding  note,  Feb.  7,  1860,  tiie 
mail  has  brought  us  the  following  extracts  copied  by  the  politeness  of 
R.  C.  Ingvaham  Esq.  of  New  Bedford,  from  Judge  Pierce's  Centeu- 
nial  Address  at  G.  1836;  — "  A  hundred  years  ago,  May  26,  1736, 
John  Phinney,  a  son  of  one  of  the  conquerors  of  the  NaiTagansets, 
disembarked  from  his  canoe  on  the  Presumpscot  River,  with  his  axe 
and  a  small  stock  of  simple  pi-ovisions,  attended  by  a  son  of  14  yi-s. 
of  age,  with  a  design  to  make  a  home  for  himself  and  family  in  the 
then  wilderness,  but  now  a  large  and  flourishing  town.  Having 
selected  a  spot  for  his  future  dwelling,  that  son  Edmund,  afterwards 
distinguished  not  only  in  our  town  hut  as  a  colonel  in  the  war  of  the 
i-evolution,  felled  the  fir.^t  ti-ee  for  a  settlement."  (p.  8.)  "  During 
the  revolution.  Col.  P.  had  command  of  a  regiment  under  Washing- 
ton, and  throughout  the  war  conducted  himself  with  great  activify, 
course  and  prudence.  Besides  Col.  Edmund,  his  brother  John  (llie 
man  who  planted  the  first  hill  of  corn  in  Gorham)  and  John's  two 
sons  John  and  Ebenezer  were  in  the  revolutionary  army,"  (p.  20.) 
"  The  early  settlers  were  remarkable  for  their  longevity.  The  first 
settier,  Capt.  John  Phinney  and  his  wife  Martha  both  died  at  the  age 
of  87 ;  their  sons.  Col.  Edward  lived  to  be  83,  John  83,  James  94, 
and  their  daughter  Mary  Gtorham  who  m.  James  Irish,  89  yrs.  of  age." 
(p,  31.)  "Nearly  every  town  on  Cape  Cod  contributed  settlers  for 
Narraganset  No.  7,  The  greater  number,  however,  were  from  Be. 
T.  and  E.  The  immediate  grantees  were  the  conquerors  of  the 
famous  and  far-dreaded  King  Philip,"  (p.  11.)  —  A  monument  stand- 
ing in  the  centre  of  the  town,  bears  this  inscription  ;  "  May  6,  1805.  | 
Capt.  John  Phinney  |  commenced  the  [  first  settlement  in  this  town  | 
May  1736.  i  Gr.  by  the  Gen.  Ct.  1732  to  the  |  Narragansett  sol- 
diers. I  This  1  assigned  to  Capt.  John  Gorham  |  and  119  others  |  then 
called  Naxragansett  No.  7.  |  Town  inc.  Oct.  30  1764." 
VOL.  L  97 


vGooglc 


770 


Note  D.  (p.  627.) 

NEWSPAPERS. 

The  first  newspaper  atiempted  in  this  cnunty  was  the  Nactical 
Intelugencee,  issued  at  Ealmouth,  by  "Win.  E.  P.  Rogers  in  1826, 
who  soon  removed  his  publication  office  to  Barnstable,  and  there 
issued  his  journal  under  the  title  of  the  Barnstable  Gazette  and 
Nautical  Intelligencek.    This  papei'  was  not  long  continued ;  and 
the  Baknstable  Jodenal  succeeded  in  1827,  under  the  auspices 
of  Nathaniel  S.  Simpkins;  passing,  in  1832,  iato  the  hands  of  C.  C, 
P.  Thompson  and  Horatio  Underwood,  who  published  also,  in  addi- 
tion to  their  weekly,  &  semi  weekly  c  died  the  CAPt  Cod  Jouknai,. 
The  latter  was  continued  only  one  jtar,  when  1834,  Mr.  Underwood 
became  sole  proprietoi  of  the  weeklj  Journal      This,  in  1837,  passed 
again  into  the  liaudi  of  Mi   Simpkina,  who  terminating  the  existence 
of  tlie  Journal,  commenced  the  sime  yeai  the  "Iarmodth  Register, 
which  has  been  continued,  under  vaiious  direction,  to  the  present 
lime.     The  Barnstable  Patriot  was  esfablished  by  Sylvanus  B. 
Pbinney  in  1830,  it  whose  office  wis  aKo  [)iint«d,  1851,  one  year,  the 
Sandwich    Mechanic    pubhahed  m   Sandwich      The  Patriot  has 
continued,  under  the  same  duection,  to  the  piesent      A  paper  called 
the  Sandwich  Obsdrvee  wis  issued  by  Ueorge  Phinney  in  1845, 
and  was  continued  several  yeara     In  1851,  the  Cape  Cod  Advo- 
cate AND  Nautical  Intelugencfr  was  commenced  at  Barnstable 
by  Franklin  B.  Gosi  and  Benjamm  C  Bowman ,  but  in  1852  was 
removed  to  Sandwich      With  some  changes  in  its  direction,  Mr.  Bow- 
man has  continued  in  chaigp   having  assouited  with  him  since  1853 
Matthew  Pinkham      The   Peovincetown   Banner  has  continued 
to  be  issued  since  1855,  under  the  diiPttion  of  T  W.  Emery.     The 
title  indicates  its  place  of  pubhcation.     The  Atlantic  Messenger, 
commenced  in  1857,  at  Hyannis,  by  Edwin  Coombs,  is  still  issued.  — 
However  grateful  it  might  be  to  our  feelings  to  award  due  merit  to 
existing  publications,  it  is  not  compatible  with  our  present  duty.     The 
brief  notice  we  give  of  the  progress  of  journalism  is  sufficiently  in- 
dicative of  the  comparative  and  general   advance  of  the  county  in 
other  respects.     But  the  absence  of  these  local  publications  previous 
to  1825  01-  6,  is  no  indication  that  the  Cape  people  were  not  a  reading 
community.     Without  intending  to  claim  for  them  any  preeminence 
in  this  respect,  we  may  remark  that  previous  to  tlie  time  mentioned. 


vGooglc 


APPEMDIX.  771 

very  few  newspapers  were  iiiueil  except  from  the  chief  rnr.rt3  of  com- 
merce. The  country  towns,  every  where,  were  dependent  on  the 
issues  from  presses  in  our  large  cities ;  and  their  full  proportion  of 
these  was  taken. 

It  may  be  of  some  interest  to  the  reader,  and  may  serve  for  ref- 
erence on  future  occasions,  to  state  that  the  first  printing  press  in  the 
American  colonies  was  introduced  in  1638.  The  freeman's  oath  was 
first  printed;  then  an  almanac,  and  the  "New  England  Psalms." 
The  first  newspaper  printed  in  America  was  the  Boston  Mews  Letter, 
April  34,  1704.  With  the  exception  of  the  Weekly  Mercury,  begun 
in  Philadelphia  in  1720,  the  only  other  newspapers  published  in 
America  for  many  years,  were  the  Boston  Gazette,  begun  Dec.  18, 
1720 ;  the  New  England  Courant,  July  17, 1721 ;  the  Boston  Weekly 
News  Letter,  Jan.  5,  1727 ;  the  New  England  Journal,  May  27, 
1737 ;  the  Rhode  Island  Gazette,  1732.  There  was  none  in  New 
Hampshire  until  17o6.  —  At  the  time  of  the  revolution,  the  following 
were  published  in  Boston :  the  Evening  Post,  Boston  Gazette,  Mas- 
sachusetts Gazette,  (there  were  two  of  the  name,)  and  Massachusetts 
Spy.  The  Post  by  Flint  was  a  zealous  whig  papei',  but  noted  for  its 
impartiality.  It  ceased  in  1775.  The  Gwaeite,  by  Edes  &  Gill,  was 
also  whig,  under  the  patronage  of  leading  patriots.  It  was  continued 
to  1798.  The  Massachtisetls  C^oseHe,  published  on  Mondays,  by  Mills 
&  His,  was  tory,  publislied  by  authority.  The  other,  issued  on 
Thursdays,  was  by  Draper,  who  also  was  one  of  the  printers  of  the 
court.  The  Massachusetts  .^y  was  whig,  and,  during  the  war,  was 
removed  to  and  published  at  Worcester,  doing  good  service  to  the 
cause  of  freedom.  Newspapers  at  this  time,  and  long  after,  were 
printed  on  coarse  paper,  witli  poor  ink,  and  were  sometimes  almost 
ille^ble.  All  the  paper  manufactured  was  coarse  —  but  strong. 
Very  little,  even  of  the  best,  was  very  white;  and  none  very  smooth. 
— There  are  now  published  in  the  United  States  more  than  two 
thousand  different  news-joarnals;  whilst  there  are  in  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  only  about  five  hundred ;  in  France  two  hundred  and 
fifty ;  in  Austria  ten  ;  in  Spain  twenly-four ;  in  Portugal  twenty ;  ip 
Belgium  sixty-five  ;  in  Denmark  eighty-five ;  in  Russia  and  Poland 
ninety ;  in  Prussia  three  hundi-ed ;  in  other  Germanic  States  three 
hundred  and  twenty ;  in  Africa  fourteen ;  and  in  Asia  thirteen. 


vGooglc 


772 


Note  E.  (p.  627.) 

MANUFACTURE  OF   GLASS. 

This  important  enterprise  is  worthy  of  more  than  a  passing  no- 
tice ;  we  therefore  condense  a  brief  account  of  it  from  "  Eeminiscencea 
iif  G!as3-roaking,"  prepared  a  few  years  since  by  Deming  Jarves  Esq. ; 
— "Lilie  their  predecessors  in  the  raanufaeture  in  other  places,  this 
company  commenced  in  a  comparatively  small  way — beginning  with 
an  eight  foot  furnace,  each  pot  holding  800  lbs.  The  weekly  melts 
did  not  exceed  7000  lbs.,  and  the  yearly  product  $75,000  ;  giving  em- 
ployment to  GO  or  70  hands.  As  the  business  warranted,  the  capital 
was  increased  in  1854  to  $400,000.  The  weekly  melts  increased  to 
over  100,000  lbs.  j  the  hands  employed  numbered  500  persons ;  the 
furnaces  were  multiplied  to  4  of  10  pots  each ;  and  the  yearly  product 
to  $600,000."  We  may.  add,  considerable  improvements  and  addi- 
tions have  since  been  made.  The  business  of  giasa-making  in  Sand- 
wich continues  to  enlarge, — a  proof,  we  suppose,  that  it  is  remunera- 
tive and  commanding.  Another  establishment  has  arisen,  under  the 
auspices  of  Mr,  Jarves,  and  of  this  we  may  speak  hereafter. 

From  "Jarves'  Reminiscences,"  we  gather,  aa  of  interest,  the  fol- 
lowing fafits:  "The  first  effort  in  the  manufacture  of  glass  in  the 
United  States,  was  made  some  years  before  the  American  Revolution, 
by  a  company  of  Gennans,  in  Quincy.  Black  mefal  only,  and  of  a 
rude  style  of  the  art,  was  attempted.  In  1786,  was  the  first  attempt 
at  the  making  of  window  glass ;  and  this  was  in  New  Hampshire.  In 
1787,  a  factory  was  erected  in  Essex  St.,  Boston,  where  is  now  Edin- 
boro'  St,  for  the  making  of  the  crown  window  glass ;  but  was  not 
successful  until  1803,  when  the  State  offered  a  bounty  to  encourage 
the  manufacture,  and  then  was  produced  a  glass  superior  to  the  im- 
ported, and  was  well  known  throughout  the  country  as  "  Boston  Window 
Glass."  In  1822,  this  company  established  its  operations  in  South 
Boston,  a  charter  from  the  State  granting  an  exclusive  right  to  manu- 
facture for  fifteen  years,  the  capital  to  be  exempt  from  taxation  five 
years,  and  tie  workmen  exempt  from  military  duty.  In  1808,  the 
manufacture  was  commenced  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  was  finally  suc- 
cessful, so  that  the  business  became  greatly  enlarged  both  in  Pitts- 
burg and  vicinity,  where  great  advantages  for  fuel  were  presented; 
and  the  business  finally  extended  farther  west.  In  1810  or  1811,  a 
company  was  formed  in  Utica,  N.  Y. ;  but  untoward  circumstances 


vGooglc 


APPENDIX.  773 

leesB.  A  company  was  then  formed  in  New  York, 
whose  works  were  located  at  Sandy  Lake ;  but  the  undertaking  was 
soon  abandoned.  In  Eichmond,  Va.,  also,  an  unsuccessful  attempt 
was  made.  It  was,  at  this  time,  a  penal  offence,  in  England,  to  entice 
men  of  the  art  to  leave  the  kingdom ;  and  the  obstacles  laid  in  the 
way  of  procuring  competent  workmen  were  almost  insurmountable. 
About  this  time,  the  works  were  started  at  East  Cambridge  which 
were  succeeded,  in  1817,  by  the  New  England  Glass  Company.  These 
works  became  highly  prosperous.  In  1830,  the  business  was  attempt- 
ed in  New  York  city,  and  was,  in  1823,  removed  lo  Brooklyn,  L.  I. 
The  same  year  works  were  commenced  at  Kensington,  Philadelphia. 
Other  attempts  were  made  in  the  Atlantic  States,  up  to  1840  ;  but 
without  great  success.  Prior  to  1852,  no  less  than  fovty-two  dif- 
ferent attempts  in  the  manufacture  of  flint  glass,  had  been  made  in 
the  Atlantic  States:  twenty-eight  had  failed  entirely;  two  retired s 
two  retired  without  loss,  having  been  measurably  prospered ;  and 
ten  were  still  in  operation.  The  manufactory  in  Sandwich  has  been 
eminently  prosperous. 


Note  F.  (p.  628.) 

COASTING  TRADE  IN  WINTER. 

The  perils  of  sea-going  are  many ;  but  perhaps  few  classes  of 
men  are  more  exposed  to  hardahips  than  those  employed  in  the  coast- 
ing trade  in  winter.  Seamen  engaged  in  the  fisheries,  their  season 
over,  perhaps  generally  dismantle  their  vessels  and  relinquish  their 
employment  upon  the  sea  until  spring ;  some  engage  on  hoard  other 
vessels  in  other  business ;  but  if  others  undertake  coasting,  they  incur 
great  hazards  and  sometimes  meet  with  most  disastrous  issues.  One 
of  these  events,  occurring  Jan.  16,  1826,  we  are  reminded  of  at  this 
date,  and  as  it  graphically  illustrates  the  risks  of  property  and  life 
upon  the  coasts  in  the  winter  season,  we  will  in  condensed  form  pre- 
sent the  narrative  as  furnished  by  the  able  pen  of  the  late  Eev.  E,  S. 
Goodwin  for  the  pages  of  the  Token  for  1833.  "In  1836-7  the 
weather  was  uncommonly  severe  for  some  weeks.  It  was  a  boister- 
ous, cold  and  gloomy  season.  In  the  little  harbor  of  Sandwich,  some 
of  the  vessels  were  dismantled  for  the  winter,  others  were  laden  and 
waiting  a  relaxation  of  tlie  weather,  to  effect  their  passage.  A  period 
of  severe  cold  is  here  commonly  succeeded  by  rain.     The  north-west 


yGoogle 


774  APPENDIX. 

wind  which  brings  '  the   cold  out  of  the  norlii,'  gives  place  to  a  wind 
from  the  southerly  point,  which  comes  loaded  with  a  copious  vapoi" 
and  pours  it  down  like  a  deluge.     It  so  took  place  now.    About  noon, 
Jan,  16,  the  rain  ceased  and  the  weather,  comparatively  warmer,  gave 
some  prospect  of  a  few  days  in  which  business  might  be  done.     In 
the  afternoon  the  wind  was  soft,  hut  gusty.     The  air  was  loaded  witii 
vapor,  and,  in  the  higher  regions,  clouds  were  seen  as  if  pursuing 
each  an  inward  impulse  of  its  own.     On  an  eminence,  not  far  distant, 
s'ood  a  solitary  individual  with  his  face  towards  the  harbor  —  an  old 
experienced  master  in  the  coasting  ti'ade.     Accosted  in  the  customary 
style  of  salutation,  he  answered  not  a  word.    His  eye  was  intently  fol- 
lowing the  motions  of  a  small  schooner  laden  with  wood,  which  was 
slowly  moving  towards  the  mouth  of  the  harbor.    The  Almira  rounded 
the  point,  and  hoisting  sail  stood  towards  the  north.     The  old  seaman 
lifted  his  hands  and  exclaimed, ' Gone  out!  he  will  never  come  in 
again ! '     It  was  remarked  fo  him  that  the  wind  was  southerly ;  but  he 
paid  no  attention  —  departing  witli  a  sorrowful  countenance.     The 
wind  was  vacillating-,  and  the  vessel  seemed  as  if  conscious  of  the 
uncertainty  of  the  direction  in  which  the  wind  would  establish  itself* 
The  master  of  the  vessel  was  Josiah  Ellis,     He  was  one  whose  noble 
frame  peemed  able  to  abide  the  fiercest  pelting  of  the  pitiless  storm. 
He  had  often  encountered  the  violence  of  the  elements,  and  had  as 
often   conquered  by  the   simple  energy  of  a  vigorous  constilution. 
With  a  southerly  wind  and  a  favoring  tide  he  had  launched  out  for  his 
voyage  with  no  crew  but  himself,  his  son  Josiah,  and  John  Smith  a 
seaman.     The  Almira  held  on  her  way  with  slow  progress ;  but  the 
wind  was  fitful.     Having  passed  Monimet  Point,  and  liaving  Plym- 
outh light  for  a  landmark,  she  was  working  slowly  across  the  outer 
part  of  the  bay,  when  suddenly  the  master's  voice  was  heard  calUn;; 
all  hands ;  —  in  the  north-west  was  a  clear,  bright,  cold  sky  about  half 
up  from  the  horizon  —  the  clouds  were  hastening  towards  the  south- 
east, and  new  stars  were  appearing  at  each  successive  moment  in  the 
northern  and  western  section  of  the  heavens.    The  sight,  though  beau- 
(iful,  was  appalling,  indicating  a  rapid  change  to  severe  cold.     The 
first  impulse  was  to  run  into  Plymouth  for  shelter ;  but  as  that  harbor 
lay  directly  in  the  eye  of  the   wind,  there  was  little  encouragement 
that  it  could  be  reached.     They  tacked  once  or  twice  to  obtain  an  en- 
trance, but  having  little  sea-room,  and  ^  the  wind  becoming  more  vio- 
lent and  the  cold  more  severe,  they  were  foiled,  till  in  one  of  (he  sud- 
den motions  of  the  vessel  the  main  boom  was  wrenched  from  the 
fas&i.     The  halyards  were  let  go  and  the  mainsail  came  down  crash- 


yGoogle 


APPENDIX.  775 

iiig  and  crackling,  for  it  was  already  a  sheet  of  ice.     To  furl  or  even 
to  gather  it  up  was  imposaibie.     The  vessel  was  laid  to  the  wind,  ths: 
frozen  foresail  being  braced  fore  and  aft  and  the  jib  loosened.     It  was 
not  in  their  power  to  haul  it  down.     The  wind  soon  cracked  the  cover- 
ing of  ice,  rent  the  canvas,  and  finally  tore  it  in  pieces.     The  ves- 
sel obeyed  her  helm,  came  up  to  the  wind,  and  so  remained.     But 
the  whole  sky  was  now  swept  clear  as  if  by  magic,  the  moon  and 
stars  brightened,  the  air  waa  charged  with  intense  cold,  and  if  per- 
chance the  face  was  turned  towards  the  wind  it  was  not  simply  cut- 
tingly severe  but  the  frozen  moisture  of  the  atmosphere  seemed  to 
have  been  converted  into  needles  of  ice.     The  manners  had  been 
early  wet  with  the  moisture  of  the  air ;  then  drenched  with  the  spray ; 
all  was  now  congealed  upon  them.     Tlieir  garments  and  hair  were 
hung  with  icicles  or  stiffened  with  frost,  and  they  began  to  feel  the 
near  approach  of  that  stem  power  which  chills  and  freezes  the  heart. 
In  a  small  vessel,  its  sails  now  useless  encumbrances,  spars  and  rigging 
covered  with  ice,  they  stood  all  exposed  to  the  severest  rigors  of  a 
winter's  sky  and  wmtei'a  sea,  with  not  a  dry  garment  left.     They 
sought  the  Odbin,  succeeded  in  lighting  a  fire,  and  tovered  over  it  for  a 
few  moments,  hut  I  heir  perils  were  feaifully  increasing  —  the  deck 
as  well  as  rigging  tad  saili  became  encumbered  by  ice.     The  spray 
froze  where\  er  it  struck ,  the  smallest  ropes  had  asiumed  the  appeal  - 
ance  of  cables;  the  folds  of  the  sails  were  filled  with  a  wfight  tliit 
careened  and  threatened  to  sink  the  craft,  and  there  was  no  remedy 
To  proceed  on  the  voyage  was  impossible,  to  gtin  sheltei  m  Plymo  ith 
was  an  equal  impossibility,  and  they  thought  of  their  own  haibor 
Although  impossible  to  start  a  rope  and  difficult  to  make  the  heavy 
and  encumbered  vessel  yield  to  hev  helm,  they  nevertheless  succeeded 
in  getting  her  about,  and  as  wind  and  tide  now  set  together  they 
cleared  Monimet  Point  and  came  round  once  moic  into  Barnstible 
Bay  within  eight  miles  of  their  own  homes      In  the  moonhghf,  as 
they  floated  along,  they  could  discern  the  land  adjacent  to  the  mastei  s 
dwelling,  and  earnestly  longed  for  day  ia  hope  that  their  condiUon 
might  be  discovered  and  relief  obtained.     Long  and  weaiisome  wis 
that  perilous  nightl      The  cold  stiU  increaied  as  diy  appioachtd 
they  were  disabled  from  effort ;  the  ice  continued  to  accumulate,  and 
before  the  dawn  of  day  they  had  swept  by  the  home  they  loved      In 
the  dim  distance  they  saw  the  smoke  curling  fiom  their  chi  uney  topa , 
the  impossibility  of  receiving  assistance  from  that  quarter  was  appir 
ent;  the  vessel  must  needs  be  abandoned  (o  it'*  fttc  —  for  the  lant 
i-emaining  sail  had  now  yielded  to  the  violence  of  the  blast  and  its- 


yGoogle 


776  APPEKMX. 

accumulated  burden  of  ice,  ancl  liuug  in  shattered  and  heavy  remnants 
from  the  mast.  The  vessel  turned  nearly  broadside  to  the  wind  and 
floated  rapidly  along  as  if  intent  on  some  spot  where  it  might  be 
wrecked.  The  harbors  of  Sandwich,  Barnstable  and  Tarmoulb  were 
passed,  and  the  vessel  floated  onward  to  its  fate.  From  a  portion  of 
the  town  of  Dennis,  there  makes  out  northerly  into  the  sea,  a  reef  of 
rocl;s.  On  the  westerly  side  of  this  is  a  sandy  beach  oq  which  a  ves- 
sel of  tolerable  strength  might  be  cast  without  being  destroyed ;  on 
the  easterly  side  is  a  cove  having  a  similar  shore,  which  is  a  safe  har- 
bor from  a  north-west  wind.  But  the  reef  itself  is  dangerous.  Early 
in  the  day,  Jan.  17,  an  inhabitant  of  Dennis  beheld  from  an  eminence 
this  iU-iated  schooner,  raised  an  alarm  and  hastened  to  the  shore  with 
as  many  persons  as  the  sudden  emergency  allowed  to  collect.  Most 
of  these  were  seamen  themselves ;  they  knew  the  dangers  and  had 
the  hearts  of  seamen.  The  vessel  was  rapidly  approaching  the  reef 
She  was  so  near  that  tbey  could  look  on  board,  but  thi'y  saw  no  man 
—  nothing  but  the  frozen  mass;  at  best,  experienced  eyes  could  not 
determine  whether  eertwn  objects  were  the  common  fixtures  of  the 
deck  or  ice-cased  human  forms.  The  thought  that  there  might  be 
living  men  on  board  who  if  roused  might  change  the  direction  of  the 
vessel,  caused  a  united  shout,  clear,  shrill,  and  alarming.  The  three 
men  emerged  from  the  cabin,  shivering,  meeting  at  every  stop  a  dash- 
ing spray  frozen  ere  it  fell,  and  exposed  to  a  cutting  wind,  as  if 
"  '  all  naked  feeling  and  raw  life.' 

'Put  up  your  helm,'  exclaimed  an  aged  master,  'make  sail  and  round 
the  rocks.'  No  movement  was  made ;  it  was  impossible.  The  men 
on  hoard  felt  the  rising  of  their  vessel  for  the  fatal  plunge,  and  clung 
instinctively  to  whatever  they  could  lay  hold  of.  The  encumbered 
hulk  was  lifted  as  a  dead  mass  on  a  powerful  wave  and  lay  full  length 
upon  the  ledge.  The  three  were  now  covered  not  with  spray,  but 
with  the  frozen  substance  of  the  waves  which  made  a  highway  across 
the  deck,fiUed  the  cabin,  and  left  no  place  of  retreat  but  the  small  por- 
tion of  the  quarter  abaft  the  binnacle,  and  a  little  space  forward  near 
the  windlass.  To  the  former  place  they  retreated,  drenched,  shiver- 
ing, ready  to  perish,  expecting  each  moment  the  fabric  under  their 
feet  to  dissolve.  The  agonized  spectators  resolved  to  make  an  effort 
to  save  them ;  a  boat  was  procured,  and  manned  by  a  hardy,  noble 
crew,  risking  their  own  lives  for  their  imperilled  but  unknown  fellow- 
men.  The  surf  ran  heavy,  composed  of  sludge-like  floating  snow. 
To   sliove   off,   great  effort  was  required,  and  the  men  mii-.t  wa.lc 


vGooglc 


APPENDIX.  777 

into  the  semi-fluid  mass  for  tlie  purpose ;  and  scarcely  had  they 
readied  the  outer  edge  of  fhe  surf,  when  a  refluent  sea  conquered  and 
fllled  the  boat.  A  long  and  slender  warp  cast  from  the  shore,  reached 
one  of  the  men,  was  attached  to  the  boat,  and  all  were  drawn  back 
again  by  those  on  shore.  With  soul-absorbing  interest  these  pro- 
ceedings were  witnessed  by  those  on  board  the  schooner ;  they  saw 
the  failure,  and  their  hearts  seemed  to  die  within  them.  One  was 
then  seen  to  go  forward  and  sit  down  on  the  windlass.  '  Rise  up,  rise 
up,  and  stir  yourself,'  was  the  exclamation  of  many  voices  on  the  land. 
Seamen  well  know  that  he  who  exposed  to  severe  cold  sits  down  will 
sleep,  and  that  such  sleep  will  be  tliat  of  deatli.  Smith  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  the  call ;  he  was  soon  inorusted  with  ice  and  undistinguishable. 
The  father  and  son  now  stood  alone;  but  the  deadly  torpor  was 
creeping  over  them.  They  still  endeavored  to  keep  themselves  in 
motion ;  but  resolution  struggling  against  nature  fails  at  last.  The 
father  went  forward  and  seated  himself  as  Smith  had  done  before. 
Again  the  warning  cry  was  rdsed  in  vain.  '  We  will  save  him  yet,' 
was  the  resolve  of  the  sympathizing  spectators ;  and  the  boat  was 
again  manned,  again  launched,  and  reached  beyond  the  surf  in  safety. 
But  to  get  on  board  was  impossible.  They  spoke  to  the  younger 
Ellis,  and  heard  his  voice  in  reply.  The  violence  of  winds  and 
waves  dashing  on  the  rocks  and  over  the  wreck  was  such  that  they 
could  approach  no  nearer ;  bat  they  encour^ed  the  young  man  to 
keep  awake — assuring  him  that  the  rising  of  the  tide  would  lifl  the 
vessel  from  the  rocks  and  that  they  would  watch  and  embrace  the  first 
practicable  means  for  his  delivei-ance.  It  took  place  as  predicted ;  the 
rising  tide  brought  the  vessel  to  a  stand,  and  the  people  with  much 
effort  got  on  boai-d  at  4  P.  M.  Young  Ellis  was  on  the  quarter  deck 
holding  on  to  the  tiller  ropes  to  which  his  hands  were  frozen.  His 
feet  and  ankles  were  encrusted  with  ice,  and  he  seemed  scarce  con- 
scious of  the  presence  of  his  deliverers.  They  bore  him  in  their 
arras,  and  as  they  passed  his  father's  body  he  faintly  uttered  '  There 
lies  my  poor  father ; '  then  relapsing  into  a  stupor,  he  only  awaked 
after,  being  conveyed  on  shore,  the  customary  means  were  employed 
for  his  restoration.  Smith's  body  had  been  washed  away.  The 
younger  Ellis  was,  through  the  humane  attentions  of  strangers,  re- 
stored, but  with  the  ultimate  loss  of  fhe  extremities  of  his  hands  and 
his  feet.  As  may  well  be  supposed,  the  memory  of  that  fearful  night 
and  day  remained;  and  it  had  one  grateful  source  of  reflection  in  the 
value  of  that  kindness  of  man  to  man  which  leads  to  the  exposure 
even  of  life  for  the  shipwrecked  stranger.  A  child  of  their  own 
VOL.  I.  "8 


vGooglc 


778  ArpENDix. 

could  not  have  been  more  kindly  watched  over,  carefully  alteiiiled,  or 
liberally  provided  for.  Surely  tliere  is  a  recompense  for  srich,  witli 
Him  who  hath  said,  'Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me.' " 


Note  G.  (p.  640.) 

SECOND    CENTEKNIAL   AT    BAENSTABLE. 

We  regret  finding  that  we  have  so  little  space  in  resei-ve  for  tlie 
record  of  the  doings  at  this  anniveraary.  The  festival,  although  sug- 
gested by  citizens  of  Barnstable,  and  chiefly  under  their  direction, 
was  of  a  comprehensive  character  —  the  cooperation  of  citizens  of 
other  towns  on  the  Cape,  and  descendants  from  the  Cape  resident 
in  any  and  every  part  of  the  land  being  invited.  The  city  of  Bos- 
ton participated  largely  in  gii-ing  interest  and  effect  to  the  occa- 
sion ;  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Boston  and  ricinity,  native  horn 
of  Barnstable  County,  and  their  descendants,  held  at  the  Supreme 
Court  Koom,  appointing  a  committee  for  the  purpose,  consisting  of 
Messrs.  William  Stui^s,  B.  F.  Hallett,  Thomas  Gray,  George  Hal- 
let,  Joshua  Sears,  Francis  Bacon,  John  1.  Dimmoek,  Lemuel  Pope, 
and  Benjamin  Burgess.  Preparations  were  munificently  made,  and 
on  a  large  scale.  As  the  time  approached  for  this  grand  jubilee,  the 
interest  in  it  was  widely  and  deeply  felt;  and  steamers  to  convey  the 
numerous  guests,  as  also  bands  of  music  and  military  escorts  were  in 
requisition.  The  day  was  brilliantly  beautiful.  Said  a  distinguished 
son  of  Barnstable,  in  noticing  the  events  of  the  occasion,  "  Not  a 
speck  obscured  the  horizon,  and  the  softness  and  splendor  of  the 
atmosphere  seemed  to  have  been  given  by  a  beneficent  Providence  as 
an  approval  of  the  pious,  filial  duty  paid  to  the  memory  of  illustrious 
ancestors.  .  .  .  Never  were  the  quiet  streets  and  fields  of  Barnstable 
so  densely  populated.  It  was  a  living,  moving  mass,  as  if  Boston 
Common  on  a  great  gala  day  had  dropped  down  upon  us."  Hon. 
Nymphas  Marston  was  president  of  the  day;  Hon.  Henry  Cracker 
acted  as  chief  marshal ;  and  Hon,  David  Crocker  was  chaii-man  of 
the  committee  of  aiTangements.  The  Rev.  Freeman  Parker,  of 
Maine,  a  native  of  Barnstable,  was  one  of  the  chaplains  of  the  cel- 
ebration, and  the  orator  selected  was  John  Gorham  Palfrey,  D.  D., 
LL.  D.,    also   of  Cape   descent.     Never  before  was   there   such,  a, 


yGoogle 


APPENDIX.  779 

cordial  greeting  as  bctwcea  the  returning  emigrants  from  almost  every 
section  of  the  Union,  and  the  permanent  residents  —  never  were  con- 
gratulations raore  sincere  mingled  upon  the  parent  soil.  Every  door 
was  opened  in  hospitable  welcome.  The  services  at  the  meetinj^ 
house  were  not  less  interesting  by  the  use  of  an  old  version  from 
the  veritable  edition  of  1609  of  Stemhold  and  Hopkins,  to  the  tune 
of  Coronation. 

"  Attend,  my  people,  to  my  lawe. 

And  to  my  words  incline ; 
My  month  shall  speake  strange  parables, 

And  sentences  diviine,"  Sic. 

In  the  dining  pavilion,  the  great  "  family  party  "  of  just  fourteen  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight  persons,  including  the  ladies,  were  comfortably 
seated  at  the  tables,  and  presented  a  magnificent  picture.  After  din- 
ner, the  intellectual  repast  waa  opened  by  the  president  of  the  day,  in 
a  happy  address  —  salutatory  and  congratulatory  ;  toasts  were  given 
and  speeches  made  by  Gov.  Evbeett  in  his  most  eloquent  strain,  by 
Chief  Justice  Shaw  who  impressively  and  affectingly  recurred  to  his 
early  aasociations,  by  Dr.  Thaciibr,  by  Hon.  "Wm.  Sturgis  happily, 
in  sentiments  and  style  that  suited  the  occasion,  Hon,  Eomekt  C. 
WiNTHKOP,  Hon.  B.  F.  Hailett,  Mr.  Wm.  F.  Otis,  and  others. 
Letters  wore  also  read  from  Judge  Meilbn,  Hon.  H.  G.  Otis,  Ex- 
President  J.  Q-  Adams,  Judge  SiOEr,  Judge  John  Davis,  Judge 
Wilde,  Judge  Dewey,  Lt.  Gov.  Hull,  Hon.  George  Banckopt, 
Hon.  JosiAH  QmscT,  &c. —  The  closing  scene  —  the  ball,  was  a 
splendid  affair.  The  decorations  of  the  ball  room,  the  pavilion,  &c., 
were  in  fine  taste,  A  full  account  of  this  celebration  was  published 
by  S.  B.  Phinney  Esq.,  in  a  pamphlet  of  about  100  pp.,  1840. 


Note  H.  (p.  654.) 

CAPE   COD  RAILROAD. 

The  Cape  Cod  Ehanch  Railroad,  incorporated  in  1846,  was 
opened  in  1848.  Its  length  at  that  time,  from  Middleboro'  at  its 
connection  with  Fall  River  and  Old  Colony  Railroad,  to  its  termina- 
tion in  Sandwich,  was  27  miles.  The  cost  up  to  Jan.  1, 1850,  was 
$616,760.     The  paj  value  of  the  shares,  $100 ;  had  a  market  valua 


vGooglc 


780  APPENDIX. 

of  $47.  The  receipts,  in  1849,  were,  from  passengers,  $35,430.47 ; 
from  freight,  $14,972.74 ;  from  mails  and  rents,  $879  -.  total,  $51,282.21. 
The  running  expenses  were,  $31,145.98.     Net,  $20,136.23. 

The  number  of  passengers  carried  in  1849,  was  66,825.  No  acci- 
dent occurred.  No  dividend  was  declared.  By  a  report  made,  June 
1,  1855,  it  appeared  that  the  receipts,  the  previous  year.  Lad  been, 
from  passengers,  $89,129.18;  from  freight,  $21,968.13;  from  mails, 
$3,241.18;  from  express,  $1,307.37;  from  rents,  $254.22:  total, 
$115,899.98.     Expenses,  $59,160.47.     Net,  $56,739.51. 

A  statement  was  further  made,  as  follows:  Interest  on  the  funded 
debt,  $10,800 ;  interest  on  floating  debt,  $3,476,36:  total,  $14,276.36. 
Balance  applicable  to  dividends,  $42,465.15 ;  out  of  this  a  semi- 
annual dividend  payable  in  stock,  Feb.  1, 1855,  of  3  per  cent,  or  $1.80 
per.  share,  has  been  declared,  $16,200:  balance,  $26,265.15.  The 
extension  from  Sandwich  to  Hjannis,  18  miles,  including  whar^  new 
engines  and  cars,  has  cost,  $324,057.99.  The  road  from  Middleboro' 
to  Sandwich,  28  miles,  cost,  $500,000.  Total  cost  of  the  46  miles, 
$824,057.99. 

An  extension  of  the  road  had,  as  will  be  seen,  occurred  at  the  time 
of  this  report,  which  connected  with  a  steamboat  line  to  Nantucket.  The 
cost  of  the  road  and  equipments  was,  as  appears,  less  than  $18,000  per 
mile :  less  than  the  cost  of  any  other  railroad  in  the  State,  and  less 
than  one  half  the  average  cost  of  all  the  railroads  ii 


Note  L  (p.  660.) 
CAPE  COD  ASSOCIATION  OF  BOSTON. 

The  first  anniversary  of  this  association  was  held  at  Assembly 
Hall,  Boston,  Nov.  11,  1851.  After  a  chaste  and  happy  introductory 
address  by  the  president,  Hon.  David  Sf.aks,  an  oration  was  pro- 
nounced by  H.  A.  Scudder  Esq.,  and  the  balance  of  the  evening  was 
occupied  by  appropriate  toasts  and  speeches  —  the  first  regular  toast 
being — 

C(^e  cod  Our  Home.  —  The  first  to  honor  the  Pilgrim  ship,  the  flrsC  to  receive 
the  Pilgrims'  feet;  she  ia  the  first  aoA  the  laat,  and  always  the  deadest  in  the 
memory  of  her  childrea  every  where  1 

This  toast  was  rapturously  received,  and  nine  cheers  were  spon- 


vGooglc 


APPENDIX.  781 

taneously  and  enthusiasticaJly  given,  all  present  starting  at  once  fo 
their  feet.  The  following  song,  written  for  the  occasion,  was  thea 
sung  by  the  entire  company,  the  accompaniment  being  played  by  the 

Him— "Home,  SnaM  Home." 

The  home  of  our  sirea,  where  the  Pilgrims  first  trod ; 

Wiere  they  first  offered  thanks  for  their  safety  to  God ; 

That  home  we  will  cherish ;  their  memory  revere ; 

Their  spirits,  it  may  he,  arc  hovering  here. 
Home,  home,  the  Pilgrims'  home, 
We  ne'er  can  forget  thee,'  our  ocean-bound  home. 

The  home  of  our  childhood  !  in  fancy  we  see 

Its  welcoming  arm  ever  stretched  to  the  sea  ; 

Its  beacons  are  blazing,  its  hearts  true  and  warm. 

The  sailor's  aure  refine,  when  loud  howls  the  storm. 
Home,  home,  our  childhood's  home, 
We  ne'er  can  forget  thco,  our  ocean-hound  home. 

Wherever  our  footsteps  in  manhood  may  roam, 
We  will  fondly  look  back  to  our  forefathers'  home, 
And  cherish  the  thought  of  that  sheltering  bay 
Whore,  rocked  hy  the  billows,  the  Mayflower  lay. 
Home,  home,  dearly  loved  home, 
We  proudly  can  say,  there  is  no  place  like  home. 

Addresses  were  made  by  Hon.  James  Savage,  Chief  Justice 
Shaw,  Hon.  William  Stuk&is,  Col.  Samuel  Swbtt,  Hon.  Josiah 
Qdinct  who  humorously  alleged  his  claim  to  be  considered  of  Cape 
Cod  lineage,  Gbokgb  S.  Hillakd  Esq.,  and  others. 


Note  J.  (p.  662.) 

CELEBRATION  AT  YARMOUTH. 

The  third  anniversary  of  the  Cape  Cod  Association  of  Boston, 
August  2, 1854,  claims  a  brief  notice. — The  visitors  were  met  at  the 
railroad  depot  at  Yarmouth  by  numerous  inhabitants  of  that  town,  and 
vicinity,  and  were  presented,  in  an  appropriate  address  by  S.N.  Small 
Esq.,  in  behalf  of  the  dtizens,  with  a  cordial  greeting.  The  speaker 
expressed  "  the  gratification  of  ns  who  remain  on  the  old  homestead  " 
at  the  organization  of  a  society  "  by  those  of  our  brothers  who  have 


vGooglc 


782  APPENDIX. 

gone  out  from  amongst  us  to  seek  their  fortunes  elseivhere,  and  who 
by  their  taienls,  energy  and  enterprise  liave  won  for  themselves  a  high 
and  honorable  position  in  almost  every  department  of  liumaa  effort. 
'  for  the  purpose,'  to  use  the  language  of  one  of  your  number, '  of 
cultivating  the  social  virtues,  commemorating  the  history  of  the  past, 
and  pei'petuating  those  principles  that  have  somewhat  distinguished 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Cape ; ' "  and  concluded  by  extending,  in  behalf 
not  only  of  the  people  of  Tarraouth,  but  "  of  Cape  Cod,  every  town 
and  village  of  which  is  represented  here,  our  warmest  congratulations, 
and  a  hearty,  old-fashioned,  Cape  Cod  welcome."  His  Honor,  the 
Chief  Justice,  as  the  senior  member  of  the  Association  pi'esent, 
felicitously  replied — thanking  thp  inliabitants  for  tiie  agreeable  and 
gratifying  invitation  previously  extended,  and  for  the  present  welcome 
reception.     He  said,  — 

"  Sir,  I  present  to  you  that  branch  of  the  old  femily,  male  and  female,  who, 
at  vM-ioiis  tiroes  and  apon  various  prudential  considcraaona,  have  departed 
&om  the  family  mansion  and  ancient  homestead,  and  taken  up  their  abode,  for 
a  IJme,  elsewhere ;  who  tbe  better  to  cherish  their  mutual  attachment  to  their 
dear  native  land,  and  the  homes  of  their  childhood,  have  united  themselves 
under  tiie  name  of  the  Cape  Cod  Association. 

A  pretty  large  array  of  visitors,  I  roust  confess,  Mr.  Chairman.  But  permit 
me  to  HBsnre  you,  and  all  your  irienda  here,  ftom  my  own  personal  knowl- 
edge, fliat  there  ia  not  one  visitor  here,  male  or  female,  whose  heart  is  not 
deeply  penetrated  with  the  tender  and  endearing  sentiment,  at  once  joyous  and 
sad,  which  makes  up  the  indescribable  charm  of  home.  But,  sir,  although  this 
part  of  the  family  whom  I  now  present  to  yon  constitute  a  pretty  laj^e  body 
of  visitors,  yet,  I  judge  from  appearances  all  around  me,  fliat  the  arjcient 
household  was  expecting  company  about  this  time,  and  were  determmed  that 
the  guests  should  not  oulnumber  the  host  ready  to  receive  tliem  ;  nor  outstrip 
ttiem  in  manifestations  of  courtesj' ;  and  I  am  assured  by  every  thing  around 
me  and  before  me,  that  the  members  of  the  household  are  oU  animated  with  this 
n  sentiment  of  biotlierhood,  which  has  hiought  the  visitors  home. 
MT,  to  imite  once  more  with  yon,  in  expressing  our  attachment 
ards  a  race  of  piogenitora  whose  memory  we  shall  ever 
gratefully  cherish. 

We  come  to  pledge  to  each  other  the  renewal  and  perpetual  continuance  of 
those  bonds  of  friendship  which,  commencing  with  our  eailiest  existence,  shall 
terminate  only  with  our  latest  breath. 

We  come  to  express  the  earnest  and  Einoere  hope  that  the  same  feelings 
of  friendship  and  brotherhood  which  animate  Uh  may  extend  to  our  latest 
posterity." 

The  Station  house  of  the  Cape  Cod  Railroad  was  handsomely  dec- 
orated with  flags  and  streamers,  and  the  walls  of  the  building  were 


vGooglc 


APPENDIX.  783 

surmounted  with  sMelds  beai'ing  the  nnmcs,  each  in  its  place,  of  every 
State  in  the  Union,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  group  the  motto  "  God 
and  our  native  land ; "  and  over  the  road  leading  from  the  depot  to 
the  village  was  an  arch  trimmed  with  wreaths  and  evergreen,  and 
bearing  the  inscription,  "  Cape  God  welcomes  with  pride  her  long 
absent  children." 

A  procession  being  formed,  in  order  pre-arranged,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Col.  George  W.  Hailet,  the  march  was  taken  np  through  the 
principal  streets,  first  to  the  pavilion,  passing  on  their  way  a  venerable 
looking  representation  of  a  house,  on  which  was  inscribed,  "Jlome  of 
Andrew  Hidht,  buiU  here  in  1639,"  Near  "the  wharf-road"  was 
another  tasteful  arch,  on  which  appeared,  "  Commerce :  the  civiliaer 
of  the  World. 

'Far  ns  the  waves      t  nd      b'll  w  '  foam, 
Behold  our  enipir    o  d    un  y     u:  home.'  " 

It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  enume  te  all  the  decorations  that 
at  different  points  met  the  eye  C  t  zens  eemed  to  have  vied  with 
each  other  in  tasteful  and  app  o^  te  emblems  at  their  respective 
residences. 

At  the  pavilion  the  viands  were  spread  and  iu  waiting;  after  par- 
taking of  which,  Chief  Justice  Shaw  introduced  the  intellectual  part 
of  the  banquet  After  some  devotional  exercises,  speeches  followed 
and  well-ordered  toasts  i  in  the  speaking  George  Marston  Esq.,  Rev. 
Mr.  Cogswell,  Gov.  Washburn,  Dr.  J.  V,  C.  Smith  mayor  of  Bos- 
ton, Hon.  Josiah  Quincy  Jr.,  Richard  Warren  Esq.  president  of  the 
Pilgrim  Sodety,  Hon,  B.  F.  Hallett,  CoL  Hatch,  Hon.  Richard 
Frothingham,  Col.  J.  H.  W.  Page,  Col.  G.  W.  Hailet,  Mr.  William 
S.  Thacher,  and  others  participated.  A  poem  was  pronounced  by 
Frederick  W,  Crocker  Esq.  —  A  ball,  in  the  evening,  concluded  the 
festivities. 

We  venture  a  single  extract  from  the  speech  of  Gov.  Washburn  on 
the  occasion,  because  it  is  testimony  from  the  right  source  —  conflrraa- 
tory  of  an  honorable  characteristic  to  which  we  have  adverted  p,  760, 
His  words  were: — 

"  Mr.  pjesident,  this  spot  ie  to  tlie  reet  of  New  England,  and  wherever  a 
Cape  Cod  boy  is  to  be  found,  what  the  holy  city  was  to  God's  people  of  old, 
where,  on  a  Fassovec  like  tMe,  they  could  come  up  and  renew  their  vows  of 
iidelity  to  their  country  and  her  institutions.  If  time  permitted,  sir,  I  might 
sustain  what  I  have  Eaid  of  Cape  Cod  and  her  people  by  what  we  otu'selves 
hare  witnessed,  as  well  as  by  the  rich  memories  of  the  past.    Permit  me  to  say, 


yGoogle 


that  a  few  years  since,  I  had  the  honoi  tu  h)ld  if  u  t  of  C  i  n  5  Plei  ii 
the  County  of  Barnstable.  Most  of  tl  o  e  piesent  an,  aware  that  that  Oouit 
has  jurisdiction,  directly  or  by  appeal,  on.  ill  ciiminol  cases  m  the  County, 
with  the  ezceplion  of  capital  offences,  as  well  as  on  oinl  matters  They  are 
aware,  too,  that  there  being  only  two  terms  m  a  year  all  the  business  of  the 
Court,  civil  and  criminal,  fbr  half  a  year  is  to  bt  disposed  of  at  one  of  these 
sessions.  Well,  sir,  on  the  occasion  to  Tihich  I  illude  I  went  there  and  I 
met  with  the  Grand  Jiu'y  of  the  Couiiti  The;  i  tii  d  fir  del  beiation  and 
in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  they  returned  and  n-poited  to  the  Couit  that  there 
had  been  no  crime  committed  in  the  County,  within  their  cognizance.  I  went 
with  them  to  the  civil  aide  of  the  Court,  and  I  could  not  find,  in  the  litigation 
of  the  County,  that  there  stood  a  single  case  for  trial.  And,  kt,  the  whole 
business  of  the  County,  both  civil  and  criminal,  with  a  population  of  thirty 
thousand  souls,  was  done  up,  and  the  Court  adjourned,  in  less  than  an  hour's 
time.  Sir,  it  was  not  poverty,  it  was  not  a  want  of  industry  and  enterprise  in 
the  people  of  this  County,  that  led  to  this  dearth  of  crime  and  litigation ;  it 
was  because  it  was  such  a  population —  so  educated,  so  trained ;  and  I  do  not 
believe  that  there  is  a  parallel  incident  to  this,  in  a  free  community  so  nu- 
merous as  this,  and  embracing,  as  this  does,  11 
interests,  in  the  history  of  the  world." 


Note  K.  {p.  668.) 

NEW  YORK   CAPE   COD  ASSOCIATION 

This  associatioQ  organized  April  21,  1856,  celebrated  its  s 
sary  N^ovember  11,  1858,  by  a  sumptuous  dinner  at  the  Astor  House, 
and  by  the  interchange  of  patriotic  and  fraternal  seiitiments,  the  pres- 
ident, Eben.  B.  Crockee  Esq.,  in  the  chair.  Addresses  were  made 
by  the  President,  Messrs.  Jame^  A.  Smith,  Jamea  M.  Holmes,  Rich- 
ard Warreo,  E.  Cvoclter  Bodfish,  John  Gorham,  E.  W.  Croweli,  Rev. 
Matthew  Hale  Smith,  and  others.  The  occasion  was  one  of  much 
enjoyment.  This  association,  embracing  a  large  number  of  prom- 
inent and  highly  respectable  gentlemen  of  Cape  origin,  seems  to  have 
adopted  the  plan  of  rotation  in  office.  Mr.  Ckookee,  Mr.  James  A. 
Smith,  and  Mr.  N.  E.  Collins  have  in  succession  presided  over  it- 
The  certificate  of  membership  is  an  elaborate  and  beautiful  engrav- 
ing, the  centre  of  which  represents  tbe  signing  of  the  compact  in  tfie 
cabin  of  the  Mayflower,  with  a  view  of  the  harbor  of  Provineetown 
as  it  was,  and  as  it  now  is.    Other  emblematic  devices  adorn  the 


vGooglc 


Note  L.  (p.  736.) 

JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE. 

The  appointmenfs  of  Jus.tice?  of  the  Peace,  since  the  Union,  includ- 
iog  such  as  were  commiBsioned  Quorum  units,  (the  latter  designated 
by  being  placed  in  small  capital--,)  have  been :  — 


1692. 

1738. 

Saml.  Knowles,  B. 

John  Fkeewan,  E. 

Thomas  Payne,  F. 

Saml.  Smith,  S. 

JOHW  Thichek,  Y. 

Svr.TS.  Bourse,  Be. 

John  GoitHAH,  Be. 

1729. 

James  Otis,  Be. 

Stephen  Skiff,  S. 

Shubael  Baxter,  Y. 

Jona.  Sparrow,  E. 

Ezra  Bourne,  S. 

1748. 

Shearj.  Bourne,  8. 

John  Thaohee,  Y. 

1738. 

Saml.  Tupper,  S. 

1707. 

1731. 

1753. 

Nallil.  Freeman,  H. 

Thomas  Clark,  H. 

John  Freeman,  H. 

John  Russell,  Be., 

1739. 

Barnahfls  Paine,  T. 

1709. 

TH08.  WiNSLOW,  H. 

John  Otis,  Be.,  1738. 

1733. 

John  Stubs  is,  Be. 

Joseph  Doane,  E.,  1734. 

John  Davis,  Be. 

Bbent.  Lewis,  Be. 

1754. 

1710. 

David  Ceockkh,  B 

,  1747. 

Kenelm  Winsloiv,  H. 

William  Baasett,  S, 

TlioiQas  Payne,  E. 

1735, 

1755. 

Joseph  Eol)inson,F 

Joseph  Otis,  Be,  1757- 

1713. 

E.01.AND  Cotton,  S. 

Peter  Thacher,  Y. 

1737. 

Saml.  Sturgis,  Be. 

William  Payne,  E. 

1758. 

ISAAC  HtNCKJ.EYjE.,Be., 

1715. 

1738. 

L1757 

JoimDoane,  E. 

Seth  Parker,  P. 

DAtXT)  Thacheh,  Y.,1781 

1718. 

1740. 

1757. 

Jolm  Bacon,  Be. 

Joseph  Freeman,  H 

Chilingsworth  Foster,  H. 

1719. 

174L 

175S, 

Mela'h  Boubhe,  S.,1727. 

John  Hallett,  Y. 

EdwaedBscon,  Be. 
Thomas  Smi-ch,  S. 

1721. 

1743. 

Joseph  Lotlirop,  Be. 

Saml,  Jennings,  S. 

1762. 

Isaac  Lothrop,  Be. 

Shubael  Gotham 

Be. 

Solo.  Otis.  Be.,  1775. 
Roland  Robinson,  F. 

1723. 

1744, 

JudahThacher.Y. 

Hezekiah  Doane,  E. 

Silas  Bourne,  S. 

Jona.  Doane,  E. 
Nathl.  Stone,  H. 

1727. 

1747. 

John  Thaoher,  Be, 

Edmand  Freeman,  H. 

DiTiD  GosHAU,  Be., 1753. 

John  Gorham,  Be. 

VOL.   I. 

99 

yGoogle 


Nymph  AS   Mabston,   Be., 

1789. 

hos.  Jones,  F. 

[1772. 

i-therton  Hale,  Y. 

osioh  Sampson,  Be. 

1788. 

Ehenr.  Bacon,  Be.,  1S06. 

Melatiah  Bourne,  S. 
1770. 

Daniel  Datis,  Be.,  1775. 

AML.  Savage,  Be,  181i. 
eaao  Sparrow,  E. 

1803. 
Jorham  Lovell,  Y. 

1790. 

1804. 

Erehr.  Crocker  Jr.,  Be., 

Elisha  Doane,  Y.  1820. 

1771. 

[1797. 

Jideon  Hawley  Jr.,  M. 

Eliaha  Doane,  W. 

1792. 

Tho8.  Bourne,  S. 

Joseph  Parker,  F. 

1805. 

John  Gteenoiigh,  T. 

17S3. 

saao  Clark,  Br. 

1773. 

Nathl.  Frcemiin  Jr.,  Be. 

1807. 

SlTEARJ,B0UKNE,Be.,178I. 

Sami,.Waterman,W.,1807. 

John  Dillingham,  H. 

'Richard  Bourne,  F. 

Stephen  Homer,  D. 

1704. 

Francis  Weeks,  F. 

1778. 

Joseph  Palmer  Jr.,  P. 

■ohn  Freeman,  S. 

Joseph  Doane,  C. 

Simeon  Kingman,  E. 

1803. 

Joseph  Nye,  S. 

Soto.  Freemasi,  H. 

1795. 

Hugh  G.  Donaldson,  F. 

Nathl.  Freeman,  S. 

David  Scuddek,Bc.,1802, 

Nalhan  Nye  Jr.,  8. 

BlOHARD  BAXTUR,  Y. 

Brad. DiMMicK.F.,  1829 

Joshua  RohiiiBon,  F. 

1786. 

Benj.  B.  Atkins.  P. 

Muses  Swift,  S. 

Ehanr.  Broadhrooks,  H. 

Jonas  Whitman,  Be. 

Danl.  Taylor,  Be. 

Jeremiah  Howes,  D. 

Benj.  Bangs,  H. 

Jona.  Howea,  Y. 

David  Nye,  F. 

Saml.  Freeman,  E. 

Zenae  Winslow,  H. 

Elisha  Perry,  S. 

John  Atwood,  H. 

Jona.  0.  Freeman,  S. 

1809. 

Bonj.  Collins,  T. 

James  Hinckley,  F. 

SethFteemim,  8. 

1797, 

Daniel  Pease,  P. 

Elisha  Mayo,  E. 

Calvin  Tilden,  Y. 

1776. 

Dai-id  Thacher  Jr.,  Y. 

Nathan  Stone,  D. 

Nathl.  Shiveriok,  P. 

Sjlvs.  Nye,  S. 

Thos.  Paike.E. 

1810. 

1799. 

Richard  Lewis,  Be. 

178L 

Sylvs.  Stone,  H. 

Jason  Ayres,  T. 

Ebenr.  Jenldns.Be. 

John  Reed,  Y.,  1816. 

JoaEPHNYE,  H. 

1800. 

Anthony  Snow,  T. 

Byhs.  Snow,  T. 

Solo.  Freeman  Jr.,  H., 

IaA.L.  Greek,  Be.,  1811 

Joa.  DiMMicK,  F.,  1808. 

[1802. 

TiMO.  Pkinney,  Be.,  1815. 

IBll. 

1783. 

Thoa.  Thacher,  Y. 

Benj.  PerciTal,  S. 

JoHK  Davis,  E.,  1802. 

Israel  Lombard,  T. 

Elijah  Knowles,  E. 

1801. 

EnSHA  Pope,  S.,  1826. 

WEHDEJ.L  Davis,  S.,1813. 

Jona.  Bangs,  D. 

1785. 

Richard  Sears,  C,  1815. 

Joseph  Hawes,  Y. 

John  Young,  W. 

Jas.  Freeman,  8. 

Holmes  Allen,  Bo. 

1812. 

1789. 

Jona.  Bascom,  0. 

Sturgis  Gorham,  Be. 

1802. 

JoR  C.  Davis,  Be.,  1823 

Abraham  "Williams,  S. 

Timo.  Bascom.  0. 

Salmon  Nye,  Bo.' 

Joseph  Snow,  H. 

David  Parker,  Be. 

Ezra  Cronell,  C. 

yGoogle 


787 


■WiUiam  Cole,  W. 

.zra  Cro^veH.                           1 

1837. 

WiUism  Handy.  S.                   Obed  Brooks,  H.                     |  JohnRobinson,  F. 

Stephen  Basaett,  S. 

Joshua  Atwood,  E. 
ISSl-                       Benj.  Berry,  Br. 

Benj,  BurgesB,  S. 

Abbeb  Da  Via.  Be.,  1818.       Melatiah  Bourne,  8.             Iloth.  Da.vi3,  Be.,  1843. 

Joseph  Bannet,  F.                    Joseph  Sampson,  Br.             | 

ames  Long,  H. 

Jahes  CnoivELL,  Y.,1828. 

ohn  Seabury,  C. 

Jona.  Nicketaon,  D. 

1823. 

Elijah  Cobb,  Br.,  1819. 

1823. 

riMO.  Reed,  Y.,  1829. 

Wm.  Feaaenden,  S. 

rimo.  Phinney,  Be. 

1B13, 

SethF.Nye,  8. 

lames  Small,  T. 

Josiih  Whitman,  W. 

Nathan  Nickerson,  H. 

Joseph  Eldridge,  T. 

laaiah  Chase,  H. 

Rd.  Sparrow,  P. 

Joseph  Hall,  S. 

John  D.  Bangs,  H. 

Reuben  Arey,  W, 

Benj.  Boui-iie,  S. 

John  Eldridge,  Y. 

Eliaha  P.  Fearing,  F,. 

Joseph  Parker,  F.      [1820. 

1829. 

SiML.  P.  CnosewEiL,  F., 

1823. 

Elijah  Chase,  H. 

Orsamus  Thomas,  P. 

Josi.  B*rcHELOB,P.,1824. 

Teremiah  Mayo,  Br. 

Isaac  W.  Whitman,  Br. 

Asa  8.  Bowley,  P. 

Dean  Bangs,  Br. 

Da-lid  Crocker,  Be. 

WardM.  Parker,  f. 

James  Atwood,  C. 

Wm.  Myriok,  0. 

Solo.  Rich,  P. 

Wm.  Eldriage,  H. 

1824. 

Harding  Knoivles,  E. 

Benj.Hallett.Be. 

1830. 

Zenaa  Nye  Jr„  S. 

Joseph  Young,  C. 

1814. 

MlTTHJiwCOEB,BB.,1829.. 

Hemy  Thacher,  Y. 

Asa  Young,  Be. 

Jesse  Collins.  E. 

Nymphas  Maeston,  Be., 

Besj.  BEABDBr,  0.,  1825. 

Wm.  Lewis,  Be. 

[1820. 
181S. 

Richd.S.Wooa,F. 
Isaiah  Bray,  Y. 

Benj.  R.  Withereli,  W. 

Sjlvester  Baker,  Be. 

Otren  Howes,  D. 

1831. 

1818 

Jona.  Freeman,  Bt. 

Henry  Crocker,  Be. 

Thomas  Swift,  3. 

John  Topping,  C. 

John  Freeman,  Br. 

Nathl.  Le«ia,  F. 

ElLsha  Perry  Jr.,  S. 

Nehcmiah  Baiter,  D. 

Elijah  Swift,  F.,  1840 

Joseph  Blish,  Be. 

1825. 

Wm.  H.  Fessenden,  S. 

Allen  Hinckley,  T. 
Thos.  Fish,  F.,  1837. 

John  Jenliins,  F. 

Chas.  H.  Freeman,  8. 

Freeman  Marchant,Be. 

Benj.  Lewis,  Be. 

1817. 

Jabez  Howland,  Be. 

John  Kenney,  T. 

N.^LER  Ceockeii,Bc.,1823. 

Hcman  Tobey,  S. 

Ezra  Tobey,  S. 

Eoland  T.  Crocker,  Be. 

Shadrack  Freeman,  S. 
Nathan  Underwood,  H. 

1832. 

1818. 

Nathl.  Lincoln  Jr.,  Br. 

Charles  Marston,  Be. 

JohnKendrick,  0. 

Geo.  Co  pel  and,  Br.,  1847. 
Thos.  H.  Tobey,  S. 

Ebenr.  Bacon,  Be. 
Thos.  Lothrop,  P. 

1819. 

Joshua  Wixon  Jr.,  D. 

Jona.  BB.Tig3,  D. 

1826. 

Zachcus  Hamblin,  Be. 

Lemuel  Ewer,  S. 

Reuben  Cahoon,  H, 

1820. 

Henry  Lawrence,  8. 

Dantorth  P.  Wright,  B 

EuaaELL      FI.EEMAN,      S., 

John  Doavb,  0.,  1833. 

Jesse  Boyden,  8. 

Ebenr.  Nye,  F.           [1824. 

Caleb  Reed,  Y. 

Aaron  Cornish,  F, 

Shubael  Lawrence,  F. 

Thos.  Hilliard,  P. 

Abraham  Winslow,  Br. 

William  Green,  T. 

1833. 

BiOHD.  SfiiBS  Jb.,C.,1822. 

Isaiah  Nye,  C. 

Joseph  Smith,  Br. 

yGoogle 


Saml.  Baker,  D. 
1834. 
John  Atkins,  P.,  1839. 
Simeon  CroweU  Bd,  Y. 
Isaiah  Baker,  H. 


Eben 


I,  W. 


Bars.  Hall,  D. 

Th08.  Holbrook  23,  "W. 

Obed  Brooks,  H. 


183S. 
Solo.  DiVis,  T.,  1839. 
Joseph  P.  Niokeraou,  H. 
John  Perkins,  F. 
Mulford  Kendrick,  H. 
SylvEster  Baker,  Y. 

1833. 

Seth  Crowell,  D. 
Thacher  Ryder,  C. 
Joseph  Atwood,  C. 
Nathl.  Doane,  H. 
Mich!.  CollinB,  E. 
Stephen  C.  Nye,  Be. 

1837. 

Zetiina  Howes,  D. 
Geo.  W.  Donaldson,  P. 
Ne>YellHox;e,P. 
Zeno  Scudder,  Be. 
George  Coll"  ~ 
Darius  Weeks,  H. 
Solo.  C.  Howland, 
Prince  Howi 
Joseph  White,"?, 
GOBEIM  LOYELI.,  Y.,  1845. 


Miller  W.  NickersoD,  D. 


Frcdfric  Dayis,  F. 
S.  Hunt,  Y. 
Collins  S.  Cole,  W. 
Nell.  Cron-ell,  D. 
Rd.  Sparrow,  O. 
Josiah  Bacon,  S. 


Isaiah  Bray,  Y. 
ih  Lewis,  C. 
aetli  Hallett,  Be. 
Geo.  King,  F. 
!  Kelly,  H. 
ihElUndorwoad,H, 
Daniel  Basactt,  Bo. 
Wm.  Lewis,  Be. 
1840. 
Josiah  Sampson,  Be. 
184L 
.  Taylor,  0. 
Jona.  Niekerson,  D. 
Alex.  Howes,  D. 
Wm.  Field,  H. 
Isaac  Sparrow,  0. 

My  rick,  0. 
Allen  Hinckley,  T. 
Jerh.  Shedd,  T. 
Nathl.  P.  Wiley,  W. 


Stephen  HomeT,  T>. 
'  Eldtidge,  H. 
P.  Bourne,  F. 
Sparrow  Horton,  0. 

1  R.  Hinckley,  S, 
Joshua  Small,  T. 
Joseph  Hawes,  Y. 
Ainoa  Otis,  Y. 
Reuben  Arey,  W. 

1843. 

ZenasD.Bassett.Bc. 
Sand.  Knowles,  E, 
John  C.  Parker,  F. 
Ed.  Baker  Jr.,  H, 
Giles  Holbrook,  W. 


J844, 

Chas.B.H.Fe53enden,B 
Chas.  Thacher,  Y. 
Edward  Thacher,  Y. 
lliehd.  Libbey,  W. 
"  )hn  Larkin,  Y. 
Bara,  Fuine,  T. 
Godfrey  Rider,  P. 
RufusL.  Thacher,  P. 
?orge  Lovell,  Be. 
adinand  G.  Kelley,  B( 
Nathl.  Hmckley,  Be. 
Jabea  Howland  Jr.,  Be. 
David  Mayo,  Br. 
Anthony  Smalley,  Br. 
Josiah  Mayo,  C. 

en  Rogers,  C. 
Obed  Howes,  D. 
.  H.  A.  Collins,  E. 


Nathl.  Freeman,  C 
Mason  White,  8. 
Clark  Hoxie,  S. 


Thomas  Small,  Br, 
1  Small,  Br. 
Hardy,  C. 

Mjrick  Clark,  B. 

Jesse  Collins,  E. 

Howard  Perry,  B. 

1848. 
Nathl.  Snow,  C. 
Elijah  E.  Knowlcs 

1847. 
Elisha  Taylor,  Y. 
Jacob  Mitcheli,, 
Nathl.  S.  Simpkins 


Chas.  H.  Buraley,  Be. 
James  Chase,  H. 
Nathan  B.  Gibbs,  S. 


vGooglc 


Note  M.  (p.  7i0.) 

MILITIA. 

A  REORGANIZATION  of  the  luilitia  in  1781,  which  had  remained 
nearly  the  same  from  the  reorganization  in  1776,  (see  p.  486,)  was 
elFeeted,  (see  p.  538,)  to  meet  the  requirement »  of  the  new  constitu- 
tion ;  and  the  following  appointments  and  suucessioa  ensued ;  — 

Brigadier  Generals- 
1781.  Nath'l  Freeman,  of  S.  1822.  Jeremiah  Mayo,  Br. 

1794.  Joseph  Dimmick,  P.  1823.  Ebeaeaer  D.  Winslow,  Br. 

1797.  Ebenezer  Lothrop,  Be.         1833.  Sabin  Smith,  S.,  to  1840. 
1816.  Elijah  Cobb,  Br. 

By  Act  regulating  the  militia  1785,  the  military  of  the  county 
constituted  "the  Barnstable  Bkigade,"  i.  e.  " the  3d  Brigade  of 
5tb  Division." 

Brigade  Majors  and  Inspectors. 
1781.  Uath'l  Freeman  Jr.,  of  S.     1816.  Joseph  Sampson,  Br. 
.   1797.  WOliam  Hinckley,  Be.  1828.  Sylvanus  Hatch,  F. 

Joseph  Blish  Jr.,  Be.  1833.  Jas.  H.  Bodiish,  S. 

Quartermasters. 
Andrew  Garrett,  of  Y.  1824.  Charles  Nye,  S. 

1818.  Freeman  Foster,  Br.  1831.  Elisha  D.  Winslow,  Br. 

Aids  de  Gamp. 
Richard  Sears  Jr.,  of  C.       1829.  Freeman  Foster  Jr.,  Br. 
1822.  Jonathan  Freeman,  Bv. 

First  Regiment. 
Oolonels. 
1781.  Enoch  Hallett,  of  T.  1828.  Eben'r  Chamberlain,  S. 

1790.  Joseph  Dimmick,  F.  1832.  Sabin  Smith,  S. 

Thomas  Thacher,  Y.  1833.  Sylvester  Bourne,  F. 

1806.  David  Nye,  F.  1837.  Thomas  E.  Loring,  S. 

1821.  Obed  B.  Nye,  S.  1838.  B.  S.  G.  Waters,  S. 


vGooglc 


790 


1781.  Joseph  Dimmitk,  of  F. 
1790.  Abraham  WiUiams,  S. 

David  Nye,  F. 
1806.  Nath'l  Jenkins,  Be. 
1821.  Nathan  B.  Gibbs,  S. 


1827.  Sabin  Smith,  S. 

1832.  Sylvester  Bourne,  F. 

1833.  Thomas  E.  Loring,  S. 

1837.  Sylvanus  Harlow,  S. 

1838.  Elisha  B.  Faunce,  S. 


Majors. 

1781.  Mioab  Chapman,  of  T.        1806.  John  Freeman,  S. 

1782.  George  Lewis,  Be.                1821.  Joshua  Nye,  F. 
1790.  Ebenezer  Lothrop,  Be.         1828.  Francis  Nye,  F. 

Isaiah  HalL  1831.  Sylvanus  B.  Phinncy,  Be. 


Adjwt 


1781.  Thomas  Tbacher,  of  Y 
1790.  Joseph  Parker,  F. 

John  Nye,  S. 
1820.  James  Tobey,  S. 
1822.'  Sewall  Fessenden,  S. 


1826.  Abram  Nye,  S. 

1829.  Theodore  Kern,  S. 

1834.  Charles  C.  Nye,  F. 

1839.  Joaiah  Melcher  Jr.,  S. 


Second  Regiment. 
Colonels. 


1781.  Benj.  Godfrey,  of  C. 
1790.  Joseph  Doane,  C. 

Jonathan  Snow,  Br. 
1817.  Joshua  Hamblin,  Y. 


1824.  Isaiah  Bray,  T. 
1830.  Nehemiali  Baker,  D. 
1833.  Kufiis  L.  Thacher,  H. 


1781.  Job  Crodier,  of  Be. 
1790.  Elijah.Knowles,  E. 


1817.  John  Wetherill. 
Hugh  Nickerson. 


1820.  Isaiali  Bray,  T. 
1824.  Gorham  Crowell,  T. 
1827.  Eben'r  D.  Winslow,  Bp. 

1829.  Sidney  Underwood,  H. 

1830.  Horatio  Underwood,  H. 


1781.  William  Gage,  of  Y. 

John  "Wetherill. 
1806.  Elijah  Cobb,  Br. 
1817.  Obed  Baxter,  Y. 
1820.  Allen  Niekeraoo,  C. 


1824.  Jolin  Topping,  C. 

1827.  Calvin  B.  Brooks,  H. 

1830.  Darius  :Weeks,  H. 

1832.  Joshua  Wickson  Jr.,  D. 

1834  Dudley  P.  Blake,  Y. 


vGooglc 


Adjutants. 
1781.  Joseph  Paine,  of  C.  1820.  Joseph  Hamblin,  Y. 

1790.  Mulford  Howes,  C.  1830.  Obed  Brooks  Jr.,  H. 

Simon  IKingman,  0.  1834.  Joseph  Hale,  Y. 

Thibd  Begimeht. 


1815.  "WatsoQ  Berry,  of  E.  1826.  Joseph  Holbrook  3d,  W. 

1820.  Joshua  Smail,  T.  1833.  Samuel  Stinson,  E. 


Lieut.  ' 

1815.  Moses  Hig^na,  of  0.  1830.  Samuel  Stinson,  E. 

1824.  Josiah  Lincola,  E.  1833.  Da,Yid  Eldridge,  0. 


18ia.  Henry  Knowles,  of  0.  1829.  Samuel  Stinson,  E. 

1820.  Joel  Snow,  E.  1830.  John.  C.  Knowles,  T. 

1826.  Peter  B.  Walker,  E. 

Adjutants. 
1815.  Michael  Collins,  of  E.  1828.  Cornelius  Hamblen,  W. 

Battalion  op  Aktillert: 
Consisting  of  Companies  at  P.  and  Br. 
Majors.  ■  Adjutants. 

1811.  Benj.  Foster,  of  Br.  1812.  Joseph  Sampson,  of  Br. 

1820.  Jeremiah  Mayo,  Br.  1815.  William  Preeman,  Br. 

1821.  Nath'l  Shiverick  Jr.,  P.        1819.  Ezekl  H.  Higglns,  Br. 

1823.  Samuel  Shiveriek  Jr.,  P. 
Gapiains:  of  Palmouth  Co.,  org.  Aug.  14,  1806. 
1806.  Western  Jenkins,  of  P.        1822.  Jesse  Nohle. 
1819.  Nath'l  Shiveriek.  1826,  Sylvanus  Hatch. 

Captains:  of  Brewster  Co.,  org.  1810. 
1810,  Benjamin  Foster,  of  Br.       1820.  Preeman  Higgins. 

1812.  Abiel  Crosby.  1822.  William  Shiveriek. 
1819.  Jeremiah  Mayo.  1823,  Josiah  Winslow. 

This  Battalion  was  disbanded  in  1831. 

The  condition  of  the  State  militia  and  the  fluctuations  of  statnt< 
laws  relating  to  the  same,  have  been  such  of  late  years  that  it  is  in- 
convenient to  pursue  this  matter  further  in  our  History. 


vGooglc 


792 


APPEHDIX. 


Note  N.  (p.  760.) 

GRADUATES. 

"We  shall  not  undertake  to  furnish  a  catalogue  of  all  who,  either 


i  here,  i 


born  here,  or  become  resi( 
occur  to  us  upon  a  slight 
such  as  became  citizens  of  tbe  Cape,  ( 


graduates ;  but  those  that 
-including,  be  it  understood. 


1669,  Saml.  Treat. 
1675,  Jona.  B.3ttssl. 
1681,  John  Cotlon. 
1685,  RoUaid  Cotton. 
1687,  Stth  Shove. 

1690,  Naihl.  Stone. 

1691,  Joseph  Lord. 
1697,  ffuffft  Adams. 
1699,  Daniel  Greenleaf. 

1703,  Joseph  Metcalf. 

1704,  John  RuBEeU. 

1706,  John  Avei-y. 

1707,  Thomas  Prinee. 
John  Otis. 
Matthew  Short. 

1703,  Joaiah  Oa&Bt. 

Jona.  RutaeL  Y.  C. 
J710,  John  Cotton,  H.  C. 
1711,  Joseph  Bussell. 

John  Chipman. 
1713,  Benj.  Crocker. 

1715,  Samuel  Speas". 
Benj.  Wm. 

1716,  Datid  Crocker, 

1717,  NatM.  Cotton. 
Solo.  Otis. 
Thomas  Paine. 

1718,  Nathan  Prinee. 
Beiy.  Feasenden. 
Cornelius  Nve. 

1719,  Eoland  Cotton. 

1720,  Shean.  Bourne. 
Joseph  Gi'een. 
Jostah  MarskaU. 

1721,  John  Tat/lor. 
Bamaboi  Taylor, 

1722,  Josiah  Cotton. 
Joseph  Bourne. 

1723,  John  Stnrria. 
Jona.  Mim. 
lacdah  Levns, 
Jostah  DeJmis. 

1721,  David  Hall. 

Solo.  Lombald. 

1725,  Ssml.  StuTgls. 
Saml.  Frecmaa. 
Thomas  Smith, 

1726,  Nathan  Stone. 
Joseph  OretD. 

1727,  Saml.  Palmer. 

1728,  Prince  Hawes. 

1729,  Ward  Colton. 
Job  Parltec. 

1730,  Stephen  Emery. 
E^oardPell. 
John  Dennis. 

1731,  Ephm.  Avery. 


1.  1733,  Soland  Thacher. 
Edmund  Freeman. 
Saml.  'fobey. 
David  Gorham, 

1734,  John  WalUy. 
Joaeph  Crocks: 

1735,  John  Osbora. 

1736,  Zohith  Smith, 

1737,  Edviard  Cheever. 

Jorta.  BUia. 

Saml.  Cobb. 

Josiah  Lewis. 

1738,  Josiah  Crocker. 

1740,  Isaac  Hinckley, 

1741,  Grindall  RaiBSon. 
Isaiah  Dunster. 
John  Howland. 
Locme  Cushinc;. 

17*3,  Bheatl.  Bourne. 
William  Bourne. 
James  Otis. 
Johu  Crocker. 
LoChrop  BtisGell. 
Benj.  Webb. 


John  Anoable. 
B,  Benj.  Fessenden. 

Joseph  Green. 
1749,  Gid.  Hawley,  Y,  C. 
1760,  John  Stui«i3,  H.  C. 
17S1,  John  BilSEell. 
1754,  Saml.  West. 

1758,  Oakea  ShaiB. 

1759,  Saml.  A.  Otis. 
Ebenr.  Taylor, 

1760,  Joaiah  Crocker. 
1762,  2Vmo.  Alden. 

Nathan  Stone. 
1764,  Benj.  Bourne. 


1765,  Josiah  Crocker. 

1766,  Samael  SovaBC, 
"""'"'  Aaarelah  Morse. 
,  S  ami.  Parker. 

1770,  John  Mellen. 
Zebuton  Btdler. 

1771,  Saml.  Nye. 


Isaa 


Banps. 


1772.  Jonas ■Whftman,Y.( 

1774,  Saml.  Emery. 

1775,  James  Otia,  H.  C. 

1776,  Jude  Damon. 
1776,  Goo.  Thacher. 


Levi  Whitman. 
Sylvs.  Bourne. 

,_..[l,ThOS.W.RuSEiBlL 

1781,  laainhL.  Green. 

Elisha  Doane. 
1784,  Jona.  Burr. 
1786,  John  Allyn. 

1786,  Jona.  Leonard. 
Henry  Lineoln. 
John  SinwMns. 

1787,  Nathaniel  Freeman, 

1788,  Nathan  Undencood. 

1791,  Eph.  Briffgs. 

1792,  James  Hawley. 
Philander  Sfiaa 

1794,  Timo.  Alden. 

1796,  Nathl.  Stone. 
1798,  Wendell  DaTla. 

1797,  Elisha  Clap. 
Freeman  Parker. 
Nymphas  Hatch. 

9,  Isaiah  Alden. 
Martin  Alden. 
Joihitm  Waterman. 

1800,  Lemuel  Shaw. 
""t,  Nathan  B.  Crocher. 

CaMi  Holmes. 

Wm.  Basconi. 
..XTimo.Dams. 
1806,  John  Whitman, 

Joaeph  Bennett. 

07,  Phineas  Fish. 
Essra  S.  Goodunn. 
Nymphas  MarstoD. 
SelhF.  Swift. 

08,  Levi  Whitman. 

10,  Francis  Bassett. 
Joseph  Haven. 
John  Savage. 

__13,  Edward  HineltlOT. 

1816,  Geo.  Copeland, B.  U. 
Edm.Q.Sev!all.B..C. 

1817,  Benj.  F.Hallett,  BO. 
Benj.  Fesaendeit.'a.  C. 

loiu,  Henry  Bersey,  B.  U. 
1821,  EHph.  P.  Crafts. 
1833,  Wend.  B.  Davis.H.  C. 
1824,  Alfred  Greenwood. 
1829,  Frederick  W.  Crocker. 

Geo.  T.  Dayia. 
1833,  Thoa.  R.  Bourne. 
1838,  Wendell  T,  Davis. 
1844,  Philip  H,  Sears. 

Judah  Crowell. 
i,  Henry  Cobb, 


vGooglc 


ISDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


Aancn 
Akrm, 


Attaqualiunohoiiit,  310. 
AnquaquessEt,  227, 
Awakening,  the  gcent,  373. 


Bank,  National,  557. 
of  N.  America,  637. 
of  U.  States,  608, 


Cape  Cod,  66*,  671. 

Barnatable,  626, 

Baptista,  569,  577,  590. 


precincts,  353. 
Basa  fisliiiiK,  202. 

Riret,  228, 
Beada,  17S. 
Beana,  76,  10*,  105. 

ite,  101, 357, 3 
VOL.  I. 


Billingsgate  precinct,  361. 

BUU  of  cied'it,  234,341,  345, 
360,  364,  371,384. 
lody  of  the   People,  432, 
433^^2. 

/acoated,  488. 


Enk-Hea 


,  Hill, 


BUEWS" 

aggressions,  WH. 

Mflh.  Soc  in,  847. 

Bridge  over  E.liarb«r,£ 

"  ■■'ilitroops,  410,  411. 

o-s  Island,  86. 
Bunker  Hill,  147. 
Burgoyne,  capture  of,  51 
Buzzard's  Bay,  31, 101. 


Cambi-ia,  ateajner,  650. 
Canitda,  33. 

exped,  to,  398,  484. 
Canal,  333,  493,  672. 
Canaumut,  676. 
Capaivock,  35,  109. 


68i. 


Cape  Cod,  nan 


,29. 


importance  of  341, 
755. 

le^alatiie    action 

pcecinc't,  348. 

its  stand  for  liberty,  400, 


ita  strength  ascerl 

416. 
its  aetiYity  on  the 

478,741. 

in  Philip's  wnr.  28 
hoEpitaiity,  281. 


Cape     Cod,     Bympatbia 
418,  451.' 


a  loved  home,  744. 
Cape  Breton,  33.  381. 
Cape  Malabar,  41. 
Capital  execution,  731. 
Capture  of  the  Leslie,  527. 
Uatholiea,  314. 
Cattle  pounds,  168. 
CensuB,  193,  257,  557,  581, 
593,   617,  612,  658, 


Charter,  earlv,  90,  91,  386. 


Sroniised,  319,  324,  326. 
[asaachusetts,  721. 
Chithau,   28,    101,  308; 
inc.,  346. 
Aeadeniy,  629. 
Church  of  England,  315. 
Churohea,  restrictions  on, 

201. 
Civil  liberty,  193,  234. 
Clark's  Island,  S3, 
Clay  pounds,  71. 
Coast  defence,  481,  483. 
Coatuit,  101,  211,  675. 
Coins,  2r- 


.117. 
■  e,  267. 


Coldliarb._,  ... 
Coloniaation  frustrated,  41 

CoraasEckuuinkanit,     101 


yGoogle 


INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


Commetcial  c! 


Scultics 


.dMas 


1  Plyra. 


Compromise,  616,  632. 
ConfederBtioii,    169,     2! 

509. 
Congress,  407,  420,  425. 

ContiiiEntal,  420. 

declaration  of,  426. 

froviocial,  467.    . 

United  States,  122. 
CoiiBtable's  oa.tli,  126. 
Constiludon,  504,  610,  521, 

5S5,  652,  556,  660. 
Continental  army,  ITS,  479. 
Com  Hill,  72. 


with  Belgic  Provs.,  275. 
Sighton  rock,  65. 

— 1  at  863,825,  634, 

._  5,647,648,  654. 
Disooyecy  of  Cape  Cod,  28. 

Plymouth'      ■        ■"    "" 


58,404. 


Division,  of  county,  373. 
Douteuae  laland,  43. 
DoTBT  Cliff,  30. 
Dress,  ancient,   178,   ISO, 

183. 
Drouglit,  365. 
,   DutcE  traders,  109,  111. 
Dnsbury,  12«. 
DwelUnjs  of  Indians,  77.-. 
Dyer's  Swamp,  71- 


Academy,  635. 

Methodist  Society,  594. 
Famine  at  Plymouth,  104. 
^    -.,  229,  489,    496,   508, 

52S. 
Fencing  the  Isthmus,  355. 
First  encounter,  82. 

hirth,  84. 

deaths,  84,  85. 
Fish,  art,  prop,  of,  665. 
Fisherie-    •=  "■'  "="  "" 


757. 


Floridas. 


I    of. 


Courts,  140,  153,  158, 196, 


clerks  of,  738. 
applied  for,  364. 
superior,  732. 


Craaberries,    euiture    of, 

663. 
Crown  rights,  254. 
Cuba  expedition,  374. 
Currency,  386. 
Cushmsn's  sermon,  33. 
Customs,  178. 


Deeds,  reeistrj  of,  737. 
Deer,  74, 584,  oST- 

traps,  74, 
Deism  punished,  255. 
Dbnnib,  28, 101 ;  inc.,  559. 
Eermer  a  voyage,  40. 
Departure    of  ■  Mayflom 

Depopulation,  40. 
Deputies,  140. 

Jeprived  of  seats,  233. 
Description  of  Cape  Cod, 

27,  69. 
DsBtruction  of  forest,  752.  | 


Early  voyi^es,  34,  40. 


settlement  of,  1C6, 172. 
name,  203. 

embraces    Monomoyiolt, 
277. 
Sast-haibor,  71,  382. 

Creek,  71,  74. 
EccleBiastical,172,331,8n. 
',  178. 


332,  417. 
BlectiouB,  bow  conducted, 

125,   129,   242,  570, 

671. 
Elizabeth  Islands,  81, 102. 


Engliuid.  difficulties  with, 

68i5. 
Epidemio,  19C,  212. 
Erudite  authors,  751. 
■Estates  confiscate,  634. 
Executions.  131. 

tor  witchcraft,  198, 

of  traitors,  294. 


Fortune,  ship,  103, 203, 269, 
263,  266,  276,  296, 
298,  300,  307,  318, 
339,  853,  359,  382, 
474,  476. 

Freemen,  ouolifs.  of,  377. 

Free  school,  2S8,  265,  266. 

French,  troubles  with,  672. 
spoliations,  631,  634. 

Fresh,  River,  226. 

dship,  transport  ship, 

B  from  England,  385. 


Gaspee,  frigate,  415. 


of  Philip's 


Fessenden,  651, 
Freeman,  461,  601,  6 
Goodwin,  634. 
Han-ley,  692. 
Hinckley,  343,  665. 
Leonard,  611. 
Lewis,  614. 
Lincoln,  668. 

MarsWn,  373. 
Miller,  250. 
Otie,  271,  547,  592. 
Palmer,  565. 


vGooglc 


INDEX  OP  SUBJECTS. 


TUii^hec,  142,  $2 
Treat,  330. 
Tupper,  697- 
TJndwwood,  642 
WaUey,  290,  29! 
■WilliiiniB,  665,  6 


High  slieriffa,  738. 
HiMhivajs,   205,   206,  ! 

307,  368,  658. 
Hill's  Hap,  31. 


Huur  glass,  188. 
Ruuses,  2So. 
searched,  237. 
,   Hudson,    dUcoi 
Cod,  43. 
Hudson  River,  E.. 
Hutchinson ians,  123,  IS2. 
Hyannis,  29. 


r^ht  of  sorernmcnt  re- 
stored to,  710. 
Indictments,  214. 

sncB    o(  winds,    &c., 
764. 
Inhabitants  of  C.  Cod,  46. 


return  to  England,  3 
Qospel ,  prop^tio  n  of ,  'All. 
OoTernment,U.S.  722. 

parent,  723. 

suspended,  317. 

resumed,  317. 

merged  witli  Mass.,  324. 


Federal, 


Goven 


ra,  720. 


declared,  496. 
acknowledged,  541. 
anniversary  of,  546. 
Indians,  visit  Gosnold,  29, 


Governor's  gi 
salary,  339, 3S8, 363, 368. 

Qraduates,  769. 

Grampos  Bay,  81. 

Grand  jurors,  309. 

GrantB,  154,  211,  237,  237, 
239,  240,  242,  246, 
263,  266,  259,  261, 
296,  304,  361,  874. 

Grant  hy  Kinir  James,  7S 

Graves,  72.  76,  81. 

Great  Hollow,  73. 

Great  Long  Pond,  308. 

Great  Neck,  101. 

Great  Pond,  81. 

Gurnet,  83. 


.78. 


.__    J,  79. 

.'Of  ships,  103. 

games  of,  103. ; 
their  disCniBt,  lit. 
their  kindly  aid,  112,115. 
their  eight  to  lands,  119, 
256,  258. 


forbidden  to  sell  lands, 


Judges,  728-736. 
Jamestown,  37,  4S. 
Judges,  for  the  county,  309. 
Jurors,  378. 
Justice,  administration  of. 


K. 

Kataumet,  101. 
Kannunnays,  267. 
Cennebee  purchase,  242. 
'"    ;  Philip  BUEpected,  265. 

Boston,  267,  268,  269. 

a  feelings  ontras(ed,279. 

s  war  begun,  280. 


=t  of  his 


Habits   of  early   settters, 

176. 
Hadley  alarm,  283. 
Hair,  fashions  of,  178,  2 
Han's  mill,  308. 


Baptist  Soc.  inc.,  677 
Health,  749. 
Herrina   Pond,    lOI, 


Herscy  fund,  609. 
High  lands,  30. 


constables,  305. 

complaints  of,  348,  396, 

690. 
retrospect    of,    painful, 

301.  7M. 

tionof6eo.in.,687. 
in  Rev.  ivsr,  484,  692. 

stadstic's,  557,  700. 
their  meeting  house,  704, 
plantation  :  at     Herrin  - 

Pond,  684,  686. 
oondition  of,  664,  715. 
lands  secured  to,  678. 
desire  liberty,  689,  706, 


I.'Acadie,'33. ' 
Laft 


ayetle'E 
id  Banl 


Land  Bank,  376. 
Lands,  hoiY  laid  out,  158. 

divteionsof,  161,168. 
Laws,  not  well  defined,  123, 
129, 140,  150. 
declaration     respecting, 

124. 
right  of  Parliament  to 

.    enact,  124. 
enacted,    130,   133,   163, 

203,  216,  263. 
execution  of,  167. 
code  revised,  266. 
distributed,  274,  312. 
for  Indians  severe,  306. 


vGooglc 


IKDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


I^alatioii  entra,  633. 
LegiaUtuie,  HO. 
Letters    of    marque,    4£ 

572. 
Lexington  battle,  471. 
Levden  pilgrims,  39-68. 

t1ieirvo7Bge,69,60. 

fall  in  with  C.  Cod,  60. 

suspect  the  Dutch,  61. 

oHer  tbuuks,  62,  63. 

sign  compact,  64. 

e^iploce  the  Cape,  69. 
fall  in  with  Indians,  70, 

71,73. 
find  stores  of  com,  72. 
Liberality  of  the  Cape,  211, 

221,  232.  233,  329. 
Idhert^  pole,  441,  447. 
Lightnina,  ^5. 
iJneBge, 216-219. 

Jjtiga'tion,  760. 
London  Company,  SB- 
Long  Point,  69,  74. 
IriiuiebutK,   its   reduction, 


at    Weymoutli, 

rebuked    by    Bohinson, 

Mayflower  arrives  at  Cape 
Cod,  60. 

Caseengers  of  the,  66. 
!Hve3  the  Cape,  86. 

Mattachieet,  9G,  105. 

Mattaheaet,  267. 

Mattakees,  100. 

Maltapuyst,  99. 

Hattaquesset,  227. 

Meals,  frugal,  185. 

Medical  piafession,  610. 

Meshawn,  101. 

MethodietB,  590,  594,  647. 

Military,  1S3, 169, 171, 174, 
176,   207,   210,  21.2, 
214,   237,   262,  267, 
270,   303,   321. 
glory,  384. 

_l!lilift,485,740. 

Mill  Creek,  70. 

Mills,  185,  197,  213,  240. 

Ministry,  162, 204, 206, 210, 


Nashaway,  100. 

^'-tives  kidnapped,  36,  39. 

lerfldv  towardE,  43. 

tionai  expenditures,  754. 


New  Bedford,  32. 

New  Errand  named,  38. 

Newspapers,  627. 


Mackerel  fishery,  239. 
Maeomet,  259. 
Magee  storm,  520. 
Mails,  400,  613. 
Maine,    separation    tioia, 


Maleliarre,  41,  327. 
Manners,  189. 
Mannamuch,  311. 
Mannamnckoy,  243. 
Manomet,  95.  99. 

a  depot,  103,  240. 

old  field,  258,  267. 
Manufactures,     373, 


Mohegans,  173. 
Mohiggon,  94. 
Money,  206. 

Hcareily  of,  337,  347,  360, 
371. 

depreciation  of,  529. 
Monomoyiclt,  40. 

taken  possession  of,  42. 

settled,  251,  250. 

attached    to    Yarmouth, 
256. 

discontent,  261,  266,  275. 


Mushai,  229,  231,  236. 
Marston'a  Mills,  373,  64S. 
Martha's  Vineyard,  30,  31, 

100, 103. 
Mashoven,  23. 
Masbpee,  28,  99,  211,  243, 
262,   689,  645,  673 
674. 
plantation    estab.,    237 

S56.  558. 
conference  a^  257- 
landa  confirmed,  310. 
petition,  346. 
adiatriet,  399,631,  710. 
a  parish,  642. 
schools  of,  667. 
adaptation  of,  68 
Massapee,  101. 


Muddy  Hole,  240,  213. 


Naculteeks.  100. 


Ofl'ences,  capital,  126. 
—    ..B,    not    sought,    118, 
220,   238,  255,  267, 
259,  275. 
omers,  151. 
Old  Tom's  Hill,  73. 
Old  ship.  113. 
Onky  Tonky,  30. 
OELBAJiS,  28,  101. 
inc.,  571. 

UniversalistSoc.,634. 
Overseers  for  Indians,  305. 
Oyster  Island,  364. 


Fametoopaukset,  210,  243. 


Passantaquannucke  Neck, 

Patent,  88, 117,  131. 
surrendered,  162. 
Patuset,  94. 
Paupoesit,  101. 
Pausatucke  Neck,  259. 

Popponesse'l  Buy,  675. 
Peace,  Paris,  40(1. 

Ai«-la-Chapelle,  384. 

Mth  EnuliLnil,  541,  6ai, 
Pcnnakouks,  100. 


vGooglc 


INDEX   OP   SUBJECTS. 


797 


Pequots,  100, 174. 

Quakers,  troubles,  2IM.  210, 
211,  212,   220,   221, 

Revolution,  difficulties   of. 

PeatiUnce,  100. 

486,  495,   497,   498, 

PbiUp    King.     See   King 

PhJip. 
Picket  Cliffi  355. 

223,   228,    230,    242, 

540                    '      ^ 

-243,    251. 

to  be  apprehended.  231. 

Pinguine  Hole  UiYer,  278. 

to  be  banislied,  232. 

cessation  of   hostilitiea. 

Piratea,  619. 

an  act  of  justice  to,  233. 

541. 

Rrate  ship,  336. 

fanaticism  of  some,  535. 

aid    from     the    several 

Piscatalras,  100. 

rights  restored,  304,  314. 

States,  643,  645. 

Hspogutt,  102. 

one  at  Rome,  236, 

independence    acknowl- 

Plvniouth, 83, 126, 
fcompiny,  36,  2*3. 

Queen  Anne's  >var,  339. 

edged,  842. 

Quenaumet,  262. 

cost  of  war,  541,  546. 

Colony,  its  aovernnient, 
1^9, 140, 11-2. 

Eight  of  soil,  401. 

Eight  Arm  of  Massachu- 

Colony extinct,  328. 

R. 

setts,  741, 

Pocaeset,  101, 112. 

Robinson's  letter,  110. 

Pochet,  101. 

Race  Point,  28. 

Rochester,  31, 

Rattlesnako  Neck,  30. 

part  of  Barnstable  Co,, 

Gammon,  29. 

Records,  213,  227,  228. 

312. 

Pokanoliet,  96,  99,  267. 

Regicides,  245,  283. 

Pokeeste,  101. 

[iezistera    of   births,   &c.. 

254, 

Political,  238,  25i. 

192. 

aUrms.  637. 

of  Probate,  737, 

of  Deeds,  737. 

S. 

Pool,  357. 

Religion  o(  Ch.  Eng    3" 

Poor  pro-vided  for,  306. 
Port  FortHne,  43. 

Religious  diasenaio       121 

Sachem  a  g    ve    8 

204,  215,  248 

Saconesst    101    237    239 

Posts,  570. 

07   3 

FoUnumamint,    101,    227, 

121. 

belongs    to    Bain    able 

freedom.  193,  254 

President;  U.  8.,  723. 

act,  593. 

Savbwich    "^     P7    146 

motives  effec«ve  315 

195     196     204    2  i 

Prince,    Gov.,  removes   to 

the  people,  748. 

3J9    37i 

Plymouth,  254,  276. 

Removals  to  N.  Scotia  4!2 

oil  aens      d   franch  5ed 

Priaoii,  312, 

Representatives    to    Con 

"30 

Probate  Courts,  738. 

gress,  723. 

itsprtmPhlp,     ar 

Prop^ion  Society,  695, 

to  State  Leg.,  724 
Etevolution,          p  ominent 

Proprietary  laws,  305. 

Acadeny  oSi  6  1 

Protestant  worship,  first  in 

opposing  views,  =97 

Meth  Soo     n      594 

New  England,  38. 
Province  of  Massachusetts 

svgnifloant  events  ■^ 
writs  of  assistan  e  398 

";.'«■="«  ■"' 

Bay.  S27. 
lands,  348. 

arri^ancB     of     Br  t  sh 

■'-.gad  hoe  37 

Salt   n  in  U  ture  of    155 

ministry,  401 

Pbotinqbtown,  28,   101, 

taiaaon  system  405  408 

4'n     603     590    617 

341.    355,    382,  551, 

stamp  act,  407. 

570. 

mutiny  act,  409 
British  troops  to    nt  m 

Salt  w  ter  Pond  ''70 

inc.,  383,  368,  375,  373, 

S  nd)  Po  nt  '>1 
&a  dvBeich  276 

396,  413.  470. 

harbor   to   be    fortified. 

constant  irritat  on  410 

S  q    sh  &a 

394. 

Sassafras  3 

Meth.  8oe.  inc.,  S94. 

appeal  to  the  people  414 

Sati       101  ■'11 

Public  Bank.  347. 

soSsof  lihstt)r,415 

Satuc  e  pu    1   se  246 

deposits,  637. 

tea  ships,  416. 
port  hill,  418. 

fnuka     etet  100  240  266 

worship,   187,  204,  257, 

278, 

295,  296,  305. 

Sawamset,  117. 

Punkepoag,  100. 

418, 

Seituate,  126. 

the  people  arm,  420. 

School-i,  258,  364,  298,  306 

275. 

solemn  lea^e,  420, 

306,  747, 

Purchases,  301,  335. 

Scort;on,  101,  278,  334. 

Puritans,    Maoauiay's  eu- 

committees  '  of  '  safety, 

ScUESet,  107. 

logy  of,  123. 

&c.,  420. 

Seekonk,  100. 

a  crisis  near,  468. 

Selectmen,  303. 

Provincial  Congress,  467 
Lexington  battle,  471. 

Senators,  724. 

Q- 

Separatists,  123. 

Gen.    Cage    denounced 

Quaiifioations  of  freemen. 

473. 

125, 129,  iSO. 

vrar  begun,  474. 

Seshewit,  178. 

yGoogle 


INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


833,  416. 
Shire  town,  309. 
8hDa\  Hope,  29.  30. 
Shoes,  rBEhions  of, 
Shumet,  101. 
Singular  project,  If 
SippeonB,  312. 


a,  491. 

ihip  ashore,  416. 
Temperance,  749. 
Thanksgiring,  4^. 
Tyevish-harbor,  66. 
Titles,  65,  127, 178. 
Dnfirmatory,  309. 
ivoUd,  315. 
Tobacco,  180,  251. 
■  ■    nation,  193,  312,  214. 
,     _...jct,  101. 
Topograplw,  760. 
Tories,  422,  453,  459,  480, 
481,501,611,621,626. 
their  vindiedTeuesa,  454. 
humiliated,  461,  511. 
disarmed,  492. 


ongin 

Towns,  compa 
of,  l&S. 

councils,  285, 3M. 
Trade  interrupted.  111. 


Virginia,  North  and  South, 


W. 

■Warcham,31,  102. 
"Wapoompaukset,  240,  242. 
"Waquaeset,  262. 
Waquoquet,  101. 
Waqnoit,  101,  676. 
Wayontat,  102. 
WavQuonset  Bay,  866. . 
Wars,  20a,  267,  319,  314, 
346,  379,  387. 
Tvith  Grea    ~ 


Somerset  ship  ashore,  43 

518. 
Sons  of  liber^,  414. 
South  Sea,  178,  278,  309. 
Sparrow's  Inland,  301. 
Speculations,  365. 
Spirituous  liquors,  173. 

taxed,  244,  298. 
St.  Iiawrence,  33. 
Standish,    his     interview 
with    Indians,    106, 
107. 
his  courtshipi  189. 
StatistioB,  720.  ■ 
Stocks,  119;  214,  305. 
Stoney  Cove,  227. 
Storm,    remarltable,    119, 

362,  620,  606. 
Su^lcones,  101. 
Surplus  revenue,  637- 
Sursuit,  136. 
Swansey,  99. 


Trading  House,  113, 

voyages,  104-108,  jjo. 
Travel,  188,  191,303. 
Treasury,  county,  737. 
Treaty,^,  233,  24*. 
T»UEO,  28,  71, 73, 101,309, 


Academy,  642. 
fatality  of,  648 
Tucker's  Terror,  61. 
Tumultuous  carriage, 


Uncle  Timmy,  30. 
Union  of  colonies,  387. 
United  States,  confed.,  50 
Universalisls,  634. 
Utrecht,  peace  of,  346. 


D,  606. 
Weequahiit,  186. 

Weepquush,  309. 
■Weesquobs,  101. 
Weesa,  101. 
Wekapage,  100. 
WELlFLEEt,  23, 101,  362, 


■Wlialer6.243,216,S20 

342,  396. 
Wheat,  185,  266. 
' '  ,  origin  of  name 
pins-post,  211,  3 


ViUiams,    Rev.    Eoget's 

policy,  HI,  193. 
PLtchcraft,  198. 
Solves,  171,  211,  311,  360. 
Voman,  her  position,  182, 
137, 190. 
Wood  End,  28. 
Wood's  Hole,  102, 


Vandalism,  603, 
Vessel  seized,  209. 
""  cyard  ferry,  373. 

isociated  with  Be.  Co., 

Vineyard    ferry,    depreda- 


YAHMO(JTa,  28,  101,  150, 
168,    197,   205,  225, 
226,    309. 
settlement  of,  135, 138. 


vGooglc 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Adams,  Dr.  Samuel,  443. 
Alden,    John,'  133,    ■"" 


Rev.  Timotliy  Jr.,  700, 
Israel,  7S2. 
Martin,  792. 
Allen,  Benjiuain,  242. 


Italph8r.,204,221,  228. 

Ralph  Jr.,  227. 

Wliliam,  204,  221,  228, 
229,  2*2,  m 

ZaoTmrr,  305. 
AtniT.Wimam,  127,164. 
Amos,  Rev.  Joseph,  705, 


Barlow,  John,  2D9. 

MosPS,  SI2. 
Barnes,  Joshua,  143, 16fi 
Bdscom,  Rev.  Jona.,  563, 

Biseett,  Williim,  152,  206, 


711. 


ArmiUffe,  Thomaa,  264. 
Armstranir,  OFegDiy,  13 
Atwood,  N.  £.,665. 
Aiecy,  Rev.  John,  315,389. 


Bacon,  Nathaniel,  237,239, 
256, 269, 273,  S52. 
John,  353. 
Edward,  417,   427,    440, 


Batcheldei',  Rev.  Stephen. 

135. 
Beanchamp,  John,  IS2. 
Bdohei,Jona.,  367,376, 
Bellamont,  Rd.,  332,  338. 
Benson,  John,  448. 
~  lard.  Gov.,  409. 
___iie,  Anthony,  164. 
BiUington,  John,  95. 
"'-jk,  Myles,  239. 

kman,  Peter,  312. 
Blakmore,  Mr,,  165 
"lackwell,  John,  299. 

Mioih,  432, 451, 689. 
Bhsh,  George,  164. 
Joseph  Jr ,  44J. 
BlosBom,  Peter,  239. 
Boardman,  Thos.,  165,  225 
Sodiish,  Robert,  162, 164. 
Boamtan, 
Bowerman, 

Bourne,  Richard,  162, 165, 
206,  237,   239,   246,   ' 
248,  252.  257,   285, 
310,  677. 
E!ra,285 
Shearj.,    310, 

441,  660,  679,  681. 
Joseph.  439. 
Joseph,  Rev,,  681, 


Bradford,   Got.,    accident 

i.,\owned,  84. 
Braybrook,  WiUiHin,  164. 
Brewster,  William,  169. 
Briant,  Rev.  8ol„  682,  683. 
"rioBS,  John,  164. 

mhaniel,  431. 

Samuel,  432. 

Nathan,  432. 

Rev.  Ephraim,  365. 
Jrooks,  Obed,  6(56. 
Buit,  George,  164. 
Bouipus,  Salathicl,  434. 
Burnet,  Gov.,  365. 
Burgess,  Thomas  Sr.,  164, 


,  Rev.  Jona.,  666,  645 

Bntler,  Daniel  Sr.,  241.- 

Daniel  Jr.,  214. 

Obadiah,  242. 

Rev.  ZebuLon,  565. 


440,    ( 


S  Edward,  152,  173, 


Melatio 


Sybei 
Silas, 


I,  361,  440, 


r,  378,  4 


3,  451. 


443,  451. 
Elisha,  ^1. 
Richard,  441. 
Henry,  139. 
Edward,  452. 
Bradford,  Gov.,  130: 


Champdorc,  34. 
Champlain,  33. 
Chancer,  Joseph,  244. 
Chapman,  John,  434.    ' 

Chase,  Wm,, 154,  165,176, 


vGooglc 


INDEX  OP  NAMES. 


Chipman,  John,  20S,  261. 

Dillingham,   Henry,    206, 
2iU  242. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  SS8. 

Christophers  Qij,  223,  241. 

Freeman,  Edmund  8r.,  127, 

Church,  Cupt,.  281. 

John,  786. 

128,    161,    152,     63, 

Clap,  Wm.,  342. 

John  Jr.,  460. 

165,   158,   162,     63, 

Clark.  Goodman,  197. 

Dimmick.    Thonws,     139, 

165,    166,    167.     68. 

Edmnna,  1H4. 

169,    172,   173,    92, 

WUlinm,  262,  308. 

Edward,  882. 

204,    214,    225,   236, 

Cobb,  Hen^l39, 173,  2S7, 

Joseph,   480,   482,    527, 

251,    267,    289,     99. 

Edmund  Jr.,  269,  286. 

SylYanu'a,  382. 

Braddoci,  647. 

John,  268,  259,  275.  28S, 

Dingley,  John,  183. 

Cognehen,  Beuben,  687. 
Coite,  John,  143. 

Doane.John,  173,  206,207, 

Constant,  350. 

Cole,  George,  16*. 
Collins,  John,  689. 

Ebeneaer,  365. 

8Mh!'442''599. ' 

EUsha,  382. 

Solomon,  616. 

Edward  K.,  670. 

JcBeph,  463,  479. 
Doty,  Samuel,  283. 

John,  443. 

Cook,  JoEiah.  173,  232. 

Shadraeh,  683. 

Cooper,  John,  169,  239. 

John,  431. 

Cotton,  Rev.  Roland,  338, 

Doiraes,  Nathaniel,  434, 

Eev.  James,  D,  D.,  636. 

344,  361,  687. 

Dudley,  Gov.,  311,339,351. 

Beniamin,  417,  442,  443. 

Rbt.  John.  338,  341,  344. 

Dnmmer,    Ll.    Gov.,   362, 

Nathaniel,  426,  433,  434, 

Roland  Esq.,  448,  4S1. 

366. 

442,    461,    434-463, 

CoYBl,  Nathaniel,  251,  259. 

Dunham,  John,  239. 

468,  479. 

Crocket,  Wm.,  139. 

Dunsler,  Rev.  Isaiah,  386, 

Nathaniel  Jr.,  561. 

Joseph,  363. 

667. 

James,  612. 

FrimoiB,  176. 

Dyer,  Mary,  123. 

Alice,  225. 

BoT.  Joseph,  374,  5S2. 

Watson,  600. 

Benjamin,  389. 

Russell,  645. 

John  Jr.,  434. 

E. 

Col.  John,  628. 

Daniel,  436,  442. 

Friend,  John,  165. 

Job,  442,  443,468. 

Edfie,  Mr.,  164. 

Fuller,   Samuel,    139,   152, 

Roland,  564,  672. 

Bldrcd,  Robert,  251,  259. 

^39. 

Daniel.  64B. 

Elli"r^oiin,  206,  259. 

Lt.,  206,  207,  229. 

Croaby,  Rev.  Thomas,  248, 
'iso,  299,  339. 

Matthew,  239. 

Lt.,  228. 

CtoweU,   John,   137,   142, 
ik,  226. 

Manoah,  340. 

Matthias,  374. 

Joseph,  443. 

Josiah,  383. 
Malaoti,  434. 

Cudworth,    Thomas,   139, 

Gace,  Thomas,  208. 
Gen.,  417,  471. 

233. 

Emery,  Rev.  Stephen, 386, 

James,  240,  302. 

665. 

Gaunt,    Peter,     183,    204, 

Ewer,  Henn-,  150, 164. 
Thomas,  ffiS,  237. 

327,  242:244. 

Gibbs,  John,  432. 

D. 

Qitford,  WilUam,  228,  236, 

Damon.  Eer.  Jude,  568. 

F. 

Davis,  Nicholas,  237. 

Goodwin.  Gen..  453. 

Jamee,  434. 

Talland.  Thomas  8r..  256. 

Rev.  E.  3.,  634. 

Daniei,440, 441,  443, 446, 

Feake,    Henry,    127,    183, 
164, 165. 

Gorges,  93. 

Gorham.  John,  206,  207. 
David,  440,  42,  ^44. 

468,   479,  525,  578, 

679. 

FearinsN  Noah,  432. 
Fessenden,     Rev.     Benj., 

John,  434,  625. 

Col.,  381. 

Wendell.  630. 

361.  371,  383. 

Sturgis,  442. 

Abner.e41. 

■William,  051. 

Gould,  Nathaniel,  36B. 

Demontfl,  S3. 

Finney,  John,  206.  259. 
Fish,  Jona.,  164. 

Gray,  Joshua.  434,  442. 

Lot,  443. 

Dennis,  Robert.  197.  225. 

Nathaniel,  244. 

Mr..  197. 

Rev.  Josiah,  385,  667. 

John,  165. 

Grannis,  John,  434,  443. 

Rby.  John,  567. 

Ambrose,  311. 

Green,    Rev.   Joseph    Sr., 

De  Rairier,  114. 

Eev.  Phineas,  696,  697, 

362,  413,  6G8. 

Derby,  John,  197. 

712. 

Rev.    JoEeph    Jr.,    400, 

Dermer,  40. 

Flag,  Gershom,  340. 

413,  667. 

Dexter,  Thomas  Sr.,  137 

Flawne,  Thomas,  197. 

Isaiah  L.,  .598. 

166,   197.   208,  227 

FoEter,  Benj.,  311. 

Greenfield,    Thomas,   176, 

253l 

Chilings-vorth,  444. 

Thomas  Jr.,  251,  261. 
Dmingham.  Edward,  127 
162,165,169,223,227 

James,  431. 

Greenleaf)    Eev.    Daniel, 

Nathan,  434. 

344.  382,  364. 

FoiweU,  John,  176. 

yGoogle 


INDEX   OF   NAMES. 


Hall,  I 


enjor 


Samuel,  3*0. 
Hallett,  Enoch,  479,  65S. 
John,  382. 
Andrew,  146,   IfiS,  169, 

134,  197. 
Joaiah,  208. 
Benjamin,  €57. 


_.  _  ...,nF..  706. 
amblin,  Josiah,  442. 
Miofth,  443. 


Harding,  S 
Harlow,  ™ 
Harper, 
Uaskel, 
Hnwes. 

2L 

Hnwley,  Rev.  Gideon, 

883,588,682,683, 
Hatch,  Thomas,  143, 1 


nenry  IV.,  King,  33. 
.  HetEey,  Abner,  5&4. 
Hilliard,    ReT.    Timothy, 

413,  567. 
Hinckley,  Gov.,  206,  207, 
224,   237,   239;  256, 
239,    286,    302,   313, 
316,   341,   687.  . 
Isaac,  439,  440,  441. 
8amueL139,237,  239. 
Hisffiins,  fed.,  173,  261. 
Hoar,  Rd.,  178, 197. 
Holder,    Chiiaiopher,  223 
244. 


Holmiy,  Joe 

305. 
Hopkins,  Stephen,  136. 

Caleb,  3U. 
Hoives,  Thomas  Sr.,  13 
I42,   166,   173,  23 
266,261. 
Joseph,  256. 
Jeremiah,  286,  299. 
Jonathan,  468. 
Howlond,  Job,  442. 
John,  239. 
Hency,  242. 
Huj:ie,Ludowick,  244. 


Jones,  Teaeue,  176. 

Ralph,  2&. 
Joyce,  John,  166. 


Kerby,  lUchard   Sr.,  163, 
204,242. 
Richard  Jr.,  228,  242. 

Kidd,  pirate,  336. 
"•      Geoi^  II.,  398. 

lip,  102.    See  Indian. 
Snowies,  John,  280,  373. 
-    OS  Jr.,  443,  479. 


Le  Bacon,  Francis,  333. 
Leonard,  Jonathan.  611. 
rick.  Rev.  Wni.,  14 
158,    164,   204,  20 


Leverett,  Gov.,  178. 
Lenis,   George,  139,   434, 
442,  614. 

Lt.  James,  300. 

Thomas  Sr.,  311. 

Rev:  Isaiah,  370,  366. 
Lincoln,  Rev.  Heuty,  565, 

Lord,   Rer.   Joseph,   360, 

Lothiop,  Rev.  John,  139, 
156,  208. 

Lt.  Joseph,  296,  300, 382. 

Barnabas,  285.  30(1,  Sli. 

Captain,  311,  312. 

ovell,  Jacob,  443. 
Lombard,     Bernard,     139, 


Samuel,  382. 
Lumpkin,    William,    143, 
173,  197. 


172.  313. 

TruBtram,  206, 

Hunt,  Captain, 


Mather,  Rev.  Dr.  T..  174. 

Mathews,  Rev.  Mr.,  143, 

149,   IM,   157,  166, 


Meloit,  David,  351. 
Metcalf,  Rev.  Joseph,  344. 
MiUer,  Rev.  John,  157,197, 
206,  249,  286,  339. 

John,  165,  299. 
Mills,  R«v.  Jona.,  413,  567. 
Morrel],  Rev.  William.  93. 

Edward,  149. 
_Jorton,  John,  233. 
Mulford,  Thomas,  350. 
Mullens,  PrisciUa,  189. 


lEh,  Marshal,  246,  256. 
■Ison,  Win.,  239. 
iiylund,  Wm.,   134,  173, 


242,  244. 
Rose,  204. 

John,  221,  :H3,  241,  242. 
Niokerson,  Wm.  Sr.,  170, 
197,  217,    224,    237, 
239,  251,   253,   256, 
268,  275,    299,    308. 
Robert,  251. 
Nicholas,  261.  261. 
Samuel,  261,  341. 
John,  251. 
William  Jr.,  251. 
Joseph,  251. 
Horthcoate,  WUliam,  176. 
""       m,  Quaker,  220,  236. 
Nye,  Benjamin,  164,  241. 
Slephei,  432,  482. 
Joseph,  432.  479. 
Ebenezer,  434. 
Lot,  442, 
Joshua,  479. 


363. 
Peter,  Z57. 
Thomas,  357. 
Josiah,  357. 
Osborn.  Rev.  Samuel,  357. 
Otis,  John,  270,  271,  333, 
James,  302, 398, 411, 427, 
434,  440,    441,    443, 


vGooglc 


yGoogle